Shopping and Pizza

Arusha is the third-biggest city in Tanzania, and thus has plenty of stores and restaurants with things we can't get in Monduli.  Really, only the basics of most things are available in Monduli, so there are frequent trips into Arusha not only by we Americans but also by many of the local Tanzanians to run all sorts of errands and find various items.

There's a big new supermarket, Shoppers, that we often stop at.   There's a cafe in the back with good food and free Wi-Fi and a play place for children, and in a strip mall beside it there are several restaurants that, while I haven't had the chance to try them myself yet, the others say are pretty good.  One is a Mexican restaurant; I've been told not to get my hopes up as far as authenticity but is pretty good if you like meat on something between a tortilla and flatbread without expecting it to be particularly Mexican in flavor.  

In the grocery store parking lot...notice Mt Meru behind the bus!

Shoppers has a pretty good selection of food; I can get peanut butter, nutella, Mars bars, butter, canned goods, good bread, crackers, etc, and a pretty good variety of housewares there. Though, it does also have a few interesting items: I've never seen mac and cheese in a can.  I think I'll pass.  It's a bit of a hobby of mine to visit grocery stores wherever I live or travel, though; there's always something interesting or that gives a bit of insight into the local culture.  For example, Italians generally buy their baked goods rather than baking themselves.  Once fairly early on in the time I lived there I was looking for sugar at the grocery store, but it was nowhere to be found on the aisle with the flour.  Turns out they don't automatically associate it with flour (which is used for making pasta); the sugar was by the coffee.  And then I was at Kroger's in Nashville and found fishless tuna.  I'm really not sure I want to know what was in that can.  

While we were in town, we also stopped at Bravo Pizza.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was and the options they had; it's more traditional Italian style than American, so each person generally orders their own small pizza.  I had half veggie and have "Chicken Bravo", which had chicken, mushrooms, and onions.  Both were delicious.  Unfortunately, the restaurant is in a neighborhood on the opposite side of Arusha from us, so we likely won't get over there too often.  We were there today because the Shorts needed to drop off one of their cars at a mechanic near there who had been recommended by a friend.

The outdoor seating area at Bravo.  The weather was perfect for sitting outside in the late afternoon.

Mt Kilimanjaro is everywhere! :)

My pizza.  Looking at the picture is making me hungry.