Hmmm...I guess it has been several months since I have posted about our trip to Ethiopia. My goal has always been to finish blogging about our trip within 1 year of being home - and time is running out much quicker than anticipated! Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to reminisce about the hotel and guesthouse that we lived in for the month that we were in Ethiopia.
Our agency typically requests that you stay at their guesthouse of choice, TDS Guesthouse, while in Addis Ababa in order to make it easier for their in-country staff (there are so many little appointments to go to, it's just easier if all of the families are in one place so they don't have to drive all over the city picking up everyone). Unfortunately, upon first arriving in Addis the Guesthouse was full, so we had to stay at the (very) nearby TDS Hotel for the first 3 days of our trip. While the rooms in the Hotel are much bigger than the Guesthouse, it costs more money per night and there is no common living area to hangout in like there is in the Guesthouse. Also, whereas the Guesthouse is tucked away a bit from the busy streets of Addis, the Hotel is right in the thick of things. Here are some pictures of the road that the Hotel was on:
And here are some pictures of our Hotel room (check out the loads and loads of luggage!)
Luckily, the day after we took custody of Truman a room opened up at the Guesthouse (which is just a 3 minute walk from the Hotel). And because we were going to be staying for an extended time, our in-country rep was able to get us a "good deal" on the room. While our room was not big by any stretch of the imagination, we were actually quite comfortable during our stay. The Guesthouse was very beautiful from the outside, and the staff within were incredibly sweet and accommodating. As for the tiny room, we were so focused on bonding with Truman that for the most part we didn't really think about it. Our days were spent either sitting on the bed (there were no couches in the room - just a bed, a desk, a dresser, and two chairs) cuddling with Truman, walking around the city with Truman strapped to us in his Ergo or sling, or hanging around the Guesthouse area with other adoptive families. Here's a short picture montage of different areas of the Guesthouse!
Our Guesthouse from the small access road that led to it:
The outside of the Guesthouse, including the small patio area where we hung out whenever it wasn't raining (which wasn't that often, since we were in Ethiopia during rainy season):
The downstairs living area, including a living room, kitchen, and dining room:
Our bed (everytime they changed our sheets - which was typically every other day - we were given sheets and blankets with different designs - it became a running joke to wonder which sheets we would end up with that day!)
Truman's crib (a very old pack and play):
Baby Truman sleeping in his crib:
Our bathroom:
Our luggage nook:
The view from our balcony:
