We decided to take a trip out from our domestic idyll in Moncrabeau and head as far south west as we could go without ending up in Spain. It’s tricky finding places open at this time of year and the hotel we’d picked closed their restaurant on Friday and Saturday night (strange nights to choose even at this time of year) but they offered us the weekend special for Sunday and Monday night instead.
We drove south in pouring rain and went through Pau but on a cold and wet Sunday it didn’t look very inviting so we pressed on. The Hotel Alysson promised stunning views of the Pyrenees but apart from a brooding presence somewhere in the low cloud it was impossible to see anything. Oleron was a pretty town with a huge river running through it though the hotel was in a more suburban area, next to a large leisure centre and close to the main A road to Saragossa in Spain. It was very comfortable and lovely and warm and J was able to watch his favourite French TV programmes which he can’t get in Moncrabeau where we have English TV. He likes his fix of ‘Les Chiffres et les lettres’ and ‘Question pour un champion’. There seemed to be just one other guest and only a couple of diners in the restaurant.
We had a lovely dinner. The house cocktail of Jurancon wine, a local spirit and champagne was much nicer than it sounds and made a good start for at tiny turnip soup, crab and salmon salad, duck, cheese and a delicious apple pudding. Hare featured largely on the menu but we managed to avoid it! Monday we went a la carte where I had a near miss with some rather lightly cooked pigeon (been there before) and John had béarnaise sauce with h is beef since this part of the world is the Bearn, something I didn’t know but must come in handy for future quiz questions.
On Monday we were able to see the mountains, with quite a fair covering of snow as they ducked in and out of the clouds. We drove through the beautiful countryside, dotted with chalet style houses with dark red half timbered roofs, raging torrents of rivers, warnings about ‘troupeaux’ of sheep on the road and pretty villages. The rain let up to allow us to have a good walk around the medieval hill town of Sauveterre, admire the Pont des Legends and the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. We headed across the hills to St Jean de Luz, a very picturesque town with a beautiful golden beach though the sea was more great than blue. Another fabulous part of France, no doubt even lovelier in better weather though I think it’s frequently wet and windy. The sky looked much the same in November as it did in Biarritz in August a couple of years ago.
On Tuesday it was raining quite hard though again we got a pretty good view of the mountains as we headed back. By the time we got back to Moncrabeau it was a glorious sunny day though very cold. We’d enjoyed our little break within a break but it was also nice to come ‘home’ and get the fires lit and bunker down. The mouse made another appearance whilst I was cooking supper – clearly hopeful that now we were back there might be some richer pickings and I had another brush with nature when I went to put the rubbish outside away from the mouse and stepped on frog loitering on the back door step. Luckily for the frog I was wearing slippers so it just moaned at me before wandering off!
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Friday, 19 November 2010
Still walking on the wild side in France
I am conscious that reading about our ‘adventures’ in rural France might be a bit too much like watching paint dry but we are certainly enjoying ourselves! We did have a frisson of excitement this week when a mouse ran out of the kitchen bin which is not something which happens in Manchester! We are due to put mouse poison down when we leave but I am a bit loath to do it whilst we’re here as at least live mice can run away. I suggested to J that we try to get a humane trap and then take the mice somewhere further away in the car. He was sure that the French would die laughing if we tried to ask for such a thing so I’ve just blocked up all visible holes with paint tins and put the bin out every night!
Lighting the fires is J’s daily task and it can take some time, especially the one in the front room which is rather large and draughty. The wood is quite wet as we’ve had a lot of rain especially at night so even when lit they require constant vigilance in case they go out. Sometimes we get the most amazing sunny days but it is getting progressively colder and there is certainly plenty of rain. This is bringing on the winter wheat beautifully though so the fields are already starting to look pretty green.
I run every morning so my fitness levels are improving and I’m developing some good circuits of between 4 and 6 miles. The residents are getting to recognise this mad English woman in a pink woolly hat, which for some reason has little silver sequins on it though there is not way in which it could be described as glamorous! This morning I saw 3 little deer running through the fields who eyed me warily – no gun but a sparkly pink hat, before rushing off across the road.
