Hello Europe, July here we come...

As Ramadan approaches we have decided as this is our 3rd Ramadan in the Middle East we would like to travel to Europe. I am only allotted one week off where as Hubby gets 2 weeks plus EID. Very jealous!!!

After much debate on flights, where to go when, and my short time we chose Athens & Croatia for sheer price and availability and of course because they both look AWESOME!!!

July is suppose to be the hottest and full of tourists. I think it sure beats not being able to eat or drink in 120 degree weather and working so I am in!

Croatia I am most looking forward to the Dalmation Coast and some islands off the mainland. Athens I am looking forward to the history and possibly seeing one or two Greek Isles.

The best part about it all is we live so close to all of these places now so we have to take advantage of this!

May Day! Lunch at SaladBoutique

While waiting to pick up the pup from the vet we decided to try Saladboutique. They have locations in Kuwait and Qatar. They are also found on social media. The menu was brought to us on IPADs. Scanning through the selections was easy just getting the waiter back was not. I chose the Spicy Chicken Salad and hubby chose the Grilled Chicken salad. My meal is posted above.

The Grilled Chicken Salad: Comes with grilled chicken, avocado, tomatoe, cucumber, lettuce & toasted bread.

We also ordered a large Evian water, Lemon with Mint Juice & A Coca Cola. Our bill was 13KD.

The atmosphere isn't bad because there a bright pink umbrellas and they turned on the fans for us. We were the only patrons on a Saturday at 12:30 in the afternoon. 
The neighboring restaurant, Big Smoke Burgers, only had one couple there as well.

Happy Saturday.

Top 5 Things I have done so far: 

1.) Rent Jet Skis

2.) Visit Souk Mubarakia

3.) Visit Rimal Sandcastles

4.)  Buy Fabric at the fabric souq

5.) Climb Mutla Ridge

Jet Ski Rental:

During EID hubs, a friend and I rented jet skis at Halloween Beach. You have to park then walk down the sand to find the jetskis. There is a hut to do the rentals. There are 3 types of jetskis to choose from.

1.) Slow for 20 KD

2.) Power for 30 KD

3.) SUPER CHARGED 2014 50 KD

This is good for 1 hour. It is totally worth it if you have a water proof camera or feel you can take the chance of putting your cell or camera in the lock box on the jetski. 

Ladies you can totally wear what you want. I wore a bikini top and shorts. The life jacket covers you anyway so it is not a problem. 


Souq Mubarkia:
This is a traditional Kuwaiti souq in Kuwait City. Very busy at night and deserted during the day Have a look if you want to see different shops from local knick nacks to fabric. Some cool little Kuwaiti restaurants serving rice, lamb and bread.

Rimal Sandcastles:
This is a sight to see!! HUGE..I mean massive sandcastles depicting 1001 Arabian Nights. This was apparetly put on for an event in 2013 and was just abadoned. Take your friends or kids. They will love it!

Fabric Souq:
In Kuwait City. Look for the 4 tall tan brick buildings that look alike. Commercial Area 9 is what the buildings say. Prepare to walk and negotiate. Every kind of fabric you can imagine from apolstry to attire. There are also tailors in the buildings near by. Also prepare to negotiate. Some till try to gouge you. 

APRIL 2015

This month has been full of sandstorms and work. The weather has been horrible. I was stuck in Kuwait because my passport was being renewed for my job. I reached my 1 year mark. Who knew? Kuwait has been survivable (if that is a word).  Food prices still shock us but you have to eat. 

This month wasn't very exciting on the events meter. Had dinner with friends. Went to the Opera. I worked way too much. 

The Opera-

They sang in a mix of Italian & English

The set was worse than an elementary school production.

It had Bollywood dancing at the end.

The music was great. Maybe because we knew a member for the orchestra and we were partial.

TV Show Review:

The Last Man On Earth: Stars Will Forte and is set in Tuscon Arizona. He is the the last man on Earth. He goes around putting up billboards after searching the US for survivors. I won't give anything away but he meets someone :) It's a silly comedy to occupy 20 minutes of your time. 

Restaurant Review:

Smashburger: I got the classic smash which comes with cheese, onion, lettuch, tomato, ketchup on an egg bun. It is a thin patty. I added some extras on my burger which cost extra. I also ordered the smash fries which are cooked with rosemary. It is a nice touch. As this was delivery the fries were mooshy. I have also visited their Mishref branch and had the same experience so I was just hoping it would be better in person but they were still limp and some under cooked.

MamaLitas: We ordered numerous dishes for takeaway. We got the Barbacoa which is a smoked braised beef of 4 small tacos with rice and beans. The rice and beans did not arrive so they thought a substitute would be 2 more small tacos They were wrong. The barbacoa is my favorite dish but sometimes they do not offer the type I order as they have run out.  We also ordered shredded chicken tacos. The shells were not crunchy. Another order was the breakfast burrito with turkey and ham (not pork). My husband liked that.  

The Southern...maybe not..Maybe just to biased

The Southern: 

Honest to Goodness...Sort of Southern

After discovering this' reminds me of home gem' on IG I finally got time to go check it out. It claimed to be Southern with good ol home fixens. Photos looked good and many people seemed to like the cuisine but did these people actually know the SOUTH?

Hubby and I decided to go Friday night on his return from Dubai. 

1. It is hard to find in the dark based on the menu they draw on their site.
2. It is DARK...the black sign at night is easy to miss.
3. The porch lights driving back finally caught my eye.

After making a U-Turn we finally pulled into the parking under an apartment building. Walking up you see some white twinkle lights and large wooden picnic tables and a single Weber grill.

