I am blessed to have many Beautiful People in my life. Today, we’re celebrating the birthday of one of those beautiful people, Candida. Not only do we get to celebrate with her on her special day but we have been invited to do so in a particularly beautiful place.
We came close to coming here once before. If I’d known quite how spectacular it was, I wouldn’t have hesitated a moment to visit the Bvlgari Dubai Yacht Club.
Jason & I dropped the boys off at the Marina an hour or so ago. Jason Had some recent surgery and isn’t up for the boat ride today so we have driven and arrive in time to see Lady Pinto cruising into the marina. They dock on the other side, near the hotel, and as summer is evidently on its way, we flag down a golf cart to run us around to meet them. The boys are barefooted from the boat so Harley gets carried while Jasper makes a dash for the shade of the golf cart. The ground is already to hot to walk on. They wait patiently in the golf cart for the adults to sort themselves out. It’s not hard to be taken in by their level of excitement (about the golf cart). I wonder for a moment when they’ll lose this sense of sheer delight and adventure at something like a golf cart. Dubai will get to them eventually – they already think that boat rides to brunches with kids’ clubs and birthdays with magicians and bouncy castles is the norm.
We ride the golf cart around to the yacht club, passing some very large, very impressive vessels along the way. The water is sparkling and the breeze is warm. It would be a nice day for a boat ride. The pool is also looking very inviting with its breezy cabanas and I spot a well stocked bar and several waiters lingering. First action, however, is to get the boys changed. They’re keen for a swim. Once they’re sorted it doesn’t take me very long to get sorted either thanks to some very attentive wait staff and the fact that Candida already has a Bellini in one hand. “I’ll have the same please” I request and within a couple of minutes, I take a sip of my own.
Sheng came on the boat with Candida and the boys and it’s not long until the other guests, Annelise & Greg, arrive either. We settle into conversation and soon entree is laid out. The food is truly sensational. We start with bread of all types, a very robust olive oil and antipasti platters. This is followed by oysters, lobster with grilled vegetables, prawns and scallops. The only ones that remain unimpressed are the boys whom we cajole into sitting for 5 minutes to eat a few bits of pasta, some carrot and bread. They’re much more interested in the video games, biscuit decoration and all things kids’ club.
We think we’re nearly done but then it seems that the mains arrive and more platters of seafood, mussels, seafood risotto, pasta and some non seafood options arrive. Sholin’s husband, Waleed arrives and joins us and I order another drink and sit back to enjoy the conversation and the setting and to contemplate whether or not I can fit another morsel in. Better not I conclude, I need some room for dessert.
The boys & I actually got up early this morning to make a cake. A birthday is not complete in our household without a homemade chocolate cake and the boys enjoy the process of measuring and mixing almost as much as the enjoy the licking the beaters afterwards while I give the batter one last mix and get the cake into the oven.
The other thing we do is make cards. Now understand, there’s no hard and fast rule around this. Harley has a painting from school that he decides to use and Jasper is busy drawing a picture of a dragon. It’s more about the thought (which really counts!) and effort that they’re putting into the process than about the end result (although the cake usually turns out pretty well!). They both write their short messages in their own hand and Harley also selects a painting that he has done on canvas as a special, personal gift. They need to learn to think of others in order to become beautiful people themselves, just like the one that this mornings efforts are for the benefit of.
The boys and I are led into the kitchens to retrieve said cake, duly decorated by two enthusiastic boys. The restaurant manager has been wonderful – removing the cake from my Oma’s (grandmother’s) biscuit tin and presenting it on a platter more suited to the occasion. I’m sure it’s not usual practice to BYO in a place such as this, however, I think it’s pretty clear from the decoration (and the transportation tin!) that we are no threat to their business.
We’re excited to present our cake to Candida and sing “happy birthday”. Not long after a perfectly decorated Bvlgari birthday cake is presented to Candida. Lucky indeed that I saved room for dessert!
The boys play for a bit longer and we all linger over coffee & cake(s) before we reluctantly set about packing up and saying goodbye. During the time I have been sitting here for the afternoon, I have watched two of the large vessels sail from the marina, several groups of people enjoy lunch and then depart, people swimming and lazing in the breezy cabanas by the pool and a little girl dancing to the music on the deck.
As we leave the sun reflects off the Burj Khalifa across the water. I’m wrapped in a feeling of being blessed to have been able to celebrate this beautiful person in such a beautiful place.
Good To Know
Bvlgari Yacht Club Dubai hosts brunch every Friday from 1-4pm. AED345 includes selected non-alcoholic beverages (& the kids’ club!).
Would I Return?
Yes. Most certainly. The food is exemplary and the service is impeccable. They boys had the kids’ club to themselves most of the time (which is actually a shame) and the setting is, well, beautiful.
