Last night we ventured out from the hotel for dinner. We went to this fairly large shopping area about 5km from where we are staying. There were tons of US chains, like Chilis, Ruby Tuesdays and Applebee's as well as some more local places. We decided to skip the US chains (thankfully) and went to a highly recommended Italian place.
As our taxi dropped us off at our destination, the last prayer of the day (Isha) was being called. We missed getting into the restaurant by like 30 seconds. So we had to wait the obligatory 30 minutes while the restaurant closed. What I'm noticing is that outside of the malls here, less and less is in English. While I've accepted that I'm just not going to know anything that's going on around me, it's extremely difficult here because we never know if we are walking into the right section (single men or family).
Our meal was really good - very large portions. One thing that I'm learning is that wealthy Saudis are very indulgent with their food. I had a veal scallopine with a caprese salad. The mozzarella cheese on the salad was literally the ball of cheese cut into 4 huge slices. It was great! We both commented that we could've used a glass of wine to compliment our meal. ;-). Ironically this restaurant had two wine selections on their menu....both were actually sparkling grape juice. (yes a let down, I know).
Overall, yesterday in general was just an average day. I think we are settling into a routine. Which is a very good thing! We spent the day in the Red Sea Mall as planned, but opted not to go the Arab Mall as it was getting close to rush hour, and it would have taken us over an hour to make it there. We ate lunch at Ailbeck, which is a local type of fast food. It's similar to our KFC, the locals wait in lines for to get this! It was dirt cheap SR10 (about $3). I took a picture of the box.
I promised I'd post some photos of the hotel.
I heard from some people back home, which was super exciting and made me smile! I was finally able to talk to my mom pretty much for the first time since I arrived. My brother in law, Mike, is sending me an airport, so I'm one step closer to creating a wifi network in my room. I even went to the gym to work out and weigh myself. I was right about where I expected to be...so this is good.
Today's agenda: Mall of Arabia to walkthrough both brands, action planning for RedSea Mall stores and probably dinner somewhere close to the mall. I decided to sleep late (finally, hopefully I'm back on track) and skipped the gym.
What about you? How was your Monday? Anyone have an amazing day? Or was it just your normal Monday? I'd love to hear about it. Email me at jayliffejessup@wsgc.com and let me know what's going on in your world. I can't wait to hear from you. Xoxoxo
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