We enter to a small shop front and pick our table. I chose the booth side and hubs got the hard wooden chair. Now he is a tall guy and this table was not made for that. It is one of those 3 leg architectural modern designs where you can't actually get your legs under. One thing Southern's know is manners in public so that means you sit properly at a table. There is no way to do this sitting at these tables.

The menu is small. It consisted of some appetizers, some mains, some Fixens and some desserts. 

After browsing the waitress came over and we asked for another minute. She didn't udnerstand this phrase. The gentlemen, who turned out to be the manager, asked our drink orders. The hubs asked if they had "Sweet Tea" (A staple drink in the REAL SOUTH) &...THEY DID :)

I was so giddy with excitement it was hard to choose a meal. I could feel the sugar pulsing through my veins before I even got the drink to the table.

We decided to go with :

1. The meatloaf sliders
2. The bbq chicken sliders
3. Green Beans
4. Mac & Cheese
5. Cornbread

The drinks arrived in very tiny, sort of kind of, mason jars with a white creamer jar with it. I tasted the tea and jumped back realizing it was yes freshly brewed but came from North of the Mason Dixon line...We noticed what was in the white creamer jar...liquid.

It was apparently liquid sweetner, simple syrup I suppose. I poured it in waiting on the lightening of my small iced glass to occur. It finally did and I sipped quickly through my straw. I was so excited even if it wasn't the real sweet tea.

The food began to arrive. First our Meatloaf Sliders. The overall appearance was pretty. There were 3 sliders. The actual meatloaf  (sorry chef) was very burnt on the outter layer. Once you go through a bite or 2 it was juicy. The strings of onions were a little difficult to get down. 

Next I tried a chicken bbq slider. The sauce was very North Carolina and spicy good! (That was by far my favorite). Great flavor. Chicken was tender. 

Next I tried the small ramakin of Mac & Cheese. It was okay.

We realized the green beans never came. So as we saw the waitress coming over she sat down a small side plate with 1 single cornbread muffin.

We both just started laughing. 1.) You never serve someone one piece of bread..especially not cornbread. 2.) No butter? Seriously, just 1?

I cut it in half and took a bite. Had a little spicy flavor but we both just couldn't get over the fact that it was a single solitary corn muffin.

After eating everything in front of us we decided we had to order dessert. There were choices of peach cobbler and banana pudding. We got both!

Now banana pudding I have to say is in my TOP 3 desserts if prepared correctly and apparently only by my GM. It arrived in a cute little glass jar with the lid on top. 

1. First off the "custard" was very thick on the top
2. Finally got to the banans and wafer at the bottom.
3. It was mediocre...sorry

The cobbler was bread heavy and peach lacking. It came out hot but that was about it. Hubs didn't finish it. 

The manager was very polite and asked where we were from. We exclaimed "South Carolina" proud as can be. He told us one of the owners was from there as well as well as the Chef...The chef was from Kansas (which is not Southern). She was very sweet and came out and spoke with us. 

Another couple of men in there were from SC as well but didn't come say hello just stared at us. So much for Southern Hospitality. One was even in a GAMECOCK shirt..ass.

We left full but I know mine was from 3 glasses of sweet tea. 

I would go back but have my expectations lower. Think I was just really missing home and hoping for home cooking. It was a restaurant and in Kuwait...

#thesouthernkw

#southern

#q8

Arrival In The Dessert....

Life In Q-8 (Kuwait)

First Week: 

I arrived back in the Middle East late Saturday night after traveling via Washington on United. The flight was quick and relaxing. I had a good seat and the other passengers seemed to know the drill. Quiet down and get your sleep in before the time change.

The food, as always, was horrid. I was so glad I packed some snacks from home.

I was not clearly instructed on how to get through Visa or Customs with my work permit and NOC. I just went through assuming I did not need a new Visa and I was correct. After 45 minutes of waiting on my two massive suitcases I headed to suitcase screening. I always like to see what happens when your bags go through the customs xrays. These gentlemen were looking at their phones and sent me on my way. I didn't have anything but I am always curious to see what they look at and what they do not.

On a trip to Nepal I had a pair of cuticle scissors that were taken away upon leaving Nepal because they "didn't allow" that in their country...what a joke.

I arrived at my company apartment. My expectations were set way too high. The place was in a sketchy looking area. The room which was suppose to be an apartment capable of supporting you for 2 months was a tiny room. I took one look around and wanted to turn around screaming. I reread my emails from my employer to make sure I wasn't in the wrong room or see if I had my expectations too high but nothing checked out.

Needless to say the first night I did not sleep. 

The next few days followed the same- no sleep, orientations, barely any food and exhaustion.

I began looking for apartments knowing 1.) I couldn't stay the full 2 months in this...place & 2.) My husband would soon join.

After finding the perfect villa style home I found a realtor much to my chagrin and visited the apartment. One big difference in the country I reside in now and another GCC is that realtors do almost all of the apartments so you are wasting your money paying the realtor fee.

 Living in the Middle East I knew some cultures were turned off by dogs in the home. I never realized how bad it actually was here. Every home and every Realtor has shunned away from me when I say I will have a dog in the home. Some try the whole  "You can sneak him in. Does he have to go outside?" I wanted to scream. It is like no, let's let him live inside and be miserable. 

Many of the apartments are either too small, too outdated or just too over priced. I thought other large cities in the world were expensive in rent but this one takes the cake, especially for the quality of home. No homes so far have had any grass areas. Even courtyards with grass seem to be far and few between.

I hope this 2nd week gets better. My goals are to find an apartment, learn my way around a few areas & figure out some good super markets.

Good Night Middle East

Bell in Arabia