I’m becoming quite the pro at fly-in visits to family & friends – especially if there’s a wedding involved. And this past week was no exception!
Family-friends of my family (?!) got married in South Africa (coz that’s where they’re from, and live), in Johannesburg, at a place called Red Ivory. And boy was it spectacular! And lots of fun!
I don’t have much to say for this blog post (saving my words for my degree 😉 ) but the photos should do it justice. Enjoy 🙂
This week’s something new is based on Wedding 4 of 4 for the year – and what a way to end off the run of weddings I’ve had ❤
My friends V&A chose to get married in Greece since she is half Greek / half German (he’s Egyptian), and so, of course, the Dubai gang put our plans in place to share accommodation and travel together as we have done for weddings of friends in previous years (most specifically the Jordan wedding last year!)
The wedding weekend consisted of many parts where all guests were invited to join social activities, from Greek dancing lessons on Friday to meet-and-greet dinner and then the big day… with lots of additional off-the-cuff drinks get-togethers thrown in for good measure.
Most of the activities were taking place in Vouliagmeni since that’s where the Reception took place on Saturday night, so our group decided to stay in an area close by – Varkiza. It was a little easier on the budgets, but just as beautiful and only an 8-minute taxi ride away from the action.
We stayed at the Stefanakis Hotel & Apartments which was perfect for what we needed – extremely friendly and helpful staff, happy to cater to our ever-changing requests; decent-sized rooms; a lovely swimming pool; cheap beers; breakfast included; great location.
Myself and Natasha arrived a day earlier than everyone else so we used the day to head into Athens city centre and do a bit of sightseeing on a walking tour of Athens. We were both into taking it very easy for the day so after the tour we found a lovely place to have lunch where we sat for hours, taking in the scenery and enjoying local cuisine (and beers 😉 )
The rest of our group arrived that evening and we then headed off to join some of the wedding crew for drinks… and get the wedding weekend off to a fabulous start 🙂
The next day we had Greek dancing lessons – hilarious fun, seemingly simple but actually rather difficult, especially when the music starts getting faster and you have to keep up with it! But a really fun morning – and now I can say that I know 2 Greek dances (Sirtaki – 3 steps; and Kalamatiano – 11 steps)
That night we were all invited to a meet-and-greet dinner, overlooking the Acropolis – just beautiful at night! Most people decided to take it easy (and not go out partying) so that we could be fresh and ready for the HUGE partying expected at the Reception the next night.
The next day was a beautifully relaxing day which we spent walking around our little area, enjoying a few drinks and local cuisine, sitting by the beach, and then enjoying some sunshine and pool time before getting ready.
And then it was time for the Reception – the reason we’ve all travelled to this glorious destination 🙂
The venue – Island Club Reception – was spectacular! Nice and private with fantastic views overlooking the bay, perfect lighting to set the mood, scrumptious food and the most amazing setup for the ceremony to take place.
Bringing multiple cultures together from such different backgrounds, this wedding certainly knew exactly what to do! From traditional Greek dancing to Egyptian belly dancing and drummers, there was no shortage of entertainment, music and fun!
From start to finish, this was a fantastic wedding filled with hours of fun, giggles, meeting new friends, reconnecting with old ones, experiencing new places, learning new cultures and traditions, speeches, dancing, fireworks, shooting stars, a red moon, sunrise parties and sharing the special memories that we all get to take away with us.
About 3 months ago I was reminded of a post that I did 2 years ago – a post that made me focus on finding the happy things in my day-to-day life.
I had been feeling a bit out of sorts for the longest time at that point and so I thought it would be a great idea to once again find something each day to be happy and/or thankful for…. and here are my 100 days! Enjoy 🙂
Day 1 (18 April 2017) – Being reminded of 100 days of happy Hazy
Day 2 – Peanut butter cookies for lunch snack
Day 3 – Cheese and wine night at home
Day 4 – Excellent night out at dinner and partying afterwards
Day 5 – House hunting
Day 6 – Public holiday: went for a run, escape room, visited a friend who’s just had a baby
Day 7 – Fabulous easy-paced 5km run
Day 8 – Random dinner with friends – home-cooking, wine, dessert, giggles
Day 9 – Bonkers Bingo!!!
Day 10 – Landlord agreed to drop rent so no need to move; Eddie Izzard live in Dubai!!!
Day 11 – Hilarious day / night out with friends
Day 12 – Total lazy day on the couch with loads of laughs, and even managed my 2km run!
Day 13 – Last day of running for run.every.day challenge – 140 km’s!
Day 14 – Wings & Rings dinner – YUM! (1 May)
Day 15 – Skype chat with the parentals ❤
Day 16 – Sports massage for tired & achy legs
Day 17 – Curry, wine & movie night at home
Day 18 – AWESOME brunch afternoon / night out
Day 19 – No hangover; random movie night at cinema
Day 20 – Wings for life run!
