Ed and I have been keeping a list of basic things that we need for the condo. A few of the items are really needed quickly; coat hangers (we have clothes on the guest bed waiting to be hung), a knife sharpener and crock pot (friends in Sun City that now have to two I sold, enjoy them). We have a gas stove and it has a great selection of burners but using the thin cheap pots that came with the condo make cooking difficult. It seems you can never get the heat low enough just to simmer a dish.
We had learned of the shopping Mall del Rio and a store similar to Walmart called Coral. We know it was not near our condo so it was off in a taxi at 10:20 this morning. It was about a 15 minute ride but cost $4.00. The reason it was so expensive is because we had our building receptionist call the taxi for us to make sure we got where we wanted to go.
When we pulled up to this shopping center, I was very surprised by the size. We had also heard that there was a store that sold printers on the second floor between the food court and Coral. Ed and I walked the whole second floor and only found one store that sold printers (it had Victoria in it's name) and it only offered two different kinds and Ed opted to try somewhere else.
About half way between the food court and Coral on the first floor was a place for people to Bungee jump. Yup, they strap you in and you bounce on a trampoline and get going. There was a young girl doing it and I was able to snap a quick picture.
It was time to tackle Coral, think of a very large Super Walmart and then add a second story to it. This store sells everything you can think of. It's a great place to find inexpensive coat hangers, a six pack of coated hangers was $1.53. I loaded up on those! It was fun for the first hour just walking around and seeing all the different items they carried. But, we still had many things on our list to conquer. We had to get busy and find them and then hit the food section. A friendly young American with blond hair, named Malia, had to help us out a couple of times (we seemed to keep bumping into her). She really knew the store and was able to save us time and energy.
In our cart was a new crock pot, a cast skillet, a medium size pasta pot, liquid soap, food storage containers, tomato paste, Saran wrap, dairy products, food and other very necessary items for our new home. I did spot an excellent set of high end pots, fry pans and lids for the price of $550.00 - no, they were not added to the cart. I do miss my good pots and pans (Brian, enjoy them & think of me when you cook).
Now, after we checked out, the bagger named Carlos, (spoke very good English) walked us over to a counter and he had to check the crock pot to see if it worked. He plugged it in and waited for it to get hot! I have no idea if we get it home and it doesn't cook properly if we could return it. After the test, Carlos put in back in the box and walked us out to the taxi stand. We find the people very friendly and helpful.
Ed and I had plans of going to lunch but now we had a taxi full of food & some of it needed refrigeration. But, in the morning on the way to the shopping mall, I had spotted them roasting a whole pig at several shops and we asked Carlos to tell the driver to stop at one of the shops for us to buy some roasted pork. Now, that sounded like a great lunch to me.
So, our cab driver stopped and Ed jumped out and went to get us some roasted pork. Well, it wasn't that simple.... they roast the pig until the skin is golden brown and will slice you off pieces. Then, the meat is not fully cooked so they carve off chunks and have to grill it while you wait. It is served like a meal with beans and a mashed sweet potato ball that is fried. Well, Ed couldn't keep our driver waiting for 10 to 15 minutes while our lunch was being cooked! We arrived home with no grilled pork. I had been thinking about it since we drove by the shops that morning. It was now 1:20 and we were both famished. We pulled out some left overs and put the food away.
Then, it was off again to conquer a new printer/scanner. We had been given the name of two stores where other Expats had bought printers. We decided to cross the street and hail a taxi. A young lad named, Fernando, stopped and picked us up. The young girls in the front passenger seat was his 12 year old sister. We got to the first store to find it closed so we continued to the second store. We were told this was "near the Milennium Plaza (another shopping mall). Before we left the taxi, Fernando put in his cell number into Ed's cell phone so we can call him. Once in the Mall, Ed had to stop and ask several people where to find the printer store and finally a mall guide helped us out. We had to walk through the mall and kinda out the back and through a Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant for him to point to a store directly across the street.
It carried all kinds of printers, computers, and all sorts of accessories. The printer prices went from a low price ($69) up to several hundred dollars ($700). We found a HP printer/fax/scanner that fit our needs and then the process of "checking out" began. You go sit at a counter and they ask for your passport and fill out the sales receipt with all your information. This takes several minutes, you are then asked to go over to the 'window' and pay. Then, you go back to your sales guy and he will go in the back to get your printer and then help you out of the store into a taxi. The whole process took about 40 minutes - but we got what we wanted!
Now, we have this large box with our new printer and I have got a ream of printer paper, so stopping for dinner is out of the question. Besides we were both tired and just wanted to put our feet up. It had been a very busy and successful day of shopping.
I'm writing to relax and Ed is putting the finishing touches to his beef stew that he had started yesterday..... a relaxing night at home and watching a DVD movie that we had brought with us.
Peggy
No comments:
Post a Comment