Yesterday we went into Condom which is a really pretty little town and clearly quite affluent judging by the number of bijou shops and delicatessens. Everywhere is making a great fuss of the Beaujolais Nouveau with special evenings and tastings which I though was a peculiarly British thing but clearly not. We have bought a bottle to try as well as some Mure fortified with local Armagnac which sounds delicious.
I’ve been taking the time to do some research and planning for our big trip starting on 6th January. The round the world flight tickets are bought and paid for and all the individual flights booked but now we have to find the hotel accommodation and pre plan any activities. I downloaded the relevant sections on South America from Lonely Planet to help with the research and have been constantly on the email to Debbie at Trailfinders in Manchester who booked the flights and has been incredibly helpful and knowledgeable all along. We head to Rio on January 6th for 6 nights before spending 2 nights at Iguacu Falls on the Brazil/Argentine border and then on to Buenos Aires for 13 nights and 5 nights in Santiago. I’m a bit nervous about South America so I’m taking my time to ensure we get the best places without blowing the budget – though I did draw the line at one place in Santiago where 5 nights was coming in at £72, not sure what kind of place that was! We’ve booked the hotels in Tahiti and Bora Bora, where we head to after Santiago, since accommodation is in demand so at least I can relax on that score.
It all seems a world away from this quiet corner of the world where absolutely everything stops for lunch and it’s best if you don’t run out of firelighters on a Saturday afternoon as it may be Tuesday before the relevant shop is open!
Lighting the fires is J’s daily task and it can take some time, especially the one in the front room which is rather large and draughty. The wood is quite wet as we’ve had a lot of rain especially at night so even when lit they require constant vigilance in case they go out. Sometimes we get the most amazing sunny days but it is getting progressively colder and there is certainly plenty of rain. This is bringing on the winter wheat beautifully though so the fields are already starting to look pretty green.
I run every morning so my fitness levels are improving and I’m developing some good circuits of between 4 and 6 miles. The residents are getting to recognise this mad English woman in a pink woolly hat, which for some reason has little silver sequins on it though there is not way in which it could be described as glamorous! This morning I saw 3 little deer running through the fields who eyed me warily – no gun but a sparkly pink hat, before rushing off across the road.
Yesterday we went into Condom which is a really pretty little town and clearly quite affluent judging by the number of bijou shops and delicatessens. Everywhere is making a great fuss of the Beaujolais Nouveau with special evenings and tastings which I though was a peculiarly British thing but clearly not. We have bought a bottle to try as well as some Mure fortified with local Armagnac which sounds delicious.
I’ve been taking the time to do some research and planning for our big trip starting on 6th January. The round the world flight tickets are bought and paid for and all the individual flights booked but now we have to find the hotel accommodation and pre plan any activities. I downloaded the relevant sections on South America from Lonely Planet to help with the research and have been constantly on the email to Debbie at Trailfinders in Manchester who booked the flights and has been incredibly helpful and knowledgeable all along. We head to Rio on January 6th for 6 nights before spending 2 nights at Iguacu Falls on the Brazil/Argentine border and then on to Buenos Aires for 13 nights and 5 nights in Santiago. I’m a bit nervous about South America so I’m taking my time to ensure we get the best places without blowing the budget – though I did draw the line at one place in Santiago where 5 nights was coming in at £72, not sure what kind of place that was! We’ve booked the hotels in Tahiti and Bora Bora, where we head to after Santiago, since accommodation is in demand so at least I can relax on that score.
It all seems a world away from this quiet corner of the world where absolutely everything stops for lunch and it’s best if you don’t run out of firelighters on a Saturday afternoon as it may be Tuesday before the relevant shop is open!
Monday, 15 November 2010
Pictures from Abu Dhabi
Enjoying our holiday with Rachel, Andrew, Ellie and Alastair in Abu Dhabi, which is particularly lovely in October - blue sky and sea and lots of warm sunshine. We took advantage with some sightseeing, brunch on the Shuja Yacht and lots of time at the beach club. Not to forget the essential camel ride for Alastair and Rachel whilst the rest of us looked on.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
City folk in rural France
For people who normally live in cities, spending a few weeks in Gascony is quite an adventure and enormous fun. Of course we adore France and this is a particularly lovely corner. Autumn is beautiful with greens, golds, yellows and browns so every little walk or drive involves endless intakes of breath at the sheer beauty of it all whether the sun is shining or not. John has learnt to take control of the wood fires in the stoves and usually manages to get a nice warm glow – though sometimes it takes a few goes and a little help from his human bellows of a wife blowing on the flames!