Day 21 – Just a typical day – nothing bad; nothing overly good
Day 22 – Olly being silly and jumping into the fridge
Olly playing hide and seek 🙂
Day 23 – Excellent 7km run at autodrome
Day 24 – Girls night out
Day 25 – Mary Poppins at The Opera!!!
Day 26 – Looooong breakfast & lunch at Crumbs with the girls 🙂
Day 27 – Cheeky, unexpected HazAl evening
Day 28 – Excellent night out at pub quiz, very funny!
Day 29 – Great training session; reminiscing on photos; great night’s sleep
Day 30 – 2 very successful & interesting job interviews – what will be the outcome?!
Day 31 – Bolognese pizza at Jebel Ali Club!!!!
Day 32 – Football tournament scorer, followed by great night out on the dark side
Day 33 – Minimal hangover, ending the day off by being photographer at football awards evening
Day 34 – OFFERED A NEW JOB!!!
Day 35 – Fabulous morning run
Day 36 – Fun night out at work social – tenpin bowling
Day 37 – Hardcore hill session at autodrome
Day 38 – Tough A – Z session at gym which felt great to be able to complete
Day 39 – Night away in RAK – clear the head a bit!
Day 40 – Chilled evening on the couch with the housemates after a night away
Day 41 – Received contract for new job offer
Day 42 – Fun night out at quiz
Day 43 – Spontaneous night on the couch with the girls, eating cheese & drinking wine
Day 44 – Signed contract for new job
Day 45 – Resigned! (1 June)
Day 46 – Fun morning on the beach, hilarious night out with friends
Day 47 – Found a brilliant new TV show to watch – The Handmaid’s Tale
Day 48 – Enjoyable short run to clear the head
Day 49 – Excellent workout at gym
Day 50 (HALFWAY!) – Wrote speech for sister’s wedding
Day 51 – Just your standard Wednesday
Day 52 – Very quiet night at home – finished The Big Bang theory (Amy & Sheldon?!?!?!)
Day 53 – Early morning gym session, catching up with friends, games night at home
Day 54 – Burj al Arab for dinner with the girls!!
Day 55 – Paid off teeth loan early
Day 56 – Smashed my 10-minute rowing PR
Day 57 – Blue Orange prize dinner – mini birthday celebration for Daniel
Day 58 – Chit chat with new boss
Day 59 – Couple of beers with ex-work colleagues
Day 60 – Last morning run with Nat; Nat’s farewell – sad day, but great time out
Day 61 – Braai at a friend whom I’ve not seen in a while
Day 62 – First Pilates class at gym
Day 63 – Dinner with friends
Day 64 – Interval training – good run in this heat!
Day 65 – Work iftar / final dinner / farewell
Day 66 – Prague
Day 67 – Prague
Day 68 – Scored my first-ever goal (plus 2 more!!)
Day 69 – Very happy to make my flight home after oversleeping and missing my taxi by one hour!!!!
Day 70 – Packed for my trip home; lots of kitty cuddles
Day 71 – Fly to South Africa!!!
Day 72 – Family ❤
Day 73 – Went for a fabulous 5.5km run at home 🙂
Day 74 – Bootcamp with mom & Stretch – surprise hen party for my sister
Day 75 – Stretch’s hen party (1 July)
Day 76 – Sleepover at Maaitjie
Day 77 – Sleepover at Kimmie
Day 78 – Saw Kimmie’s baby on the scan!
Day 79 – Milo milkshake & chicken mayo sandwich with Stretch
Day 80 – Dinner with Kimmie – soooo many laughs and memories ❤
Day 81 – Girlie day with mom, Stretch, Feather – breakfast & massages
Day 82 – Fantastic day at the Fairway with Stretch & Dwayne ❤
Day 83 – Just being in South Africa!!!
Day 84 – Mauritius!!!!
Day 85 – Hilarious night with the bride, bridesmaid & one of the groomsmen 😀
Day 86 – STRETCH & DWAYNE GET MARRIED!
Day 87 – Catamaran cruise
Day 88 – Hassle-free travel with zero queues at JNB airport with transfer
Day 89 – Catching up with Villa Kunterbunt 🙂
Day 90 – Start new job!!
Day 91 – Catch up at HazAl!
Day 92 – Game of Thrones, with popcorn
Day 93 – Hot but enjoyable 5km run in the park
Day 94 – Chilled night at home, on the couch, on my own
Day 95 – Great 9km run in the morning; fab night out with friends
Day 96 – No hangover; fabulous neck & shoulder massage
Day 97 – Given news that BRACES ARE COMING OFF after only 9 months of being on!!!
Day 98 – Paid for the first level of my degree; Slow enjoyable run with Sara & Ellie
Day 99 – Shopping for stationery for my degree LOL
Day 100 – Hill Training! (26 July)
Be happy!!! ❤
mynuttydubai 