Muttrah Sea Front

(3/12/23)

We must have been very tired, as we both slept well and woke up ready for the day. We'd already decided to stay another night and booked a room, but in a different hotel, so check-out time was still noon.

We got ready and went down to the Courtyard for breakfast. It looked fabulous, and the spread was amazing. The pool was outside some French windows, so we checked it out. That was even more fabulous. It was great to see it well used by families, enjoying their weekend. There wasn't time for us to check it out, though.

We moved on to our next hotel, calling in at Hilde's old B&B place, for old-time's sake. The house is empty and is showing signs of becoming derelict. I guess her landlord hasn't been able to find a new tenant.

Muscat is interesting in that the roads are fairly empty on the weekend, unlike Dubai! We arrived at the next hotel thirty minutes early, but they allowed us into the room. Fantastic, as the next thing we did was to get back in the car to head back to Muttrah and Ruwi! It wasn't the best way to do things, but there you go.

G got some excellent shots from a fast-moving car. We drove on Al Bahri Road, past the old Portuguese balconies (my extra). We then went to the Al Bustan Palace Hotel, where we had planned to have Afternoon Tea, until plans changed. I was pleased to get the photograph of the dhow placed in the roundabout. It is the main subject of a book called "The Sinbad Voyage" by Tim Severin.

Back again to Muttrah, we visited Muttrah Fort, where tickets for foreigners are three times the price that a local pays! There are a hundred steps to get to the top. We both managed them and enjoyed the views from the top. An Irish couple took the picture for us after I took one for them.

We went to D'Arcy's Kitchen for our evening meal, as our breakfast venue for tomorrow got changed after we spotted an Icons Coffee Couture outlet next to our hotel! It was on G's to-do list! That is everything ticked off our list. :))

We got back to the new hotel and checked out their pool. It is on the second floor with views of the surrounding area. Beautiful as it is, no one was in it! We tried to catch up with the news, but the TV didn't work, so the electrician came to fix it. It took him nearly an hour! We returned to the pool to find they were showing the Arsenal vs Wolves match live. I wish we'd known that earlier! It's interesting how they don't advertise in this city, not even at the venue!