The Harlow Adventure |
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… a quick trip to Jeddah. Actually, Chuck went into work on Friday morning (our weekend) and Abby and I slept in. We woke up at 9:00am with a text message from Daddy. "We're going to Jeddah - leaving at 10. Be ready. Love you."
So that meant quick shower, get packed, get Abby up and around and hit the road. Jeddah is about a 3 hour drive through the desert, but it's really not that bad. We hadn't been to spend any time (or money) in a while, so it was nice to get out for a weekend. The city is more laid back than Yanbu. The malls are amazing, shopping is fantastic and they have tons of western shops and restaurants. We actually stayed at a hotel, Hotel Elaf, connected to the Red Sea Mall - one of the largest malls in the middle east. This mall has everything. Three stories of shopping and dining, not to mention an indoor "carnival" for kids. We love it and out of the many malls in Jeddah, this one is our favorite! We spent Friday afternoon doing a little shopping and letting Abby play in the carnival area, but more importantly, that evening we went to P.F. Changs, which had just opened in Jeddah. This is our favorite restaurant in Raleigh, Chuck and I have been going for years, and to have one here, well, it just makes us feel a bit more at home. So that was truly the reason for the trip. Yes, we have gained some weight since moving here, but that's irrelevant! In the area where P.F. Changs is, they have also opened a Texas Roadhouse, Cheesecake Factory, IHOP, Pizza Express and Shake Shack, so there are lots of choices. We only had lettuce wraps on the mind and the restaurant did not disappoint! I should note that yes, they do have the same set up in chain restaurants here as in the states, often with a bar and everything. They offer the same drink selections, just virgin drinks. For instance, I had a virgin mojito which wasn't bad. The food generally tastes the same. I can say the lettuce wraps and hot and sour soup (my favorites) were just like home. Malls here also stay open way later than in the states. So after dinner, Abby fell fast asleep. We laid her in her stroller and mommy and daddy shopped until well after midnight. I know, parents of the year, but we don't get to shop and enjoy much time together with all the traveling so it was nice. She was sleeping away and we hit the shops, even getting some good deals. We also went to the grocery store in the mall. Now, in Yanbu choices are limited, but with Jeddah being so much bigger, you have a larger selection. I was able to find French's fried onions (ok we're from the south - love these things and have NEVER seen them in Yanbu), fruit snacks, and Campbell's Soup. This was huge since we've never seen it in our local stores. I've been told that it used to be readily available here, but I've never personally seen it. All the soups we have are powder. Finally, we went to the ice-cream section. I'm so jealous and if I had some dry ice I would be hauling some things back! We have around 3 brands here, Baskin Robbins, London Dairy and a local brand. They're good, but Jeddah had Blue Bell, Bryers, Hershey and Ben and Jerry's. I would gain so much weight! Saturday I finally convinced Chuck to take me to IKEA. I've wanted to go since we moved in, but well, he had been avoiding it like the plague! Oh if only our car was bigger! I did get some storage options to help with clutter. Our house is not small, but it's certainly not big either and since the weather is starting to warm up, we spend a lot of time in the house, so toys can overtake living space at times! I also found new knives! This was like Christmas! We received a "soft packet" when we moved over a year ago with basics, but although the knives were new, they weren't great so to have new ones that cut a tomato rather than smashing is just wonderful. Hey, I live in Saudi Arabia and it's the little things that make me happy! The fun thing here is that you can't go far without seeing someone you know and on Saturday we met some friends for lunch at the mall. While we were there, we also ran into some other friends from Yanbu, who like us had gotten away for the weekend. Jeddah is really our quick weekend get-a-way when we need a break from Yanbu. It's still right on the Red Sea, it's busy, but a bit more developed. Women walk though the mall with abaya's unbuttoned, some without an abaya (although very few). The clothing is more colorful and stares are minimal. We really enjoyed our break and look forward to the next one!
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