Carrefore

Today I took the compound bus to the Granada Mall. The mall itself is modest in size by Saudi standards. But it has one store that I've been wanting to explore--Carrefore.
Carrefore is like the Wal-Mart of Saudi--food, clothes, toys, camping (yes camping and a good selection) and electronics. Something for everyone.
So today I had three hours to explore. Wow! I loved it. The prices are comparable or cheaper than the US--the only really expensive food was salmon (but the local fish was cheap--with the eyes and everything). I wandered down every aisle--yes every including the makeup aisle (and they have a good selction).
The food! Wow--fresh breads, the pastry chef is an expert and puts HEB to shame, fresh spices, and rows and rows of canned goods, cereals and potatoe chips. In the freezer section there weren't any Lean Cuisine but there were a number of frozen items--vegeable, hot dogs, meatball, chicken--the interesting thing is none of them have microwave directions--it's all put some oil in a pan and re-heat them--but I'm using a microwave. The Saudis seem to love their ice-cream as a good variety was in the freezer section and they must love their french fries--including waffle fries. I saw steak, beef tips, chicken, etc.. More cheese than the US--inlcuding a variety of cream cheeses (some with lime and lemon, etc..) It's a great store.
You can buy your mobile (cell phone in the US) and they have a huge variety from cheap to expensive. They also are very in tune with the flat screen LCD televisions--plenty of those.
I didn't buy that much but what I really wanted to do was to see what Carrefore had--and now I know. So when I finally get to drive I'm going to have a great time spending some money stocking the fridge and freezer and maybe buying some other things for the mansion--I mean house.