Quick trip to Bahrain...

DH and I had planned a weekend away in Bahrain at the gorgeous Ritz Carlton with some friends.... the night before we were due to leave, THE NIGHT BEFORE, DH had to catch the late flight back to London for a "VERY important meeting"the following day.  Great - what is a girl to do all alone in Riyadh for yet another weekend?

The Hotel was booked, the friends expecting us, the bikinis packed and I was so looking forward to a cocktail or two!

You can always rely on girlfriends! My new girlfriend ( and neighbour) jokingly said "I'd love a weekend in Bahrain" We persuaded her husband, packed her case and broke the news to the other couple - Poor S was now in for a weekend with 3 women!!

The drive to Bahrain from Riyadh is 4 hours - pretty much one straight road through desert landscape...lots of camels

The greatest thing about a trip to Bahrain is there is no need to get on a plane - The King Fahd Causeway was opened in 1986 and is 25 kms long and crosses the sea from Saudi to Bahrain as a number of bridges with 2 lanes on each side - It is so cool!!!

Being in the desert for so long with no real horizon the sight of the sea is just beautiful!!

On arrival into Bahrain we are greeted with cardamon coffee ( I don't remember this sort of welcome when using the Chanel tunnel!!) What a treat ( if you like Arabic coffee that is...I don't!)

Four hours after leaving Riyadh and we arrive at the very Luxurious Ritz Carlton Hotel and all the stresses just float away....

The hotel has 245 rooms and another 23 private villas. The hotel sits on a private beach with a lagoon and small island...

Swimming in the warm sea is fab but even better when you can swim out to an island!!

A lovely afternoon on the beach with cocktails, sunshine and swimming.  This really is a great place to visit if you live in Riyadh as it is so close, ladies can dispense with their abayas once you cross The Causeway into Bahrain .....

We had a superb evening at Trader Vics ( they cooked Gluten Free dishes specially for me!)

Drinking delicious cold wine ( I hadn't noticed the name until the end of the evening....)

Breakfast was served overlooking the pool...

We had a great 24 hours of R&R lounging around in the sunshine and then another 4 hour trip back home to Riyadh- well worth the drive and I got to catch up my Eastenders downloads on my iPad!!!

I will be doing it again - maybe next time with Darling Husband!