We stocked up on some very pleasant pink and red wine in 3 litre boxes so we can enjoy a glass with meals and have had a couple of forays to Leader Price to keep the larder full of cheese, rillettes, salad and deserts. The meat is wonderful though terrifically expensive but then the pound/Euro exchange rate is not in our favour at present. It’s fun to cook meals with local ingredients and a the morning trip to the Boulanger in the village for baguettes and pain au raison is a key part of our routine – remembering that she doesn’t open on a Wednesday.
I’ve managed to run every morning in a bid to keep my current wardrobe and not have to buy too many larger sizes and it has been a joy to view the countryside on foot despite creaking knees and laboured breath. There was one day when the rain blew horizontally and it felt painful but it’s been mainly bright, woolly hat weather and the rolling hill country provides enough challenge in my current state of (not very) fitness. I keep getting lost which isn’t great during the hunting season and the fertile loam of the ploughed fields turns trainers into wellingtons very quickly but I’m slowly getting the hang of the geography. It doesn’t help that Moncrabeau church tower has a twin in another village on an identical hill which can be tricky when you’ve been using it as a landmark for a good mile or so!
We cleared all the leaves from inside the pool cover and the terrace and swept the terracotta tiles down so hopefully that will keep the pool cleaner for next summer and we feel great pride when we look at the leaf free, gleaming pool side – though we’ll have to do it all again next time there’s a windy day! It was so sunny yesterday that I actually sat outside by the pool for a good hour – in November, it was heavenly.
We’ve been into Nerac, such a pretty town just 12 km up the road with a very green river running through it (due to the limestone in the soil according to Keith), enjoyed a pleasant lunch and wandered around the market. The mushrooms, vegetables and apples are incredible and we also managed to stumble across a copy of the Radio Times for this week so we can’t be the only people with some access to English telly!
I’ve been able to indulge my washing and ironing hobby as there was quite a lot of laundry to get on top of but I’m winning that battle and can go back to dragging the clothes off John’s back in order to fill the machine very soon!
All in all it’s quite idyllic and having missed autumn last year this double dose is just wonderful.
We stocked up on some very pleasant pink and red wine in 3 litre boxes so we can enjoy a glass with meals and have had a couple of forays to Leader Price to keep the larder full of cheese, rillettes, salad and deserts. The meat is wonderful though terrifically expensive but then the pound/Euro exchange rate is not in our favour at present. It’s fun to cook meals with local ingredients and a the morning trip to the Boulanger in the village for baguettes and pain au raison is a key part of our routine – remembering that she doesn’t open on a Wednesday.
I’ve managed to run every morning in a bid to keep my current wardrobe and not have to buy too many larger sizes and it has been a joy to view the countryside on foot despite creaking knees and laboured breath. There was one day when the rain blew horizontally and it felt painful but it’s been mainly bright, woolly hat weather and the rolling hill country provides enough challenge in my current state of (not very) fitness. I keep getting lost which isn’t great during the hunting season and the fertile loam of the ploughed fields turns trainers into wellingtons very quickly but I’m slowly getting the hang of the geography. It doesn’t help that Moncrabeau church tower has a twin in another village on an identical hill which can be tricky when you’ve been using it as a landmark for a good mile or so!
We cleared all the leaves from inside the pool cover and the terrace and swept the terracotta tiles down so hopefully that will keep the pool cleaner for next summer and we feel great pride when we look at the leaf free, gleaming pool side – though we’ll have to do it all again next time there’s a windy day! It was so sunny yesterday that I actually sat outside by the pool for a good hour – in November, it was heavenly.
We’ve been into Nerac, such a pretty town just 12 km up the road with a very green river running through it (due to the limestone in the soil according to Keith), enjoyed a pleasant lunch and wandered around the market. The mushrooms, vegetables and apples are incredible and we also managed to stumble across a copy of the Radio Times for this week so we can’t be the only people with some access to English telly!
I’ve been able to indulge my washing and ironing hobby as there was quite a lot of laundry to get on top of but I’m winning that battle and can go back to dragging the clothes off John’s back in order to fill the machine very soon!
