Arabian Oryx

I saw one of these magnificent creatures today in the wild for the first time ever, and as it was on G's side of the car, this photo was taken by her on her DSLR.

The day started nice and relaxed. I was about to get the ironing board out when I looked at my phone to find an invitation (by our friends whom we had dinner with last night) to drive out to Ras Al Khaimah for lunch. We accepted without thinking twice!

We headed to the Banyan Tree, a place G & I have only been to once before. It's been so long, it has changed hands and is now a Ritz Carlton hotel.

The drive to the hotel is still as splendid and it's great to see RAK implementing a conservation project. The 300-year-old olive tree in the reception is new and is an excellent addition to the decor. We got treated to lunch and ate way too much. No need for anything else the rest of the day!

Being a Friday, we got there and back in no time. Clear roads and nice scenery and we listened to ABBA there and back. (I found out yesterday that Miriam's mum is a huge fan - like me!)

A quiet evening followed. We watched a couple of WWII and WWI documentaries on NatGeo. Always very sobering and thought-provoking. That was followed by MegaMind - a movie I've been wanting to watch for ages. It was just what I needed after the two documentaries.

I forgot to mention in yesterday's blip... the new tunnel at Sana junction - where 99% of our car journeys begin - opened yesterday. So last night before getting home, we drove through it in both directions just to check it out! It's fantastic.