Friday (that's Sunday to you!)

Our first Friday in Riyadh, and funnily enough it actually feels like a Sunday. We went for a walk around the DQ this morning with Brian (Karen's new boss) and his wife Sue, who showed us the local amenities, including this very nice plaza,



which Brian assured us is often busy with families and kids skateboarding, rollerblading and the like during the week. The plaza has a small supermarket, a pharmacy, a couple of cafes and fast food places and various other small shops.



As you can see, today - being the Sabbath - everything was very quiet and all the shops were closed. We did find another mini market further along that was open, and took advantage of the opportunity to stock up on beef sausages and beef bacon - yum! We got ice creams for the children too.

Overall I like the DQ very much. It's beautifully landscaped, there are fountains all over the place and the architecture is nice and "arabian", but it's a little uniform; one street looks much like the next, so it makes it hard to find your way around.



After the walk we went to the embassy and had a look around the pool area. Around the outdoor, heated pool are the Wadi Club (and bar!), a gym, squash court, tennis court, and there's also a free video/DVD library. We had a quick drink here, then went back to Brian and Sue's for a cuppa before going home for lunch.



Abigail wouldn't stop going on about the pool (she loves to swim), so after lunch we went back to the embassy on our own and the children swam for about an hour, while I tried to get on-line via the Ambassador's wireless network (sort of successful).





Then it was back home for dinner: Friday Roast! Lamb, roast potatoes, carrots & broccoli, and a glass of red wine to wash it down with before baths and an early night before their first day at school tomorrow.

See? I told you it felt like a Sunday.