It is Sunday. You and the family wish to dine out somewhere affordable. You have toddlers in toe. Besides traditional food, you also hanker for something continental. You will be surprised how many eating places in town never open on Sundays so what about out of town? Not too many places come to mind. But, Edma Country Club situated in Kiteezi off the Gayaza Road comes to mind and is a sparkling gem of a place in the boondocks. The road was widened and fully rehabilitated allowing for easy access.
Seven years ago saw the advent of this novel establishment in Kiteezi with Edward and Mary creating a place that would appeal to people in the area of Gayaza, Kawempe, and Kyebando. Mary along with daughter Naomi, who is an ophthalmologist and much to their credit, are doing an excellent job in running the business. One of the bigger challenges of having such a place is being able to cater for the a la carte diner who drops by during the week when they are not so busy. From what I understand, you can be assured of more than just mchomo.
Sundays are predictably a buffet affair and depending on the mood of the chef, a soup for a starter could well be the case, or a salad or two before the main event. Here, matooke is a must and we have never been let down. This would be accompanied by a form of rice such as red rice, or rice and peas or stir fried. On this occasion, chef’s choice was steamed rice and always irish potatoes. These could be potato Lyonnaise or has brown or the very popular parsley potatoes. Yams, pumpkins, sweet potatoes or cassava are also a possibility.
Menu and service
In terms of sauces we had groundnut sauce with mushrooms and wonderfully tender and cooked smoked boiled beef stew along with grilled chicken parts. Vegetables comprised a medley of seasonal steamed veggies; carrots, French beans, cauliflower drizzled with butter.
The dessert was a slice of pound cake or a small fruit platter and for Shs24,000 this was entirely par for the course. All things being equal and the weather permitting, the outdoor setting is our favourite seating area and affords maximum privacy. Also a fenced play area for children. Cleanliness is paramount and the service friendly.
If you go…
The place: Edma Country Club
Rating: Not to be missed
Address: Kiteezi, off Gayaza Road
The space: Outdoors and spacious with neat lawns and an indoor restaurant
The crowd: Mostly old school
The bar: Cold beer, juice, wine, soda and mineral water
Recommended dishes: The buffet (Sunday’s and public holidays) is sumptuous and tremendous variety
The damage: The buffet is a very reasonable Shs 20,000
Sound level: Excellent
Parking: Available and secure
Daily specials: Ask the waiter
If you go: Open everyday offering an a la carte menu. Sunday buffet and a barbeque in the evening.
Add Martinique to the list of destinations that you can reach via a Disney ship.
Disney today announced that it'll offer its first regular sailings to the Caribbean island in early 2016 out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The new seven-night Southern Caribbean voyages also will include stops in Barbados, Grenada, Antigua and St. Kitts. The sailings will take place on the 1,750-passenger Disney Magic with four departures in 2016 scheduled for Jan. 10, 17, 24 and 31.
A Disney ship has called at Martinique only once before during a special holiday sailing in 2010.
Bookings for the new Southern Caribbean itinerary open on Oct. 30 with fares starting at $980 per person, based on double occupancy and not including taxes, fees and port expenses.
Disney today also announced a new seven-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary out of Port Canaveral for 2016 that will include a call at Tortola as well as St. Thomas and Disney's private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay.
The sailings will take place on both the Disney Fantasy and the Disney Magic with 11 departure dates from January through April 2016. Fares start at $1,120 per person, based on double occupancy.
Just how much pampering is there on a luxury cruise ship? Now you can see for yourself right here at USA TODAY's Cruise Hub.
Part 5 of our six-part video series on the recently revamped Seven Seas Mariner, in the carousel above, offers an insider's look at the wide range of indulgences available to passengers on the vessel, from hot stone massages to elegant wine tastings.
USA TODAY Travel received special access last month to all-suite, all-balcony ship, which is operated by Regent Seven Seas Cruises and emerged from a major makeover in April.
PHOTO TOUR: The luxury of the revamped Seven Seas Mariner
We'll be posting the final installment of the series here at USA TODAY's Cruise Hub on Wednesday. Part 1 of the series, which offers an overview of the Seven Seas Mariner's recent makeover, is located HERE. Part 2, 3 and 4 of the series, which focus on the ship's dining, entertainment and all-suite accommodations, respectively, are HERE,HERE and HERE.
For a deck-by-deck look at the revamped spaces on Seven Seas Mariner, don't miss our new, comprehensive Cruise Ship Tour of the vessel in the carousel below.
Travel is like an excellent book. It gives you a fresh perspective on reality, refreshes your soul, gives you a sense of being in touch with yourself again and leaves you with a feeling of catharsis.
Your passions and aspirations start regenerating and you are left wondering why you do not do this more often. More than anything else, travel tends to offer a powerful spiritual experience, like the day you first believed. And like in the case of a good book, you never forget a single detail of a good trip.
Memorable experiences
You never forget the morning you travelled to Matemwe beach on the northern shores of Zanzibar, where you watched in awe, village women seated in those shallow salty waters of the Indian Ocean, farming seaweed or the dhow race that took place later that day.
You never forget your first experience on a German autobahn, a speedway with no speed limit, when you rode a motorcycle from Hamburg to Frankfurt and back. Sheer adrenaline. It is this newness you encounter so far away from home that truly brings you so close to home. It captures your imagination and quenches your natural thirst for adventure.
The allure of the forest
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is one such place. It is one of the most prized tourist destinations in Uganda. The high-altitude rain forest is home to the largest population of mountain gorillas in the world, at over 400 of these endangered giant primates.
The forest has an aura like no other. It is cold and dark, (the word Bwindi means darkness), yet these very gloomy qualities make it exceptionally inviting. The intensity of the smells from the forest, a mixture of moth, mushroom, aging tree bark and all sorts of herbs are all soothing to the soul.
The air is so thin, your lungs skip a beat. Because of the high-altitude, you get the sense that you are approaching the cusp of the unknown. Your city-dwelling body is not used to this alien environment. It is glorious.
The slow, two-hour climb into the National Park from Kabale Town is a separate thrill on its own. The drive up the forested ranges is punctuated by the constant popping of your ears as you go higher and higher into the ranges.
The ferns and the bamboo reeds and the general shrubbery on the forest floor are as menacing and mysterious as the giant trees that have never seen an axe since the creation story.
Credit: Daily Monitor