Zalatimo Brothers arrive in Seattle

Seattle, Washington
Sunday, January 31, 2016

Good friends have arrived/are arriving in Seattle from Amman, bearing gifts from the inestimable Zalatimo Brothers for Sweets. A little taste of heaven and a wonderful reminder of our time in Jordan. A & S: however briefly, it is GREAT to have you back in Seattle!

3D fun

Not your parents' red and blue 3D glasses...

Amman, Jordan
Friday, March 21, 2014

Despite the fact that it was a lovely spring day (breezy, sunny and not too hot), we decided to head into Amman for a movie. It was my first 3D movie (wow!) and a really fun movie, too. Seeing my first 3D movie after my kid had already seen several was starting to make me feel a bit like a Stone Age mom. But "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" is a really kid-fun (and adult-funny) movie. Added bonus: yesterday was Mother's Day in Jordan so my movie ticket came with free popcorn and soda...

PS: Several weeks ago we saw "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2." It's a lot of fun, also.

The Arabian Horse Club

Amman, Jordan
Friday, February 14, 2014

The best part of the week as far as A is concerned are Friday mornings: up we get and off we go to the Arabian Horse Club. For 30 minutes, A gets a riding lesson, and we all get to admire the lovely beasts. It's one of those weird things about travel: finally I get it. Arabian horses come from Arabia, right?

Royal autos

Amman, Jordan
Saturday, October 5, 2013

Spent a very interesting  hour in the Royal Automobile Museum this afternoon. Not only are there lots of fantastically restored old cars and motorcycles, they are placed in Jordan's historical context with great photos and other artifacts. Don't miss it!

Qasr al Mushatta

Amman, Jordan
Wednesday, January 23, 2013

This morning we set off with a small bus full of colleagues to see some of the local sites. Our original destination was the Ottoman city of Salt, but local events re-routed us to this fantastic site just a few miles from home: Qasr al Mushatta, an unfinished 8th century Umayyed palace. A newly installed plaque tells us that its partial re-construction was completed in 2011. Wonderful place!

Is that a Type I or Type II frieze pattern?

Used to reconstruct one of the arches?

Hashem's at last!

Amman, Jordan
Saturday, November 10, 2012

Hashem's at last! I ate at this icon of Amman "street food" dining three months ago when we first arrived, but Frank didn't get to try it out until today: falafel, hummous, foule, pita bread and sweet mint tea. Lovely food! And a bargain, too.

We'll be back!

Amman Children's Museum

In the cockpit

Amman, Jordan
Saturday, October 27, 2012

Friends visiting from Sweden helped us discover the Amman Children's Museum today. What a great place! All kinds of great science-y toys, exhibits, things and places to climb on and in. In short, hours of good fun--and educational, too. Don't miss it!

Falafel king

Amman, Jordan
Thursday, August 23, 2012

This evening we enjoyed a very pleasant stroll around the center of Amman in a bazaar-like area near the "first circle". Our group ate at Hashim's which is famous for its falafel. Simple, delicious food which included two types of falafel, hummus, foule made from fava beans (bottom left), French fries, an eggplant dish, pita bread, and sweet tea with mint.

Street food at its best.

I'll be back!

Oh, the food

Amman, Jordan
Monday, August 20, 2012

This evening we dined with our new colleagues at an excellent Lebanese restaurant in Amman. What we thought was the dinner turned out "only" to be the "starters" or meze. We were served meze of all kinds: olives, fried cheese, tabouleh, hummus, meat and rice flour balls (deep fried), egg plant dishes, stuffed grape leaves, and more. All of it heavenly stuff. When the kebabs arrived, we could only stare at them.

Here's Wikipedia's entry on meze: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meze

Fortunately I recovered my appetite a bit in time for dessert, which came in three lovely options, one of which is pictured below.

Best served with mint tea...