Christmas and New Year

Hello everyone! Christmas has come and gone and felt like a moment instead of a day. Harvey and I spent Christmas at his sisters surrounded by family, food, and drinks. We headed back to our apartment on boxing day (day after Christmas) and quickly got ready for our trip to Abu Dhabi.

We headed to London around 8:30 the night of the 29^th and stayed at the Ibis. Our flight for Abu Dhabi was scheduled to leave at 8 am on the 30^th so we left the hotel at 5am that morning. We flew Qatar airways and arrived in Abu Dhabi exhausted at 11pm that night.  Since the 31^st was the first day we spent in Abu Dhabi, we needed to go to the British Club and become members for the New Year’s party that night. Harvey’s Dad Gerry and his wife Karen have lived in Abu Dhabi for 4 or 5 years. Their favorite hangout spot in Abu Dhabi is the British Club. You are not allowed to drink publicly in Abu Dhabi and you have to have a license to drink in your own home here. There is absolutely zero tolerance to drunk driving. Most of the places you are allowed to drink are hotels that have licenses. They will have restaurants and bars. The British club is a safe place to drink, wear a bikini, and let your hair down. We got our memberships that afternoon and came back to Gerry’s and Karen’s home to start getting ready for the party.

The New Year’s party started at 8 and ended at 4 in the morning. I was apprehensive about this because staying up until 4am drinking and eating sounds appealing, but for me, is not an easy task. The dress code was fancy, with many women in ball gowns and men in suits. We arrived at the club around 8 and were welcomed into a champagne reception. The view at the club is beautiful. It has its own part of the beach and has a view of the skyline. We settled in to eat at 9pm. There were approximately 500 people at the New year’s party, but they had food to feed a thousand. There was a starter buffet which had pate’, shrimp, an assortment of cheese, smoked salmon, oysters, etc. I tried my first oyster and was pleasantly surprised. It was tasty! The main buffet was lamb, the best prime rib Harvey had ever tasted, the best turkey I had ever tasted, and cooked salmon. There were more choices of vegetables than I could imagine to eat. The picture below was of the dessert table. I mean, seriously? Delicious!!

 

We drank and ate and 12pm came unbelievably fast. We rang in the New Year with cheek kisses and a firework show. We danced the night away until 3am when we were served a hearty breakfast. We left the party at 4amtired but satisfied. It was the best “New Year” I have ever had.