A Trip to Beverly HIlls

A good friend of ours is supervising the interior construction of a new home for his daughter.  We went along with him to watch the progress of this project and perhaps compare it to our own recent remodeling project in the US.

The new villa is located in a "gated community" northwest of our part of the city.  The development is known as Beverly Hills.


Most of the homes we saw are two or three bedroom units in the range of 2000 to 2500 square feet.  Others nearby range up to 5000 square feet and beyond.  Our friend's daughter's unit is part of a four-plex configuration and is located on a quiet residential street with off-street  parking in the back for the residents.  This stands in quiet contrast to our high-rise location near the always busy Ring Road.  I doubt there will ever be donkey carts dispensing propane tanks or junk men soliciting cast-offs on this street.


Interiors in these building are constructed in much the same fashion as I have described previously.  Wall are brick with a stucco-like covering.  The wiring and plumbing are put in place before the stucco is applied.  A pile of sand lies in each room ready to be mixed with the cement and applied.


The latest in indirect lighting from a modern tray-ceiling is being installed in many rooms, fashioned from gypsum-board just as back home.  The wood floors will be laid over a thick sub-floor tile system.



There is a chance that we will see something close to the finished product before we leave in another six weeks.


After the construction tour, we headed for lunch.  Linda and I have been hoping to find a restaurant serving a good shawerma plate such as we find back home at Gyropolis in Bloomington.  Our friend had heard good reports about one place located at a nearby mall.

We arrived at the Americana Plaza to find a pleasant assortment of familiar brand names from Baskin Robbins and Dunkin' Donuts to TGIFriday's.  I thought there might be a Waffle House nearby but I was just noticing the aroma drifting by from a small waffle stand.


There is both an IMAX theater and a 14-screen cineplex in the plaza, so we walked over to see what films were playing.  You would probably recognize most of the half that had English titles.  It appears that many were eagerly awaiting Black Panther here, just as at home.  I was surprised to see that the latest "Fifty Shades" film was also playing here.






We found the Shawarmaji & Grill and had a very tasty lunch.  The shawerma plates are priced at well under four dollars. We had a choice of beef, chicken or a combination.  I had the combo plate. Gyropolis is still the winner in flavor, but Shawarmaji gets the nod on value.