All in all it’s quite idyllic and having missed autumn last year this double dose is just wonderful.
Chez Guy
We arrived in Moncrabeau near lunchtime in pouring rain and were delighted to see Keith and Liz Guy again and their friend Roz, who had been helping Liz to get things straight again following the installation of their super new kitchen. The first 3 days in our temporary autumn home passed in a gay social whirl as is usually the way chez Guy. Maria and David, who we met in the summer, came for dinner on Sunday – Maria had clearly been warned not to frighten John too much by referring to his likeness to Michael Caine so he was rather more relaxed! Another couple, Tim and Gay, came round on Tuesday – long term friends of Liz’s, they have owned a place here for over 20 years which was how K and L came to fall in love with the place and buy the house on Place du Fort. As ever, Liz managed to dish up delicious meals, for huge numbers of people, without ever getting stressed about it. Roz and I do our best to act as skivvies but it is always Liz who does the lion’s share.
Albi and Charlie, the two dogs, seemed to enjoy this bonus autumn break, alternating between lounging around on everyone’s beds or tearing off for rainy walks or seeing off anyone bold enough to come past their garden.
On Tuesday we took everyone to a Michelin starred restaurant for lunch, as a thank you for letting us loose in their lovely house. It was a fabulous lunch – lobster medallions, perdreau (a young partridge and a new word for my food vocab) and a trio of desserts coupled with a bottle of 2004 St Emilion. The setting, in the medieval ‘Maison du Cordeliers’ was amazing, especially coupled with the modern artwork by local artists on the walls. Liz has exhibited some of her ceramics here and it was a great experience. We met the young and dishy chef and were most surprised to hear that his wife had recently run off with the insurance man – well not run far since they are still living in Condom! However, the stresses and strains of achieving a Michelin star can’t be good for a marriage but is certainly hadn’t affected his cooking.
On Wednesday Keith, Liz, Roz and the two dogs set off for the journey back to the ferry and Medstead, leaving us lords of the manor with lots of instructions which hopefully we will manage to follow – when the dustmen come, how to shut the shutters, where to put the mouse poison when we leave etc! Our first, and most exciting task, was to head for the supermarket, finally able to take full advantage of the wonderful provisions on offer, knowing that I have a kitchen to cook it in.
Albi and Charlie, the two dogs, seemed to enjoy this bonus autumn break, alternating between lounging around on everyone’s beds or tearing off for rainy walks or seeing off anyone bold enough to come past their garden.
On Tuesday we took everyone to a Michelin starred restaurant for lunch, as a thank you for letting us loose in their lovely house. It was a fabulous lunch – lobster medallions, perdreau (a young partridge and a new word for my food vocab) and a trio of desserts coupled with a bottle of 2004 St Emilion. The setting, in the medieval ‘Maison du Cordeliers’ was amazing, especially coupled with the modern artwork by local artists on the walls. Liz has exhibited some of her ceramics here and it was a great experience. We met the young and dishy chef and were most surprised to hear that his wife had recently run off with the insurance man – well not run far since they are still living in Condom! However, the stresses and strains of achieving a Michelin star can’t be good for a marriage but is certainly hadn’t affected his cooking.
On Wednesday Keith, Liz, Roz and the two dogs set off for the journey back to the ferry and Medstead, leaving us lords of the manor with lots of instructions which hopefully we will manage to follow – when the dustmen come, how to shut the shutters, where to put the mouse poison when we leave etc! Our first, and most exciting task, was to head for the supermarket, finally able to take full advantage of the wonderful provisions on offer, knowing that I have a kitchen to cook it in.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Back to France
After a pleasant last couple of days in Abu Dhabi, where we stayed with our friends and former next door neighbours in the Arab Bank Building, we headed back to Manchester. It was strange being so close to our former home but very nice to stay with Helen and John. We enjoyed another day at the beach club and some convivial evenings. Back at the airport we had the opposite experience trying to get an upgrade – a good example of the difference between Arabic and British customer service! In the UK we’d been told ‘no’ up front though somehow they did find a seat for us. In Abu Dhabi we were told that an upgrade using our points should be fine, until the seats were suddenly unavailable and we had to stick with our economy booking! I met 3 people I knew from my days working n Abu Dhabi in the lounge which was lovely – I seemed to be forever turning round to hear someone calling my name! Michelle and Phil from Babcock and then Matt from Wordsearch, who hadn’t yet seen the new addition to the Wordsearch family but would do so in a couple of days. The flight itself was fine and we got two seats together and a nice meal, though we were near the back so they’d run out of sandwiches by the time the trolley got to us. It we’re very organized we might get to use our Etihad air miles at some stage. Good news on one front though – Mum and her friend Jo have finally received their refund from Etihad so the face to face approach clearly had some effect.
