SIR BANI YAS

Nobel Prize winner?  Billionaire?  To be a sir, he (only males are anointed "Sir") must have had a distinguished career.  If you look for Bani Yas, good luck, as Sir Bani Yas is an island located 110 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, and is an animal sanctuary.  To get to this island from Abu Dhabi, you need to catch a 2-hour ferry.  But we are docked here for the day and have a tour, but at the end of the day, so I'll post on this experience tomorrow.

The name originates from the Bani Yas tribe and Sir Bani Yas is the crest of a salt dome created millions of years ago,  First human settlers came many thousands of years ago, and there was a trading port in 1800 BC.  There is a Christian monastery dating back to 600 AD.  The mention of pearls was historically mentioned.

Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, rule Abu Dhabi from 1966 and was the founder and first president of the United Arab Emirates, ruling from 1971 to 2004.  He established Sir Bani Das as his retreat and stocked it with millions of plants and a range of threatened animal species.  Zayed in the 1960's hired Japanese architect Katsuhiko Takahashi, to design and plan the city of Abu Dhabi.  Tomorrow, more on this state and the United Arab Emirates.

Now on to food.  As you might know by now, we both live at 15 Craigside, and had to pay them $6000 each just to be away.  We wondered what great dinner we missed on Tuesday night, and on the menu:

• Beef Broccoli or low sodium Beef Stir Fry or Vegetarian Lasagna
• Dessert:  Banana Bread Pudding

Mind you, for Thursday, which is Thanksgiving, they are serving Oven Roasted Turkey with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie.

This compares with what we had on this ship.  First, a light French lunch at Chartreuse, beginning with a fine Rose.

The choices were wide: truffled leek, lentil/sausage soup, Orecchiette al Boscaiola pasta, impossible burger, Bouillabaisse Marseilles fish stew, Cordon Bleu veal, Duck Terrine, Quiche Flamiche aux Poireaux, Smoked Duck Breast/foie gras, Grilled Octopus, Grilled Salmon, New York Strip Loin, Supreme de Poulet Roti, and more. There were soups, salads and assorted desserts.  As I was expecting a major dinner at a steakhouse last night, I went light and only had Salade Nicosia (which is yellow fin tuna sashimi) and French Onion Soup with enhancements, followed by something called Croque-Monsier/poached egg, which you see below.

For dessert, I had a float of champagne and Rocky Road ice cream.  Then came dinner at Prime 7. Certainly the 35 ounce Porterhouse was too much, and the assortment of steaks and chops, so she had lobster, and we both enjoyed the New Zealand Lamb Rack, which was fabulous.  First came a tomato soup aperitif, followed by, New England Clam Chowder and Hearts of Romain Caesar with anchovies.  The wine was Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon.

Breakfast was simple and nice, and lunch, at Prime 7, Manhattan Clam Chowder and raw yellow fin tuna and veggies.

-