MyTunes

Today I am going back to the late 90's when Gomez arrived on the scene. I must admit that I was not a huge fan at first, but I certainly got swept up in the hysteria after they won the Mercury Music Prize in 1998. The album 'Bring it On' was a permanent fixture in my Sony Minidisc player (yes I was one of probably 10 people in the world to own one) and to me this album has become a glorious memory from my teenage years!

I often arrive at school in the morning and pop on a couple of Gomez tracks to get the day started, much to the delight of my partner in crime Mr. B!

So here is my first blast from the past: Gomez - Free to Run

Andy

The Journey to Tassimo

After arriving in Kuwait we were on a mission to find the perfect coffee brewing system.  Over the summer we were lucky enough to enjoy great tea and coffee from a Keurig home brewing machine, and we assumed we would be able to find one here in Kuwait.  This proved to be a bit of a challenge as we were looking for a single cup system that not only made coffee but other tasty drinks like hot cocoa and tea.  The only thing we could find in Kuwait was the Nespresso machine (check out their shop at 360 mall), which looked and tasted amazing, but was espresso and coffee only.  


We finally hatched a plan to get a Keurig machine to Kuwait.  We were visiting New York last November so my family sent us the machine from Oregon and we carefully packed in our carry on, along with tons of K-cups, it passed customs and arrived safely in our little home.  We were so excited we set it up, plugged it in, pressed power and were ready to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee when, nothing happened.  There were no lights working, no buttons, nothing!!  Had we got a dud? It took a few minutes before it dawned on us, it was the voltage!  How could we have made this mistake?  Especially after making the same mistake mere months ago by plugging our American Wii into a UK power outlet.  The Wii was ok, just a new power cable solved that problem, I wish I could say the same for our Keurig.  


We took the machine to an electrician who said "no problem, come back tomorrow."  A few visits and many phone calls and tomorrow turned into a week and when we went to collect it the machine was in a hundred pieces on his desk.  "No fix" was the answer we got from the 'highly qualified technician'.  Meanwhile we had been in contact with the Keurig customer service team and they were phenomenal!  We shared the dilemma and they offered to issue a new machine to my address in  the states, all we had to do was send them the K-cup holder from our machine (a small piece easily removed).  It was nearing Christmas then so the little K-cup holder (and all the K-cups we could no longer use) went to Texas with my dear friend Meaghan, she shipped it to Keurig and they shipped a new machine to my family.  The new machine was returned to the store for cash and cash deposited in our bank account for coffee brewing system plan B.  


Many hours of research, online and in all of the shopping malls in Kuwait we discovered Tassimo, we were careful this time to premise our search with a machine whose voltage would work here in Kuwait.  Plan B included more shipping and plane travel for the precious coffee machine.  We were expecting a visit from Andy's family in April so we ordered the machine, had it shipped to the Turners in Wincanton, along with many many T-discs.  Again it was carried on a flight, this time by Andy's dutiful dad, and safely made it through customs.  While the family had a self-guided tour of our apartment Andy and I were in the kitchen to test our purchase.  I have to admit we were a little nervous to plug it in and turn it on, but we did and it worked perfectly!  Finally a happy ending to our eight month journey.

We love our Tassimo!!  Every drink is delicious, from a simple cup of English Breakfast tea, to a multi-layered macchiato, prepared with one touch of a button in under a minute.  

Now all we need is for Tassimo to start to sell T-discs here, until then we will have to leave some room in our luggage each time we go home, which is definitely worth it.

Please let us know if you see these T-discs being sold anywhere in Kuwait, our summer luggage would greatly appreciate it!!


-Viv

Top 3 food choices

We love to eat out (and order in!) so for the first post we would like to try and bring you up to date with what we have come across so far in our 8 months in Kuwait.  Easiest way to do this is with our 'Top 3 in Kuwait' charts.


Top 3 Breakfasts
3. Zaatar W Zeit - Marina Crescent
2. Early Bird - Salmiya
1. Le Pain Quotidien - Marina Crescent


Top 3 Restaurants
3. P.F. Changs - Gulf Road
2. The One - Marina Mall
1. Sakura - Various locations


Top 3 Restaurant 'Hidden Gems'
3. Organica Fish and Chips - Salem Al Mubarak Street
2. Kareem Arabic Restaurant - Tunisia Street
1. Oriental Cuisine - Opp Dasman Model School


Top 3 Takeaways
3. Baking Tray - Fresh bread, breakfast and salads.
2. V Garden - Salads
1. Dragon Express - Chinese


Top 3 Coffee Shops
3. Columbus Cafe
2. The One - Great Iced Coffee!
1. Caribou - Hawalli offers teacher discount!