We hardly had time to draw breath before getting packed up again and heading for France. Just a full day of washing, ironing and tidying up and then we were on our way to Leysdown where we spent the night with John’s mum before getting the tunnel early on Friday morning. It was very exciting to be crossing the channel again at this time of year, though the weather on the other side of the channel was not very welcoming with rain and low cloud.
With the help of the trusty orange ‘hotels et chateaux’ guide book we hit on a ‘restaurant with rooms’ in central Le Mans for our Friday night stopover. The room was spacious and pleasant, overlooking the main square and a short walk from the pedestrian shopping streets. A modern bathroom had been tucked in though you needed to be fairly small to fit down the narrow corridor to the loo! Promised parking failed to materialise so once we’d unloaded on the cobbled space by the cathedral we took the car to the underground car park. However, the delicious supper was a real treat as well as the fresh cakes and pastries for breakfast.
After a wander around Le Mans to buy some champagne to take to Liz and Keith’s we hit the road again. For Saturday night we’d picked a place just outside Bordeaux so that we could break the journey and end up not too far from Moncrabeau. The trees in their autumn colours were simply amazing. Even in the rain and under grey skies the golds, yellows and greens were just beautiful. Having missed autumn last year I felt that I was being treated to an even more fabulous display this year in order to make up for it.
The Villa D’O, at St Loubes was a real find. Close to St Emilion and surrounded by vineyards, its hilltop location provided 360 degree views of all the different colours that each set of vines was displaying. Converted with modern style and full of fantastic artwork there are just a handful of rooms, we got the last one and had a slate floored bathroom the same size as the bedroom. There was a surprise treat of a huge Jacuzzi and sauna in a converted barn and in the summer the swimming pool terrace must be a real delight. Food came in the form of a set menu, without choices or even explanations, but thoroughly delicious – amuse bouches, crab and avocado salad, cod with wine sauce and spicy rice and a chocolate fondant milk sorbet, absolutely stunning. We’d missed the turning when looking for the hotel and had to turn around in the gateway to a vineyard so we enjoyed a bottle of their wine with our dinner so we knew it was local! All in all what was going to be purely a stopover on the journey down turned into a huge treat.
Sunday morning, after a huge breakfast we set off for Moncrabeau and since we were so close we were able to take our time and have a wander round the familiar entre deux mers countryside. We stopped in Cadillac to buy desert wine and remind ourselves of our summer holiday and this time we actually found Chateau D’Yquem which we’d looked for in vain.
It was so wonderful to be back in this part of the world so soon and, once again we reminded ourselves of what lucky people we are and how privileged to be able to spend so much time in this wonderful country.
We hardly had time to draw breath before getting packed up again and heading for France. Just a full day of washing, ironing and tidying up and then we were on our way to Leysdown where we spent the night with John’s mum before getting the tunnel early on Friday morning. It was very exciting to be crossing the channel again at this time of year, though the weather on the other side of the channel was not very welcoming with rain and low cloud.
With the help of the trusty orange ‘hotels et chateaux’ guide book we hit on a ‘restaurant with rooms’ in central Le Mans for our Friday night stopover. The room was spacious and pleasant, overlooking the main square and a short walk from the pedestrian shopping streets. A modern bathroom had been tucked in though you needed to be fairly small to fit down the narrow corridor to the loo! Promised parking failed to materialise so once we’d unloaded on the cobbled space by the cathedral we took the car to the underground car park. However, the delicious supper was a real treat as well as the fresh cakes and pastries for breakfast.
After a wander around Le Mans to buy some champagne to take to Liz and Keith’s we hit the road again. For Saturday night we’d picked a place just outside Bordeaux so that we could break the journey and end up not too far from Moncrabeau. The trees in their autumn colours were simply amazing. Even in the rain and under grey skies the golds, yellows and greens were just beautiful. Having missed autumn last year I felt that I was being treated to an even more fabulous display this year in order to make up for it.
