Saadiyat Beach Club

This place is one of our favourite places in Abu Dhabi. It's a gorgeous beach club located on Saadiyat Island, on a natural beach. It's always super relaxing and you feel like you can truly unwind here. They have a gorgeous pool area with luxurious, huge fluffy towels, a couple of lovely restaurants, two bars, gym, spa, library and various different areas just to sit back and relax. It's a members club but you can also buy a day pass, perfect if you are on holiday.

We got to Saadiyat in the morning and spent the first few hours just lounging around the gorgeous pool, reading while Ibiza style tunes play in the background. Closer to lunch time we jumped in for a refreshing swim to build up an appetite. The pool is amazing!

Around one o'clock it starts to get busier as people start to arrive for lunch, from ladies that lunch to business men. We headed to the restaurant for some lunch, a glass or crisp cold white wine and a couple of games of connect four. 

I had a delicious burrata salad and crispy baby calamari, he had a club sandwich.

After lunch we retired back to our sun loungers to digest and catch the afternoon sun.

As the sun starts to set, the temperature drops slightly so we decided to go for a run on the beach to balance out all that lazing around. Saadiyat beach is my favourite out of the beaches I have been to in the UAE, probably because it's a real one. You get great views of the Abu Dhabi sky line and stunning sunsets.

This time we didn't have time for the spa, but its the perfect end for the most relaxing day. Get ready in the beautiful and luxurious changing rooms and then head out for a drink to watch the sun set over the Arabian Gulf.

They also organise parties and events so it's worth taking a look at their website if you want to visit.

On a different note, I have been considering writing in Finnish as well as English. Would love to hear your thoughts and whether you would be more keen to read the blog with Finnish text as well?

Kiinnostaisiko tämän blogin lukeminen myös suomeksi?

Ethiopian Food in King's Cross

Ever since living in Ethiopia as kids, my brother and I have been obsessed with Ethiopian food. Our whole family loves it, and ask any of us what our favorite food is, Ethiopian will be the answer. Luckily for us, London has some great Ethiopian restaurants. Last week my brother and I caught up over Ethiopian food in King's Cross. It's a restaurant he has been to lots of times, but a new one for me. I was so excited for dinner I only had a light lunch to save space, I couldn't wait to try the delicious, spicy dishes.

Ethiopian food is a mix of spicy meat and vegetable stews, served on injera, a sourdough flatbread made from teff flour. The food is served on one big dish and you usually share your food and always eat with your hands. Even to this day I maintain that all food tastes better when eaten with your fingers, much to my mother's dismay.

The restaurant, Addis, was about a 5 minute walk from King's Cross station and when we arrived it was very busy. We sat on some stools with small tables while we waited for our table and had a drink. The crowd was a mix of families, groups of friends and even a small hen party. The interior of the restaurant was basic but authentic and it had a nice buzzing vibe.

 We ordered our favorite dishes of kitfo (spicy minced meat) , ye beg wot (meat stew) and doro wot (chiken stew). We also got a small portion of spicy spinach with cottage cheese. The food took quite long to arrive, and by the time it did we were starving and tucked straight in. It was to die for, really really well spiced and balanced, the injera was light and delicious and the portions were large. We had 3 dishes and it was definitely enough, we ate it all but mainly because it was so good rather than not having had enough. We were very pleasantly surprised when the bill arrived and I have to say it was one of the cheapest meals I've had in a long time.

As the night was still young we thought we would find somewhere nice for dessert. My brother has been wanting to go to the Renaissance hotel so we headed to the cozy warmth of the Gilbert Scott Bar and Restaurant. The building itself is stunning by the way and a lovely place for dinner or some cocktails. There was an excellent pianist and and the service was great, I have a feeling I will be back, maybe for a special occasion. I had a warm ginger cake with cinnamon cream and ice cream and my brother went for warm chocolate with yoghurt and lemon ice cream. Both were delicious and completely finished us off. Happy and full I headed home on the northern line, glad made the trip to the other side of town.

Coat: Guess

Shirt: Terranova

Leather Jeans: Rio Beach

Boots: Rio Beach

Handbag: Michael Kors

Scarf: Cashmere from Nepal

Did you notice our matching outfits by the way? So not planned.