I can’t believe it’s already been three weeks since we arrived in Riyadh and Husband started working at the Embassy, located in the ultra-secure expat bubble that's the Diplomatic Quarter. Today’s post is a short one, because this past week I’ve reached new levels of exhaustion. I’m still solely responsible for entertaining both children for most of the day, and as anyone with a toddler and a baby can tell you, it’s hard work! The weather has consistently been incredibly hot, temperatures soaring well over 40 degrees Celsius during the day, so we have been spending most of our time indoors, leaving the house to discover the neighbourhood only in the slightly milder evenings.
We’re still waiting to move into our new home in a compound at the other side of the city, so for the time being we are still in the Embassy’s guest house in the DQ. It’s not only home to a lot of embassies, it also houses a lot of expats and Saudis alike. The best part about this area is that relatively large parts of it are actually safely walkable. There are plenty of small, shaded gardens, spacious parks, even sidewalks, and traffic tends to be a lot calmer than in other parts of Riyadh.
Oud Square
This spacious square between Circles 4 and 5 is where the DQ really comes to life in the evenings, and like most of the DQ, Oud Square is adorned with public art everywhere you look.
It’s also home to an array of lovely coffee shops and luxurious restaurants with welcoming interiors and beautifully decorated, maximalist exteriors. My personal favourite is Crazy Pizza - they are an international chain with outposts in London, Doha and Monte Carlo, among others, serving the most amazing thin crust pizzas.
Toddler loves to run around the spacious square while I grab a tea or cheeky ice cream sandwich, play around the fountain, or walk into the nearby Marriott Executive Apartments’ lush courtyard to catch stray tennis balls around the courts, wander around and have a look at the artificial waterfall, or rudely stare at the people using the gym until one of us manages to drag him away.
Rock Park
The Rock Park near Cicle 5 is home to the largest playground we found so far. It’s a lovely trail of beautifully arranged rock formations, fountains and palm trees, as well as a number of sports courts.
The playground is located by the iconic water towers. Unfortunately I have so far not managed to capture a decent photo of it, but you have to believe me until I do. It has a number of slides, challenging climbing frames and fun swings. The 2 year old can navigate most structures safely and mostly independently. The place really gets buzzing with families and children accompanied by their nannies after dusk.
Tuwaiq Palace
We only recently discovered Tuwaiq Palace, which is an events space in the DQ. The handful of times we visited it was empty, so we were free to discover and wonder around. It’s adorned with palm trees and in the middle there’s a lovely shaded fountain where my toddler loves to splash about.
Walking up to the top of the structure, one can see the city laid out, and at sunset it provides magnificent views. Bonus points for accessibility – it's easy to go up the spiral pathways with a buggy. We have briefly looked around inside and it's a really spacious building filled with light and a unique atmosphere. There’s even an indoor fountain toddler really appreciated and wanted to splash into.
+1: There is an English-language book club that meets monthly. The next meeting is Thursday, so I haven’t been able to met with the members yet, or finish this month's read, but I’m very excited to join!
As the weather cools down during the coming weeks and we approach Winter, I’m certain we will have better opportunities to discover more of this lively area as well as the rest of Riyadh. I may even get the toddler to start rating the fountains we see and the playgrounds we try, so keep checking back for part II.
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