The Villa D’O, at St Loubes was a real find. Close to St Emilion and surrounded by vineyards, its hilltop location provided 360 degree views of all the different colours that each set of vines was displaying. Converted with modern style and full of fantastic artwork there are just a handful of rooms, we got the last one and had a slate floored bathroom the same size as the bedroom. There was a surprise treat of a huge Jacuzzi and sauna in a converted barn and in the summer the swimming pool terrace must be a real delight. Food came in the form of a set menu, without choices or even explanations, but thoroughly delicious – amuse bouches, crab and avocado salad, cod with wine sauce and spicy rice and a chocolate fondant milk sorbet, absolutely stunning. We’d missed the turning when looking for the hotel and had to turn around in the gateway to a vineyard so we enjoyed a bottle of their wine with our dinner so we knew it was local! All in all what was going to be purely a stopover on the journey down turned into a huge treat.
Sunday morning, after a huge breakfast we set off for Moncrabeau and since we were so close we were able to take our time and have a wander round the familiar entre deux mers countryside. We stopped in Cadillac to buy desert wine and remind ourselves of our summer holiday and this time we actually found Chateau D’Yquem which we’d looked for in vain.
It was so wonderful to be back in this part of the world so soon and, once again we reminded ourselves of what lucky people we are and how privileged to be able to spend so much time in this wonderful country.
Monday, 1 November 2010
More fun in Abu Dhabi
After a salad lunch at our favourite ‘Lips’ cafe in Marina Mall, where were greeted as long lost friends by the waitress and a trip to Carrefours we headed back to the hotel and an evening out at the yacht club with our former neighbours Paddy and Jude. One of the founding fathers of the UAE, Sheikh Faqr from Ras Al Khaimah, died on Wednesday so the flags were lowered to half mast, the radio started playing classical music and the country entered a mourning period with lots of events cancelled, including the long awaited opening of the Ferrari World theme park. He was 90 years old and had been ill for some time but everyone was still very upset. The yacht club were able to open for food and drink but without live music, which suited us old fogey’s just fine! It was also ‘ladies night’ so Jude and I were plied with free bubbly all evening whilst John and Paddy had to buy their own! We had a lovely time and it was great to see them again. Hopefully we’ll be able to stay in touch since they have relatives in the Manchester area.
On Thursday we checked out of the Oryx and headed back to the Hilton where we headed for the beach club before returning to the airport to pick Rachel and co up after their trip to Bani Yas island. Proof of the smallness of Abu Dhabi, we bumped into Jude in the Mall and my friend Liz at the beach club and less happily, the guy who runs the ad agency that I was constantly trying (and failing) to get paid whilst having an ice cream in a cafe. I had to make a speedy exit and hope he didn’t see me since we’d spoken on the phone earlier in the week and I know that he still hasn’t been paid! About the only people we haven’t managed to bump into or get to meet are Katie and Scott from Wordsearch, but since their first son, Oliver, was born on Monday night, that’s hardly surprising!
The Claringbold family seemed to have very much enjoyed the island and had been snorkelling, kayaking done archery and taken a game drive to see giraffes, cheetahs as well as more indigenous UAE species such as oryx. The sea plane sounded wonderful and the hotel itself sublime. We went down to the souq, where we’d dropped off the large piles of laundry and enjoyed dinner at the Meat company, one of John’s haunts from when he was living there. We sat outside overlooking the creek and used three more of our vouchers from the Entertainer book which is always very gratifying. Alastair reckoned his rib meat burger was one of the best he’d ever had though John was less impressed with the ribs themselves.
On Friday we popped over to fetch a key from Helen and John, who’d kindly agreed to let us stay with them for our last two nights before heading over to the Marina to catch the Shuja Yacht for their Friday brunch cruise. It was as much fun as ever – the sea seems much greener that I remember and the weather is just lovely, mid thirties with a light breeze and just the occasional cloud. We all pigged out on the buffet and enjoyed the sparkling beverages whilst admiring the scenery. Alastair has been learning the Arabic numbers and John was testing him on them, he seems to know them all which is better than me. I never got much beyond my car number plate!
