A Tippling Afternoon Tea

Yesterday us girls spent the afternoon in company of the White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts, at an 'Alice in Wonderland'-themed Afternoon Tea Party for Linnea. As rules still are max 4 people at a table, she invited three friends along.

The venue was at the Stratos restaurant, the only revolving restaurant in Abu Dhabi, on the 26th floor of the Royal Meridien Hotel in town. Since we were there for nearly three hours we got the full 360 degree view a few times over, really cool, although I actually experienced a bit of motion sickness even though it rotated super slowly.

 
The Afternoon Tea set up was with both savoury and sweet. It started with savoury eclairs (surprisingly tasty combo) and scones, together with tea-based mocktails which were theatrically mixed at the table to everyones amusement. They had funny names like "Chilly Mimsy", "The Jabberworky Frabjous" and "The Hatter Mad", and tasted fruity and refreshing.

 

My friend Susanne and I stayed on as well, but we sat on the other side of the revolving restaurant so that the girls would have some privacy.

Linnea opened presents:

And got a sing-song birthday congratulation performance with her sweet desserts:

 

We all really enjoyed the food and the view, and tried as many of the mocktails as we could! They were all really delicious. This was the coolest presented mocktail, with dry ice all over!

 

 

  A very happy birthday girl in the afternoon sun!

Refreshed

As part of her birthday gifts, Linnea also got a visit to my hairdresser. We did the same thing last year and she enjoyed it so much, she had wished for it again. This time she wanted to go even darker with her colour.

Here is before:

During:

And the finished result!

She was extremely pleased, she bounced out of the hairdresser! So pretty!

Our baby is 15

Yesterday was Linnea's birthday - FIFTEEN! Can't believe it, where has our baby gone?!

Corona or not, it can't disturb our birthday morning routine - getting woken up by singing, balloons and birthday gifts!

Linnea had prepared a wish list, but she hadn't wished for much. The older the kids get, the smaller the amount of presents. She got some baking accessories, LED-lights to put on her bedhead, books, and some money for her gaming. She also got some little earrings to put in the extra hole she had made in the summer, a gift from Mormor and Morfar; and more cash from the family in NZ.

Since it is school holidays, we had time to set a nice birthday table and all enjoy a big breakfast together in the morning.

We had cake, of course:

In the evening we went out for dinner at one of the restaurants at the Marriott Al Forsan which we hadn't been to before, The Grill. We sat outside which was beautiful, and the meal was really lovely too.

Although I decided against steak and instead I had a beautiful tuna steak, oh my, so good!

And of course we had to share a dessert even though we had already had cake - just so Linnea could blow out another candle! That's what birthdays are for after all!

Happy Birthday dear Linnea! What a great birthday dinner!

Saadyiat staycation

The kids are off school this week for midterm holidays. Normally we actually don't travel these holidays really but still this year they come with a new feeling of "stuck". There is no point traveling overseas because the 14 days quarantine rules are still in place; and there is no point even going to Dubai because then we will all have to take TWO Covid-tests to come back. It's a strange feeling of being "trapped".

We haven't had a family time together at all this year. The two weeks we should've been to NZ in March obviously didn't happen and Nathan's leave was spent here, at home, in lockdown. The time we should've had in Sweden and Denmark together in the summer didn't happen either, even though Nathan had the perfect leave. He had to spend it here, at home, by himself...

Also since school started we have had trouble finding time together as a family, as Nathans schedule hasn't really given him any time off during the weekends lately. So it was really about time now during the school holidays to plan something for Nathans off-days - a staycation!
We opted to go just 20 minutes up the road to Saadyiat Island, and the luxurious Park Hyatt hotel. Checked in early and got two beautiful rooms with sea view, just look at this, no more 50 shades of beige!

 

 

 

We spent the afternoon by the pool, taking an occasional walk down the beach to feel the sea and swim in the waves.

 

 

 

 

Yeah, it wasn't too much hard work...

 

 

 

Due to the COVID-restrictions and tourists not allowed in the emirate, it wasn't crowded. Also the whole hotel was marked up for social distancing, and there was sanitizing booths everywhere, so you felt really safe and comfortable.

 

 

 

Sundowners on the balcony:

 

 

Then we got ready to get out for dinner down at the Beach House restaurant. Took no pictures there believe it or not, so all I got is the pre-dinner mirror selfie!

Next day, we did it all again! Beach, pool, yummy food, swim, relax... aaahhh! It's amazing how just a few days of change of scenery can be so refreshing.

My family! Thank you for a lovely staycation!