Out and About in Addis!

Today we had nothing official planned, so we arranged for a driver to take us out.  Markos, the driver, comes very highly recommended by many of our adoptive parent friends, and we were not disappointed.  The only thing that was too bad was that his own car is in for repairs, and so we were driven around in a friend's car.  It was over 40 years old and just not very nice.  And we either had a miscommunication about the time, or he was late, because again, we had over an hour in the lobby.  As the same thing happened yesterday with Kidslink, it will get old very quickly.  I guess we will start staying in the room and the front desk can call us when the driver gets here.

Anyway, we started by visiting Weygoss Guesthouse.  We are looking for somewhere more spacious to spend the second part of our time in Addis.  Weygoss had larger suite style rooms, and a gated courtyard where the kids could run and play.  The rate seemed a little high, though she did say she would discount it for a long stay (but didn't say by how much).  After that we went to GT Guesthouse.  It is very nice and there is another family staying there that is adopting a 5 year old boy.  We could get a 3 bedroom apartment there for less than the suite at Weygoss and only $10 more per night than we are paying now for one room.  I'm pretty sure that is what we will do.  Markos heard the prices and thought they seemed high, and called a friend to see about a house rental.  We went there, and it was ok.  It was half the price of the guest house, and was a nice sized house with a yard.  But the family who lived there would still be on the grounds, just in the servant quarters.  I kind of felt weird about being that close to people we don't know (which I know sounds weird considering that is kind of the definition of a hotel, but this was different). It was fully furnished, but not to the same standards as GT.  Plus, at GT there is an English-speaking manager who can help with whatever we need, and it just feels safer/more comfortable over all.  So, I'm waiting until we know the exact date we will be checking in, and then I will email GT.

After that, we told Markos we wanted to eat lunch, but he suggested we stop at the Ghion Hotel to see the gardens and pool, as they were near by.  The hotel has a very large grassy area and I'm sure the flowers are gorgeous when it is not rainy season.  Right now it was a little weedy, but you could tell it is normally beautiful, and it was very nice to be around some green grass!  It smelled more like home.  We will be back to play at the pool sometime if the weather is nice.

For lunch, we went to the Lucy Restaurant near the National Museum.  It was very good!  Best food we've had yet.  The prices were reasonable and they had a good kid's menu.  After lunch, we walked to the National Museum and spent about an hour there.  It is the home of the "Lucy" fossils, as well as lots of Ethiopian art and artifacts.  During this time, Markos had gone to visit a friend but he was waiting back at the car when we got there.

The kids were getting tired and so we wanted to head home pretty shortly.  We went to one gift shop, where all the merchandise is made by people who are blind.  We bought a couple little toys and puzzles.  There was also a little booth right outside where we were able to buy more minutes for our cell phone.

Markos suggested a couple more stops, but we wanted to quit while we were ahead as far as the kids' cooperation levels went, so we headed back for the guest house.  One of the best things about doing the longer stay will be that each day doesn't have to be so go, go, go.  Of course, we can't afford to hire a driver every single day, too, so we will have to balance that out.

Now it is 5:20 and we will have to figure something out about supper soon. We have ordered food in the first two nights, but it hasn't been awesome, partly because it isn't very hot when it gets here.  So maybe we will walk down the block and eat at a restaurant tonight.  Once we are settled in GT, I plan to start cooking 1-2 meals each day. Which will mean figuring out grocery stores! haha!  But that's a few weeks away.

Internet is really slow, so no pictures today. :)

Heather