Brenda Hyde: Never Before and probably never again...

I am adventurous person and I love doing things that can’t easily be done. However, it is still not very often I am able to do something that most of my friends can’t do.

Today I did just that.

I ordered breakfast from McDonald’s to be DELIVERED to our flat.

Right. You heard me. Amazing, right?

When I first arrived on the island of Bahrain, my dear husband took me on a tour of the souq, the local shopping area filled with small stalls and lots and lots of vendors. It was amazing. However the most shocking thing was seeing all the delivery scooters lined up in front of McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King.

Our breakfast arrived HOT! We were amazed.

One side of the bag was in English and . . .

One side in Arabic.

They actually deliver all over the island and when it arrives it is hot. You can order online or by telephone. The name on the McDonald's call line is McDelivery.

You can’t have fast food delivered to your home in the United States (I am not aware of any). So I have done something many of my friends and family can not do. I am sure they are jealous.

Just to be clear, this was done for ML. She thought it would be awesome to have Mikey D deliver pancakes for breakfast. And, I agree it was awesome - fun (and hot!).

Usually when I take a picture of food it is because it is beautiful or a wonderful new flavor experience. Here, it was just amazing it was so hot.

After breakfast we headed over to the Manama Souq, Bab Al-Bahrain for a little shopping and site seeing. We both bought (among other fantastic items) a new abaya and hijab to get ready for our visit to Al-Fateh Mosque (also known as Al-Fateh Islamic Center & Al Fateh Grand Mosque).

Fabrics in the souq.

Riding in the elevator inside our favorite store, Asla Carpet and Antiques.

Khan helped us select silk spreads (for tables or beds). They are beautiful.

Finally we arrived at the Al-Fateh Mosque, one the largest mosques in the world. The tour was very interesting and the mosque was beautiful. I learned many new facts about the Muslim faith including the ablution and prayer rituals. Ablution Ritual and Prayer Ritual.

Getting ready to go inside the mosque in our new dresses.

The Al-Fateh Mosque

Inside the main rotunda.

ML could have passed for a native Arab. I just don't have the eyebrows for it - not to mention my blonde highlights. We are standing in front of the alcove where prayers are recited.

This is the alcove that faces Mecca. The acoustics are amazing throughout the room.

The dome is held up by four columns.

After we finished our tour, we traveled back to Seef Mall to a restaurant named Cafe Lilou’s for a light lunch. Lilou’s menu was amazing and we ate much more than we intended.

We sat in the patio area at LiLou's and it was lovely.

When we arrived back at the flat, ML announced she was taking a nap. It did not surprise me. She had done so well and tried so hard to not let the 8 hour time difference get in the way of our adventure. It was bound to happen she would need some rest.

After D arrived home later that evening, we headed to our favorite local Thai restaurant, The Hash House in the Adliya district of Manama. It was great as usual and we had to opportunity to show ML the busy “dinner out” scene in Manama. D and ML talked engineering all night. I LOVED IT!!!!