Holidays....

Apparently it is ok just to lounge about by a pool all day drinking cocktails - I don't think I have ever had a holiday doing this ( and definitely not since having children! )

So we are now at the end of day 3 of having late, lazy breakfasts, lying by the pool often in the shade drinking cocktails and mocktails until 5ish and then coming inside for a cup of green tea and a snooze   ( there is a little personal pilates done inbetween - Honest!) before a shower and supper. Who knew holidays could be so relaxing!!

The child and teenager spend most of the time in the pool or at the swim-up pool by ordering drinks!!
Tomorrow we will leave the pool and go off sightseeing.... ( pretty sure we said that today!)

No photos today as the internet connection at the hotel is really really poor and very frustrating - such a shame as it is a lovely hotel but I think it might put me off returning here....

Hello Muscat...

We decided it was time for a little trip out of KSA - too much sand and not enough sea!

The children would love a trip and so would we ... so here we are in Muscat in the very beautiful Sultanate of Oman - Muscat sits on the Indian ocean with lovely warm sunshine and some sea breeze -AND alcohol in the hotels !

I had lived in Oman as a child and haven't returned for 35 years - boy has it changed.  Unlikely Riyadh there are lots of tourists and lots of luxury 5 star hotels - Ladies do not have to wear an abaya or a hijab - some Moslem ladies do wear an abaya and/or headscarf but there is also a lot of Western dress - I think as long as you dress with respect and cover your shoulders/knees and cleavage outside the pools/beaches you shouldn't have any trouble....

We arrived on Tuesday evening after a very gentle trip from Riyadh ( 1hr 45 mins with Saudia )

 and were met at the airport by a friend's driver who took us to our hotel The Grand Hyatt  set in 10 acres and by the sea. 2 very happy children on arrival!

We have 2 large interconnecting rooms with huge TV's and big beds - supper in one of the hotels 4 restaurants was fab - we sat outside and the children hung out by the pool and explored the grounds in between courses and we drank cocktails and champagne PERFECT - I had my children AND cocktails!!

The internet is really slow, really expensive (10 OR for 3 days which is about £20 BUT when the room rates are so high it seems a cheek to charge for internet access as well) It takes forever for the photos to download so thats not great and so I won't be posting too many shots til we move hotels later this week ...

So far we've eaten in 3 of the restaurants - all delicious but my fave is the South East Asian style restaurant MARJAN by the swimming pool - delicious Thai Beef curry and the children loved their Chicken satay followed by Nasi Goreng ( they also do super watermelon cocktails in the swim up pool bar!) Dukan seems to have got lost this week!!!

Trip to the Souq and a new dress....

I can never pass up on a shopping trip and one to the Souq is still an exciting one for me! So many bargains and unusual things...

Boy wanted a traditional Saudi Tat alarm clock... basically a mosque with the alarm sound is someone calling the people to prayer...They are truly fabulous and kitsch

and the sound is utterly compelling and you really would get out of bed on hearing this! He can't wait to take it back to school and drive all the boys crazy in his dorm - not sure how long it will last!!!

He then spent his pocket money on a shamarg and our driver thinks he now looks like a Saudi Prince...

He is such a poser!!

Daughter had  a marvellous time trying on more abayas and looking at handbags!!

I bought a gorgeous dress - Saudi-style from one of the shops in the Souq - a bargain at SAR120 ( approx 20 UK stirling) Lots of beading and very flowing - best not stand too close to a naked flame - there is nothing natural about the fabric whatsoever!!

                          (Can you see DH sleeping on the swinging bed in the background!!)

All the above photos were taken by my fab photographer........

So we are off on holiday today to Muscat in Oman and we are all so excited to see the sea!!

HOME safe and sound

Thanks to the lovely Tegen ( and a few taxis!) our children are home safe and sound after their epic journies from Norfolk and Berkshire to Riyadh via taxi, train, tube and aircraft!! They were very chilled I on the other hand was a total wreck by the time they arrived - 36 hours after leaving schools!!

It didn't help my anxiety that winter had returned to UK with a vengeance and a helpful friend tweeted me to tell me on Friday morning that Leeds and Belfast airports were closed and more closures expected...the children were flying out of LHR at 1220pm.....

At last they were taxiing into Riyadh...and I waited nervously at the aircraft doors with our fab broker Mansour who smooths all our exit/entries in KSA

DH had the Iphone camera ready to photograph them as they arrived - they look a little shell-shocked! Welcome to Saudi!!

