A Look Around Town...

So if you were to get in the car with us on a Saturday, here's some of the places we might go...

This is the A&C Shopping Mall, about 1/4 mile from our house. It's a wonder here- easily the largest one- stop shopping place in Ghana, and the President of Ghana actually came to dedicate it last fall. They had a big Invitation Only party in the parking lot to celebrate. We weren't invited, so we just wandered over and circumnavigated the whole place, gawking. ;-)







It has a little of everything- groceries, housewares, clothes, books, toys, a dentist, a hairdresser (if you have African hair), an ice cream shop, liquor store, bank, two restaurants, a Forex (money exchange), and a flower shop.

Cooper's skateboard/inline skate half pipe is in the back of the parking lot and there is a small playground in front of that.








This is Oxford Street in Osu. If you are looking for Obronis- this is the spot to find them. There are a lot of African crafts and souvenirs for sale along here, quite a few Obroni-type restaurants (not spicy, serving drinks with ice, sandwiches, pizza, etc.), and hundreds of little stores selling everything from cell phones to refrigerators to computer supplies.


Frankie's is a hotel and restaurant that serves really good sandwiches and has a second story view of Oxford St. while you eat. We like to eat there and watch both the passing parade and the shell shocked tourists 'fresh off the boat' who stumble in looking for familiar food. :-)



Our favorite (and only) Smoothie store is just around the corner from Frankie's. They have the BEST smoothies- made with mangoes and peaches and all sorts of good fruit, easily as good as Jamba Juice, but for about $2.50.



We were sitting on their patio under an umbrella watching these kids play soccer on a tilted parking lot. They frequently lost their ball on the slope down to Oxford Street, but it didn't dampen their enthusiasm.



If you are a police officer in Accra, you qualify for Police Housing.



This is a close-up of one building- each door is a single unit- you may live there with your whole family. If you are killed on the job or fired, your family has a week to vacate the premises. But it's a sweet deal for the average Ghanaian. Utilities are paid and you live rent free as long as you are employed.



In this second shot, you can see how deep the buildings are (or aren't). Not a lot of space, but safe, dry, and free of cost to their occupants.

This billboard is on the same street as the Police Housing. They are pretty common- I don't know if they are effective.