We have a pad!

I know, it's been a little while. I have to give credit to Simon, it does take a little effort to keep the blog updated with so much going on.

To the delight of all those who have been asking (and to ours) we finally have a pad!
A 4 bedroom – 5 bathrooms (yes you read right) villa in Azaiba (or Athaiba or whatever other spelling this area, like all the others, may have). Well, actually it is a 3-bed plus maid's quarters but since we are not going to have a live-in maid it's 4 bed for us: plenty of space for those friends waiting to come out to visit us and get some winter sun! :)

As you can imagine I am really excited about spending the next weeks and possibly months making our allowance work hard on furniture and fittings to make it homely (just think of the big grin on my face). Of course this means that you may have to wait a little bit for the pictures as at the moment the place is just a big empty marble shell where your voice bounces up and down against the walls and back to your ears.

The other good news is that, after much pestering the shipping company, we have finally found out that our stuff is on its way and is due to arrive sometime in the next couple of weeks so it sounds like our life may shape into some sort of normality towards the end of the month.
For the rest there are lots of other things that have happened or are about to happen but I don't want to overload you with information.

We have been out quite a lot recently, now that summer is over and the temperatures are much more pleasant there is always something going on in and around of town. Today we even enjoyed fireworks along the coast for bonfire night!

Amongst the most notable of the recent outings has to be mentioned the posh reception held on the grounds of the Diplomatic Club in occasion of the Italian Armed Forces Day. Being invited to such dos is one of the privileges of being part of a small community such as the 80-strong Italian resident population of Muscat. Of course it was not just for Italians as other local dignitaries and international diplomats were amongst the guests.

It felt a bit surreal at first especially arriving and being personally greeted by handshake by the Italian Ambassador, the Military Attaché' and their wives all in a line receiving the guests. I wasn't quite sure what to do so we just followed in a beeline, I could see their eyes squinting trying to work out who the hell we were (maybe I just had the same expression on my face!). It was quite funny actually. Especially as the photographers from the local papers kept snapping away at each hand shake. I'll let you know if we end up on the mundane pages of the local press with big grins on our faces.

It was nice to dress up for the occasion, mix with the high society of muscat and enjoy some nice wine and lots of Italian food. Apparently there are about 3 or 4 of these sociable events organized by the Italian Embassy to look forward to every year.

In the meantime I know there will be some more exciting non Embassy related events coming up soon. So stay tuned.

A final note to those who don't know yet (I will be sending an email soon): we will be in London town for a brief visit at the end of the month.. I hear it's cold :-

We are planning to hang out at a watering hole in town on Saturday 29th November, so if you are in London, you still have space in your diary and you don't mind us showing off our tans... keep it free. I'll be in touch via email.