The Claringbolds headed for a last afternoon at the beach club before a final buffet supper and then their return to the airport. We were slightly concerned whether the discovery of suspect packages on a cargo flight at Dubai might cause delays but everything seemed to go smoothly. They seemed to enjoy their first experience of Abu Dhabi and the Arabian peninsula.
One of the things that I’ve really noticed this time is how amazing the service is, especially in hotels. Both hotels just couldn’t do enough for you, the Hilton sorted out our complex room requirements brilliantly and looked after us so well. Requests for more coat hangers and a look at a noisy aircon unit were fulfilled immediately and when the bellboy at the Oryx saw that I’d been out to get a paper they brought one up to the room the following morning. It does rather spoil you for other parts of the world where it isn’t quite so good and the staff/guest ratio is probably not so high.
On Thursday we checked out of the Oryx and headed back to the Hilton where we headed for the beach club before returning to the airport to pick Rachel and co up after their trip to Bani Yas island. Proof of the smallness of Abu Dhabi, we bumped into Jude in the Mall and my friend Liz at the beach club and less happily, the guy who runs the ad agency that I was constantly trying (and failing) to get paid whilst having an ice cream in a cafe. I had to make a speedy exit and hope he didn’t see me since we’d spoken on the phone earlier in the week and I know that he still hasn’t been paid! About the only people we haven’t managed to bump into or get to meet are Katie and Scott from Wordsearch, but since their first son, Oliver, was born on Monday night, that’s hardly surprising!
The Claringbold family seemed to have very much enjoyed the island and had been snorkelling, kayaking done archery and taken a game drive to see giraffes, cheetahs as well as more indigenous UAE species such as oryx. The sea plane sounded wonderful and the hotel itself sublime. We went down to the souq, where we’d dropped off the large piles of laundry and enjoyed dinner at the Meat company, one of John’s haunts from when he was living there. We sat outside overlooking the creek and used three more of our vouchers from the Entertainer book which is always very gratifying. Alastair reckoned his rib meat burger was one of the best he’d ever had though John was less impressed with the ribs themselves.
On Friday we popped over to fetch a key from Helen and John, who’d kindly agreed to let us stay with them for our last two nights before heading over to the Marina to catch the Shuja Yacht for their Friday brunch cruise. It was as much fun as ever – the sea seems much greener that I remember and the weather is just lovely, mid thirties with a light breeze and just the occasional cloud. We all pigged out on the buffet and enjoyed the sparkling beverages whilst admiring the scenery. Alastair has been learning the Arabic numbers and John was testing him on them, he seems to know them all which is better than me. I never got much beyond my car number plate!
The Claringbolds headed for a last afternoon at the beach club before a final buffet supper and then their return to the airport. We were slightly concerned whether the discovery of suspect packages on a cargo flight at Dubai might cause delays but everything seemed to go smoothly. They seemed to enjoy their first experience of Abu Dhabi and the Arabian peninsula.
One of the things that I’ve really noticed this time is how amazing the service is, especially in hotels. Both hotels just couldn’t do enough for you, the Hilton sorted out our complex room requirements brilliantly and looked after us so well. Requests for more coat hangers and a look at a noisy aircon unit were fulfilled immediately and when the bellboy at the Oryx saw that I’d been out to get a paper they brought one up to the room the following morning. It does rather spoil you for other parts of the world where it isn’t quite so good and the staff/guest ratio is probably not so high.
Return to Abu Dhabi
It seemed strange to be going back to Abu Dhabi and I was definitely looking forward to the sunshine and a chance to spend some time on the beach.
We set off from Manchester and although we couldn’t get an upgrade on our Etihad points we were thrilled to be moved into business class just as we were settling down in our seats on the plane – never has the pre take off glass of champagne tasted so good! After a pleasant flight and a delicious Margaux we arrived to a humid night and checked into the Hilton. Next day we went to fetch the hire car – nothing short of a bus so that we could fit all six of us in and then spent some time at the Hiltonia beach club before heading back to the airport to pick up Rachel, Andrew, Ellie and Alastair. Abu Dhabi is clearly a small world, since we saw my old car at Spinney’s and met Helen and John inside, then waiting at arrivals we met Maria Brown and were able to catch up with her whilst waiting for the delayed flight from Heathrow.
