An Exotic International Trip Without Leaving The Country

As much as I might wish I could support myself through beadwork (and writing), and as much as I may hate dragging myself to my day job, my day job does have its pleasurable moments.

Yesterday was one of those days. The inspection was easy. The owners of the business were very nice and accommodating. It was a very pleasant visit.

But what made it special was that they had zebras! Eight of them! The zebras were a surprise. They were not part of the business. The owner decided that his hobby would be to take in zebras that are circus rejects. For whatever reasons, these zebras just did not cut it for the circus acts.

These zebras have a pampered life. Plenty to eat, in a nice grassy environment. No worries of lions, or dried up water holes. No silly circus acts, no whips, nothing to do but eat, sleep and kick up their hoofs if they so choose.

After the inspection, we went up to the zebras. Nosey as they were, they came up to the fence single file. I got to pet one. It was one of those job perks of seeing things that the general public does not get to see, which makes the job fun and interesting.

It was almost like being on a mini safari in Africa.

On my way back to the office, I made another discovery that took me "out of the country". A new (2 months old) restaurant that is family owned had opened up. It was the sign that said "Mediterranean Food" that caught my eye. Signs that say that (or fresh baked bread) have the same effect on me as the flame does to the moth. I have to go towards it, no matter what the consequence!

"Mediterranean food"is often code for Mideastern food. Flavors of the Arabic countries, Turkey or Greece come to mind. Occasionally Italian food is also part of this distinction, but as I hoped, this restaurant was of the Arabic/Turkish variety.  This restaurant is owned by a Jordanian family. Turkish food is quite similar to Arabic food. Just some of the names are a little different, and some minor changes in spices. But if you are not very familiar to the distinctions of the types of cuisines, you might never notice.

Boy was it good. I opted for the Koefte wrap. Ground beef with seasonings shaped over a flat metal skewer and grilled. This Koefte was then put on Lavash (a thin flat bread) with lettuce, onion, tomato and tahini sauce. Add some harissa (a type of hot sauce) and YUMMY!!

The arabic style music playing  added the perfect ambiance. I felt as if I were in Turkey.

Not bad! A visit to Africa and Turkey all in one day without the long arduous flight. And I was home by dinner time!!