It's all about the Camels....

So I've tweeted a few camel pictures but we really are living on the edge of a camel souk and every day we pass the camels to go anywhere so loads of photo ops ... here are a few so far!

This is how they travel.....

Our driver, Jalstan, has really started to get into the whole paparazzi deal and if we see something we want to shoot before we've even asked he's slowed down, speeded up, driven off road ( as in the above pic) just so we can get the best shot - the deal in the car is one child has camera control on the way to wherever and the other on the way back and Mummy gets to overrule them both!!

We've seen this guy a few times now - he's really cool and doesn't mind have his photo taken!

The thing about the camel souk is that these beasts are so NOT cheap and can sell for up to a million Saudi Riyals ( approx £165K) so if you are going to buy/sell a camel you need hard cash and the beast needs to be in 'tip top" condition!

The maddest thing is when you are driving along the 3 lane highway and come up behind a pick up truck transporting a camel ( or two).  One day we came across this guy...

I'm not sure who was more surprised - he, when he saw our 4x4 pull up next to him in the outside lane and me wind down the window ( dressed of course in abaya and headscarf) brandishing my trusty Canon! Or us when we saw how many beasts he had on board....

There were 5 in the back of this truck which also had a crane to winch them in and out...I've said it before and I know I'll say it again... A whole new world!!

Nothing but desert for miles and then this brightly coloured plastic stuff for sale on the roadside!!

Christmas and beyond....

Happy Christmas.....

Amazingly the children managed to amuse themselves (with a little help from me!) most of the morning as DH had to go to work ( Christmas Day is just another day here in Riyadh....) They opened their stockings early before he left and then had to wait until 2pm for their "tree" presents....

The wait for DH's return from work was worthwhile.....Presents to be opened, walkie talkies to be tested,,,,

Happy Children = Happy Mummy!!
Silk Dress from Anna in Burnham Market (past season), jeans by COS, Fave studded Red heel by ZARA

This is Vijay, our main man, who prepared and cooked our delicious Christmas Day Lunch  (no Turkeys to be found so we had Chickens) ...

The Final part was Homemade (by Vijay) Gluten Free Mince Pies and they were THE best i've eve tasted.

So full after eating our feast we did a 4km walk around the perimeter of our compound!
Happy Holidays

Christmas Eve in Riyadh

So it's a very different Christmas this year - for one DH will be working and hopefully the children will be in the pool!! Yesterday we spent some time playing with our camera by the pool ... i will try and download some images but the download speed is SO SO SLOW at the moment it is totally frustrating!!

We've been having real problems with our American Express Cards - we have to - an Amex Chardge Card and a credit card - I've tried to use both on a number of occasions and they don't work.  DH called Amex in Uk and they said they couldn't see a problem on the account - they checked our recent activity ( none of the Saudi attempts even registered) and suggested sending a new card for DH ( er what about me? Lots of shopping to be done here ...Kingdom Mall is waiting for me!).  To cut a long, boring story short...we were at a party last night and met a chap who runs the concierge division of Amex in KSA and guess what - it is VERY simple - UK Amex cards often don't work here as they have a chip and KSA Amex cards don't!  You would have thought that UK Amex knew this - WHY are we paying them a heap of cash every year for the pleasure of having these cards and we can't even use them?

OK Rant over ...for now!

Swimming on Christmas Eve....

Not quite sure it is warm enough to actually get IN the pool...

Sunbathing FULLY clothed!

Gotta love the Wishlist necklace from Violet and Rose London

If we sent Christmas Cards this would be the photo on the front.....Angelic !

What's Next?

So we've been here a few days now (6 to be exact) and i'm not really sure what I'm going to do for the next four years!

Back in London I have a successful and profitable Property Company specialising in Investment Portfolios - buying, refurbishing and managing rental properties for private clients and increasing their portfolios - In Riyadh I have a husband who works long hours, a house with staff but as yet no job and 2 children at school in England! There is only so many pilates sessions I can do in one day...

Luckily I also have an online jewellery boutique http://www.violetandroselondon.com which will continue to operate and I'm hoping to seek out new designers as well as build up a loyal following in KSA - frequent trips to London will be necessary to update our stock and keep ahead of the trends!

Peace sign bracelets by Scosha of New York 

Scrab beetle and moth necklaces by Beau and Arrow 

We've Arrived....

We have now arrived in the Kingdom  of Saudi Arabia ( KSA) fresh faced from downtown Notting Hill, London - 

WOW what a difference....

We were met from the London flight by our broker (to help us through the immigration/customs process) and darling husband (known as DH) with 2 abayas (black floor length cloak with long sleeves) for daughter and me to put on.  She felt very self conscious and walked with her head bowed and her shoulders scrunched up!! BUT she looked lovely!

The Broker took us through to the VIP lounge (I knew there was a good reason for me marrying DH all those years ago!!) for passport checking and fingerprinting for me (typically it takes a few minutes...). The children were served cardamon coffee (Arabic coffee) which they copied their father in drinking the small cup in one sip ..... they have never had any coffee in their lives and it was a bit of a shock to their tired bodies!!!

Two 4X4 vehicles were waiting outside to drive us to our compound and our new home. Our driver is from Sri Lanka, a very kind, helpful young man who manages to negotiate the traffic (and the Saudi driving is MAD) and the camels without too much drama (more on camels and traffic in a future post!)

Our Villa (I'm still calling it a house - haven't worked out what the difference is!) is lovely - very light and bright with lots of marble and floor to ceiling windows overlooking our private heated (it was raining and cold on Day 1) swimming pool and a very pretty garden with some grass (perfect for my pilates sessions) 

Double height sitting room where I seem to be spending most of my time trying to sort out the internet/telephones etc - will be changing the colour scheme a little to brighten it up - the house/villa comes fully furnished so we have to work with what we ( and Ikea!) have...

This is THE most important part of the Villa according to the children hence it has 2 photos !! 

Sun's out now so the kids are in the pool and I'm off to join them... 

I won't be wearing my Abbaya....even though it is rather gorgeous with lots of bling on the sleeves ( Dubai-made!)

HAPPY CHRISTMAS readers and hope you have lovely holidays with your friends and families