Abuja!

 

Had to travel back to Abuja again for 3 days to celebrate International Volunteer Day and for the Annual VSO Volunteer Forum. Thankfully this time I had the company of the lovely Michael, my fellow VSO volunteer in Calabar, who made the 13 hour bumpy journey much more bearable! I'm not sure he was too pleased when I kept beating him at all the card games though!

 

 

 

Day one of the conference finished early, so I managed to escape (well snuck out) to chill out in Millenium Park - was so green and quiet considering we were in the middle of Abuja! Really enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I finally saw the signs that it was Christmas - it just feels off here that its warm! Can't believe my birthday is next week!! Also treated ourselves to very expensive Pizza at Dunes - after several days of snacky food a girl deserves a treat :-) Made sure we made the most of their air-con and nice bathrooms too! Stared at the cheese counter as well, can't believe how much I miss milk and cheese......

Abuja is not an easy town to get around by foot, so thanks to my lovely friend Vince, we had an escorted driven tour around Abuja and its sights. It began with a trip to Shoprite - a South African supermarket chain who now have several branches in Nigeria. It was so amazing, like being back home, there was so much choice I found it difficult to choose what I wanted!! I never imagined being overwhelmed in a supermarket! But I did purchase a nice bottle of wine, some salt and vinegar crisps and ate chocolate ice cream!

Church and Mosque in Abuja - my two favourite buildings!

 

 

The football stadium and their own 'dome' 

 

Abuja city itself and their 'twin towers' being constructed