A good sleep that night and Boy was up ready for a swim!!

Followed by a quick trip into town and we are all happy!

Thank heavens for school holidays - oh how I have missed these two!!

A new find in Riyadh...

Whilst I was in London over half term I was offered the chance to try some eyelash extensions - I'm very lazy with make up - Some Chanel Teint de Lumiere foundation and lots of Mac's Ruby Woo Matt red Lippy

 and I'm good to go.  I have short stumpy black eyelashes and I NEVER wear mascara. My sister in law convinced me once to have my eyelashes dyed ( she was having hers done and they always looked good...) apart from thinking I was going blind driving home afterwards I couldn't really notice the difference ( and as it turns out she has lovely long thick lashes anyway!!)

When the children started at boarding school recently and I was constantly crying I did have the lovely lady in MAC on Kensington High Street fix some fake eyelashes in the hope I would stop crying to attend a business meeting - it did work for a day!! They were a little too long and theatrical for everyday but such fun...

So when a friend suggested eyelash extensions I wasn't that keen.... it was cold and miserable in UK in February and my skin felt grey so I gave it a try. Here are the initial results.... (please ignore the lack of foundation and terrible old looking sun-damaged skin!)

I LOVED them  (but the ones in the corner of my eyes were a bit annoying in the morning when I woke up - small price to pay!) so now I'm back in Riyadh and some have fallen out so I had funny empty spaces, so yesterday I found a salon that does refils ( actually I think they are called infills!) at a reasonable price ( I did call one place Luthan Spa and Salon and they charge SAR 1500 which is about £250!!! They were less than £80 in UK!)

Maison de Joelle is on Olaya Street in Riyadh opposite the Jarir Bookstore - or that is what it said on the website and when I called to book an appointment. Actually it is down an alley opposite ZARA on Olaya Street near to New Look . My friend and I found it totally by chance. (There is an alleyway next to New Look walk through here, go down the steps turn right in the car parking area and go up the next set of steps and turn left - Maison De Joelle is here)

it really is a great salon - lots of reception staff, clean bright waiting area. They have a hair salon off to the left with lots of basins and chairs and mirrors , a nail salon with Essie polishes and they also do gelish and gel nails.  The beauty salon is off to the right and all the private rooms are individually decorated ( and very tastefully done!) So this is the result ( note no gaps now and I had shorter lashes put in the corner near my nose and they are so much better!)

If you haven't tried eyelash extensions before and have stumpy lashes like me it is so worth a go!!

I paid SAR300 for the infils and they charge SAR150 for removal ( i think it was SAR600 for 1st set) They come in all lengths - I have 8mm in the corner and 10 mm elsewhere - my girlfirend has 12mm an mybe next time I would have longer.....its after looking at all those beautiful camels!! Eyelash envy!

if you find these....

I really want these shoes....

gorgeousness from ZARA soft leather, comfy considering the height of the heel and pretty cool - perfect for the desert!!!

I need them in size 39 (squeezed my feet into the 38 but they looked liked sausages and I couldn't move my toes!) but they didn't have them in any of the Riyadh stores and it seems that Zara online in KSA is not an e-commerce site and UK online don't have them - I guess that means I can't have them !

Chocolates and stuff....

We had 45 for supper last night as DH's boss is in town for a few days staying with us ( Riyadh after a sandstorm really isn't a good look!)

The food cooked by our lovely chef Vijay was, as always, delicious - I think I could happily eat curry for breakfast, lunch and supper everyday ( Vijay is from Kerala in the south of India so his curry always features a good helping of coconut milk - sweet, creamy and just FAB)

So, knowing I wouldn't have to worry about the cooking I thought I'd make Rosie The Londoner's amazingly simple and utterly delicious Salted Chocolate Truffles - get the recipe from her blog here (btw if you haven't ever found her blog before you must - she's young gorgeous AND she cooks!)

So I've made these many times before, when we lived in Notting Hill they were my regular treat for going to supper with friends ( always impressed even the most die-hard chocolatiers!) - usually I made them in too little time whilst trying to cook supper for the kids before heading out - so this time it was so easy..... Vijay had already broken all the chocolate into small pieces and measured the butter and cream into seperate bowls for me - all I had to do was mix it all together!! I felt like a TV chef without the camera crew! The only down side is I wasn't able to find my fave Green & Black's Milk Chocolate  ( and Saudi Milk Chocolate just doesn't taste the same - even the Dairy Milk here tastes different!)

