Birthdays in Bahrain

Jan. 4

Arrived safely last evening, to the happy faces of my friends, and a beautiful, warm evening.  As we drive to their house, I marvel at all the interesting light displays on the buildings, palm trees, and light posts.  It seems I arrived shortly after the country’s national birthday, and all the decorations are still out.  We stay up very late, talking and catching up, and drinking the most wonderful wine.  They give me a quick tour of their beautiful home, and I fall in love quickly with everything!

This morning, I rose, took a shower and dressed, and opened the door to “my” room, and was told to go back to bed, because the maid would bring me breakfast in bed.  Wow!  My amazing hosts had already eaten, but they joined me in a coffee, and we picked up the conversation easily.  It’s the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday today, and also my hosts, Alex’s!  They tell me that the work week here is Sunday to Thursday, but today is a holiday, so we can relax and celebrate Alex’s birthday, first by going shopping for his present, then by going out for dinner.  Score!

Daya and I head to the mall, which unexpectedly has mostly the same stores I’m used to seeing at home, including the food court.  After finding a few things, we head back, where their friends Angel and Mike meet us, and Alex breaks out the champagne and a selection of very good cheese.

Finally, we head to Le Sauvage, a restaurant on the 34^th floor of a major hotel in the capital, Manama, where we revel in beef tenderloin from Argentina, and several wonderful side dishes, and a beautiful Pinot Noir. That’s when I find out that I am privileged to be in the company of someone qualified to be a sommelier.  How on earth did I get so lucky? 

The view from the restaurant is beautiful, and I get a few shots from the camera on my phone, but everyone is tired, so we go back and say good night.  What a fabulous vacation this is turning out to be!