We took it easy on Day 7 (New Year’s Eve). My mum, sister and I went to the salon at the Fairmont to get our hair done (a blow dry cost just over £14). I also had a mani/pedi (£26). It was probably one of the best pedicures I’ve ever had. I was the last to get my hair done, and my sister came up with some observations while waiting for me to finish.
We relaxed at home and had some dinner before getting ready for our New Year’s Eve party at Sho Cho. I ended up wearing a black dress – I don’t think I’d put on a dress since my brother’s wedding in August 2010! I just don’t wear them…
Anyway, some friends came over for a drink and quick tour of the new flat before we headed out.
It seemed to be one disaster after another:
- The celebratory bottle of champagne I opened erupted like Vesuvius all over the floor… What a waste!
- The driver(s) we had (don’t ask) took us in the wrong direction so we had to go right back to where we started and go in another direction. Four of us had no idea what direction we were going in anyway – thankfully the fifth was aware of it! There was a bottle of Grey Goose in the car so we opened it and started passing it around. After the third round, I couldn’t have any more – and left the other four to finish the bottle. Which they did without any trouble.
- Just as we got to the road we needed to get to, all traffic was diverted away from it. The police had cordoned off the street and we had to go in a different direction. It would have taken us five minutes in the car but we decided we had no choice but to walk the rest of the way. So close and yet so far!
- The boys were OK in their shoes, and I was uncomfortable but managed to keep up in my heels, but my sister decided she’d rather walk barefoot down the street than struggle in her heels! It took us just over 20 minutes to walk to the party.
We walked in at 11.30 and hit the bar. Some hit it harder than others, but those aren’t my stories to tell…
We also had a clear view of the Burj Khalifa and the midnight fireworks – that was spectacular.
It was a fun evening – definitely memorable! We had a lot of laughs dissecting the night over lunch the next day! What’s shocking is that I think I must have been the most sober out of all of us – which is a first.
For the last few years, my best friend from Lagos and I have started our own tradition of having a dim sum lunch on New Year’s Day. In the past we’ve always gone to Phoenix Palace in London, but this year, being in Dubai, we ended up at Royal China at DIFC. It’s always a good laugh and with each year our lunch group has become bigger, depending on who’s around. This year it was just family:
Happy 2012!
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Notes by Nectar 