Pre-Milk Chocolate dipping!

Sadly everyone loved them and there were none left for me to photograph .... except for the small dish I hid at the back of the fridge especially for my morning treat pre-pilates!!

Try them, you will love them!

(Empty Bunny dish from Anthropologie, London)

A Whirlwind of Royal-ness.....

Its been so so busy in Riyadh the past few days

We went to a gloriously English Garden Party at the British Ambassador's Home to welcome Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to Riyadh. Sadly I had to leave my camera and Blackberry with security at the entrance so no photos but DH did take a quick snap before we left (Note the Miu Miu bag has come out to play!!)

The garden at the HMA Residence is just lovely - lots of beautiful trees which are currently full of blossom ( just like the streets of Kensington in May!) so there was some shade and a little breeze which helped as the temperatures were hitting 90 degrees centigrade - it was like a little slice of (warm) England in Riyadh - we had afternoon tea, tiny little sandwiches, cakes and fruit juices whilst we waited for HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to arrive.  

There was a beautiful ice sculpture of The Prince of Wales' emblem which amazingly didn't melt! No Vodka running off it OBVIOUSLY!!

 This was the centrepiece on the tea table and it did look very impressive ( photos courtesy of REX)

When they arrived they each started on a different side of the garden and made their way around the different groups - we had HRH Prince Charles who was very chatty and keen to hear about life in Riyadh - including asking what the Ladies managed to find to do...Much to DH's horror I replied 
"Shopping Your Highness, we even have a Harvey Nics" Much giggling and guffawing from around the table including Prince Charles!!

After about an hour they left the gardens to prepare for their next appointment - it really is a whistle stop tour of the Middle East for them and so much to pack in.

We sped off to change into Evening dress for our dinners - the men were dining with HRH Prince Charles and the Crown Prince and the Ladies were whisked off to a tented banquet hosted by  HRH Princess Hessa Bint Tarrad Al-Shalan, the wife of King Abdullah on the King's Farm outside Riyadh - we had flashing lights, police cars, 2 lanes of limos and 4x4's all very exciting (especially as we didn't really know where we were going and the drivers didn't speak any English...)

Not a great photo but you can just about make out the flashing lights of the Police cars at the beginning of our convoy as we rushed through red lights....the nearer we got to the destination the more Police cars appeared and Tanks and soldiers.... 

We arrived somewhere out of town in the desert to an amazing huge tent - the floor was lined with beautiful carpets and rugs and the room was full of Princesses and  21 of the 30 Ladies recently appointed on the Shura Council. 

These Ladies come from a variety of professions - I met a Professor in Mathematics, a Consultant Obstetrician, a Consultant Opthalmic Surgeon and a whole host of other interesting ladies and Princesses ( including the King's very beautiful and eloquent daughters). 

We were greeted with traditional Arabic Coffee made with Cardamons followed by chocolates and dates - then we moved into another vast tent for a banquet - Tables were laden with Arabic delicacies and a 3 course supper was served on beautiful white china with gold edging.  Never have I felt more welcomed and so well looked after. It was a total pleasure to spend the evening with such interesting and interested women - I felt totally humbled by how hard some of these ladies had worked (and in one case bringing up 5 children at the same time as studying - all 5 children are now either Doctors or training to be doctors!) Inspiring to say the least..... This is the true side of Saudi that most Westerners are not lucky enough to gain access to - these ladies have worked hard and achieved the top of their game and now are seeing a change in their country of which they can be part of - really amazing .

I arrived back at my Villa at 145am and DH had waited up for me ( even though he had early pick up at 630am the next day- ahhh what a husband!)

AND his necklace is bigger and better than mine!!

What to wear for dinner with Princesses?

DH tells me I need a frock for a garden party and another for a dinner with some Princesses - both on the same day.  So today I spend most of the day shopping ... started at Faizaliah Mall found a lovely Missonni beach dress - no good for either events so I didn't buy it!

Next stop Harvey Nichols - strange thing about shopping in HN Riyadh is the number of male assistants and shortage of Ladies to help - they really need me on the shop floor as a personal shopper - the lady who carried my dresses to the changing rooms ( what a treat to actually try things on - v rare in Riyadh to have changing rooms!) dragged them across the dusty floor - not a good look for a dress that is £1k now covered in dust, sand and grime! No water cooler no nice furniture all a bit sad really - HN call me I will come and sort it out!!