John must have eaten something bad or picked up a bug as he was really ill the next day and couldn’t get out of bed. He was not himself for another couple of days so we spent a lot of time resting in the hotel room. Luckily the Claringbolds were delighted with the beach club and happily spent many hours there. We took them to visit the Heritage Village where Rachel and Alastair both rode on the camel and on the Jenny bus for a bit of a tour before heading up the Burj Marina for juice and panoramic views. We ate at la Terraza buffet where Alastair managed to get through far more courses than anyone else despite being half price – most impressive. The drinks for AED 1 on a Monday night also went down well with the rest of us! After a tour of the Dhow harbour and Yas Island on Tuesday morning we dropped them at Royal Jet to catch their sea plan to the Desert Island resort on Sir Bani Yas Island. We had decided to stay in Abu Dhabi whilst they were on the island which was fortunate with John’s delicate state and checked into the Oryx Hotel. We’d not been there before but were very impressed, especially after the expedia deal of £89 per night. It’s a business hotel, clearly aimed at Arab men, but we had a huge room on the 13th Floor (no-one is superstitious about the number 13 round here!) with a superb view down the island. The staff were very helpful and friendly though the food at the top floor restaurant did not match up to the views.
Wednesday we headed to the Etihad offices to try and find out why Mum and her friend Jo have still not been credited for the flights that were cancelled back in April due to volcanic ash. Fang Fang was very helpful and promised to send another email request to the ‘online department’, who are clearly virtual people and cannot be spoken to in person! The flights were still open despite an email trail requesting refunds. She has since managed to change their status but they reckon it will still take 30 days to refund the money. However we do seem to have moved forward so you can’t beat a face to face conversation in this part of the world. My friend Liz has promised to take up the face to face cudgel if this doesn’t do the trick.
We set off from Manchester and although we couldn’t get an upgrade on our Etihad points we were thrilled to be moved into business class just as we were settling down in our seats on the plane – never has the pre take off glass of champagne tasted so good! After a pleasant flight and a delicious Margaux we arrived to a humid night and checked into the Hilton. Next day we went to fetch the hire car – nothing short of a bus so that we could fit all six of us in and then spent some time at the Hiltonia beach club before heading back to the airport to pick up Rachel, Andrew, Ellie and Alastair. Abu Dhabi is clearly a small world, since we saw my old car at Spinney’s and met Helen and John inside, then waiting at arrivals we met Maria Brown and were able to catch up with her whilst waiting for the delayed flight from Heathrow.
John must have eaten something bad or picked up a bug as he was really ill the next day and couldn’t get out of bed. He was not himself for another couple of days so we spent a lot of time resting in the hotel room. Luckily the Claringbolds were delighted with the beach club and happily spent many hours there. We took them to visit the Heritage Village where Rachel and Alastair both rode on the camel and on the Jenny bus for a bit of a tour before heading up the Burj Marina for juice and panoramic views. We ate at la Terraza buffet where Alastair managed to get through far more courses than anyone else despite being half price – most impressive. The drinks for AED 1 on a Monday night also went down well with the rest of us! After a tour of the Dhow harbour and Yas Island on Tuesday morning we dropped them at Royal Jet to catch their sea plan to the Desert Island resort on Sir Bani Yas Island. We had decided to stay in Abu Dhabi whilst they were on the island which was fortunate with John’s delicate state and checked into the Oryx Hotel. We’d not been there before but were very impressed, especially after the expedia deal of £89 per night. It’s a business hotel, clearly aimed at Arab men, but we had a huge room on the 13th Floor (no-one is superstitious about the number 13 round here!) with a superb view down the island. The staff were very helpful and friendly though the food at the top floor restaurant did not match up to the views.
Wednesday we headed to the Etihad offices to try and find out why Mum and her friend Jo have still not been credited for the flights that were cancelled back in April due to volcanic ash. Fang Fang was very helpful and promised to send another email request to the ‘online department’, who are clearly virtual people and cannot be spoken to in person! The flights were still open despite an email trail requesting refunds. She has since managed to change their status but they reckon it will still take 30 days to refund the money. However we do seem to have moved forward so you can’t beat a face to face conversation in this part of the world. My friend Liz has promised to take up the face to face cudgel if this doesn’t do the trick.
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