Qasr Al Sarab - The Trilogy III

Final day in the desert and we had to tick the "camel riding" box 

Sam went for the "Out of Africa" look that would have made Karen Blixen proud, and of course she was fitting right in with the locals

well some of the locals ..our personal camel herder with his very pretty and colorful camel outfits

it's just like riding the Rodeo

as elegant as ever - "white knuckle" camel riding 

we tried to play it cool ....but thank God the ride was over 

maybe I should start training now for that 155 mile run across the Sahara..not sure what the fuss is all about?

Qasr Al Sarab - The Trilogy II

thankfully the "dungeons and dragons" board game vision was quickly replaced by quiet bliss by our private pool which came in handy as the temperature reached 48 degrees

After having shed the guilt of being in a pool in the middle of the desert (thankfully Sam knows all the building codes and know they have very strict recycling requirements...phew) we started enjoying the views

and funnily enough whether we looked north, east, south or west  all we saw was sand, sand...and more sand

it could be mistaken from a photo from the middle of Australia

all we needed now was a roof top party 

however not a party in sight so we read

and we read some more

and we watched sunsets

thank God for cocktail hour we hit the french restaurant for the hazy sunset and cranberry vanilla cosmos (yes we still drink those 1993 concoctions) 

its still a little "dungeon and dragon"-like from afar

and what else were we going to do after a night of drinking in the middle of the desert...runway modeling of course!!

after that performance let's just say it's a good thing I have a real daytime job...to be continued...

Qasr al Sarab - the trilogy I

Sam had organized a birthday weekend treat for us at Qasr Al Sarab - A resort by Anantara in the "Empty Quarter Desert" - one of the most arid places on earth. The road there was very loooong, straight and uneventful

Thankfully we were able to rely on Sam's pea sized bladder and no road side toilets for a bit of entertainment ...

unfortunately the pictures of the acrobatics she went through for "relief" have been censored but Sam was grateful for the dunes and hiding behind "foxy" (yes we named our car!!)

no matter how many stories I told it was hard to distract Sam from an endless journey without any other shops than the very scary "white Sand restaurant"

and there were lots of sand - most of it red (not sure why they called that restaurant "white sand" and we didn't dare to find out)

at the gate to the resort with just another 8 kilometers of "dune bashing" to go..thank god for a great navigation system

We finally arrived at what we had feared would be similar to a large "dungeons and dragons" board game.....to be continued...

Boating escapades

Neighbor Chris took his fishing bitches for a trip to the open waters  - we only made it just past the coast guard before having to turn around due to very large swells that threatened to make the early morning a messy one ...and on the way back we managed to have the coast guard speedboat catch our trawling lures for a bit of action packed fishing rod rescue mission...we finally settled on a deserted beach to try our luck with the rods

Chris tried his luck with the golden lures whilst Sam was watching out for Dolphins

It just wasn't our morning - not even a tiny barracuda wanted to bite

I managed to take a swim and get soaked whilst the fishing experts were working their magic...thankful for the speedy trip home and the 45 degrees to dry off!

Contemplating what to produce for dinner now that we are returning empty handed from the fishing trip

A quick little something we whipped up instead of grilled Barracuda...spinach and goats cheese soufflé with sauteed beans and veal fillet with black sesame creme brulee for dessert ...a combination recommended for dinner parties at a home near you!

Home to 48 degrees

The dogs were hot and bothered and ready for a swim  

and thankfully we have a great little deserted beach just 5 minutes away

Fighting for attention

Phew it's REALLY hot out there - I'm ready to go home now

The other two opted to stay in the air-conditioning at home

"yeah whatever..."

At least one of our animals was happy to see us!

Danish Magic Moments #2

Animal Rescue 911

Family photo shoot gone wrong - brilliant idea for us to stand in the shade

The Danes are the happiest people in the world

napkin folding course anybody?

had to get some exercise in....Dad's 1930'ies motorized Velosolex bicycle was perfect for it

no family resemblance then? 

Sam in search for more native animals to rescue

it was too late for this little one

Danish Magic Moments #1

We made sure we never missed a meal ...

Even on the road we made sure never to miss a meal - display of danish style focused eating

first thing we teach the kids...never miss a meal

Hannes food empire has reached all the way to the West coast of Denmark

And of course we never missed the opportunity to have a licorice shot ..the only thing that worked to lure Sam into the playroom

"Is this really happening????"

It didn't take long for the Danish candy to work it's magic...