I'm digressing... tried on 4 lovely dresses

1st one Alice by Temperley lovely cream column dress with tulle overlay so pretty but too big

 - they sent the tailor to come and advise but I think it would have ruined the line of the dress so that sadly was a no... but have  a look at it here it was gorgeous... (photos courtesy of Temperley website and it is also available at Harvey Nichols Riyadh)

Next up was a Laundry by Shelli Segal Black silk jersey one shouldered dress - lovely but as my friend said - it is just like the one you have at home but not as nice ( also by Laundry and much loved and worn!)

ONWARDS....

Another 'nothing' dress came next which made me feel very middle-aged and frumpy ( not the look I was after!) and then the best one

A beautiful ISSA London floor length Black silk jersey dress with cutout back - I can't find it anywhere online but it was mostly black with the same insert at the chest as this one Very classic cool gown

(Photo courtesy of Issa London website)

It was fab-u-lous perfect for meeting Princesses and Duchesses. It was a tad too big ( and they only had the one size) but it was over 7000 Saudi Riyals which is more than £1100 .  Do I really need to spend that much cash on a dress...

NO

We'd done Harvey Nics by now so did all the other shops in the Mall with no success, onto our Pilates Class and then 2 more Malls (in between prayer times!). Still no new dresses so it looks like I will be wearing my old Black Laundry dress for the dinner and a Vintage Chiffon flowery frock for the garden party...photos of the outfits will follow!

Moral of the tale - don't try to buy a last minute outfit in Riyadh!!

Any hints on shopping in Riyadh greatly received!!

The Escarpment, Riyadh ....

WOW is my first thought on writing this post!

We have just got back from an AMAZING day out in the desert - a different kind of desert to Shark Tooth Valley ... more rocks, gorse bushes and Acacia Trees..... and a few camels!

There is a place about 80-90kms out of Riyadh called The Escarpment and also known as The Edge Of The World.  I'd seen pictures, read about it in a guide book, seen it mentioned on Blogs and spoken to people who'd been - lots of mixed reports.  Believe me IT IS WORTH THE VISIT!

I'm not a travel writer but this place was awesome ( I think it helped that we went with 9 other really cool, interesting people some who had been before but all who were excited about the views!)

If your interested in taking a visit you will need:

GPS or Sat Nav
4 x 4 vehicle and at least 1 other 4 x 4 with you ( in case you get stuck in the soft sand (spade also a good idea as is sand ladders) and need pulling out or have a puncture etc...NEVER go into the desert alone!!)
Lots of water ( and diet coke/juice)
Amazing picnic to have under the trees
SUNSCREEN

The co-ordinates to programme into your GPS are listed in this post....

So you head out of Riyadh on the 535 The Salbouk Road heading North and take a left turn off this road at these co-ordinates
 N24° 57' 21.2" E046° 13' 41.6"

Looks like these pic below!!

The fun driving starts now - there is a track to follow, don't drive too slowly in the soft sand and take it easy on the steep ruts in the wadi...

Enjoy the view

You will come to a concrete bollard gate like think
(these co-ordinates for your GPS are N24° 55' 05.5" E046° 10' 30.9")  
(see pics) then you drive on a little and come through an actual gate.  This gate  closes for the night ABOUT sunset time ( we made sure we were at the gate by 5pm in order to leave otherwise you are stuck for the night....

This is the gate that is locked by sunset...

The drive through the desert is rocky and pretty bumpy ( though DH managed it with broken ribs!) but really FAB we saw camels just lolopping along the scenery is like your oun mini set of Pyramids and you can see where the water floods through the valley...

The drive from leaving the main road to the foot of the The Escarpment is approx 39 kms though the rocky, bumpy desert track! 
Final co-ordinates for The Edge of The World are N24° 56' 41.4" E045° 59' 32.1"
and here is what it looks like....

That is DH standing on The Edge of The World...

The best was still to come LUNCH!

These guys know how to travel in style in the desert - tables and chairs and rugs and cushions under the trees...

My new line in head gear - better than a hat!

Piece de resistance was the hot water boiler - we all want one now.... 1 litre of water boiled in about 5 mins - we need one of these for the beach in Norfolk ( DH tried to explain to me how it worked..... little fire underneath etc etc!!)

One last Camel on the way home .....What a great Friday! If you go just remember to get back through the gate before sunset!! 

If you want to find out more about The Escarpment, Riyadh have a look here and here