Unlike last week, the weather is bright - it feels more like an early summer morning than the beginning of a day in late September. We were on our way to Strandtent EscuBelle, but despite an announcement on its website that it opens at 9:00 everyday, it's closed. So we walk towards the main boulevard, to see if others are open and then settle for Zanzibar. This turns out to be a lucky choice, as this is the last Monday Zanzibar is open: they're leaving next Sunday. The waitress explains to me that this year, there's not a definite last day on which all beach clubs have to leave, unlike other years. Some beach clubs will leave next week, others will stay about three weeks longer.
I count myself lucky that we ended up here today, since I definitely wanted to cover Zanzibar on this blog. It's one of the more mellow places around here. There's a good vibe and the African themed decoration is a pleasant change from the more common Buddha statues and South American styles. The whole beach club is executed in dark wood and there's lots of nice touches, such as the tables made out of logs and lamps made out of organic materials.
Rihanna Gaga is in a very cheerful mood. Yesterday, we had a party at our place, celebrating our birthdays: Rihanna Gaga turned one on the 15th of July, her mum and I both had our birthdays in September. The party was nice and a lot of friends and family turned up. Rihanna Gaga had a nice time, but it was also a bit stressful for her, to be around so many people at once. So today, it's time for some tranquility and there's plenty of that at Zanzibar.
We're the only guests. The waitress is still setting up the terrace as we arrive and over the next hour, several members of staff will arrive. But apart from that, there's no one. When we arrive, a quiet Dire Straits song is playing and after that, there's mostly moody lounge and quiet indie songs coming from the loudspeakers. In front of the beach club, a tractor drawing a large machine that cleans the beach is driving along the coastline and we sit and watch it for a long time while we sip our drinks.
The breakfast (€12,50) is a modest affair: a croissant, a boiled egg and scrambled eggs, a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, a large slice of bread, a small bun and some salad. However, the price also includes tea and fresh orange juice, making this a not overly expensive breakfast. I also order a smoothie for Rihanna Gaga, but she is more interested in my orange juice, which she claims all for herself.
Two dogs play on Zanzibar's terrace: a big quiet one and a smaller one that is very active. Rihanna Gaga is fascinated. She keeps circling the big one. The owner, a member of staff, assures me that she is completely harmless and I can tell this is true: this dog wouldn't hurt no one. I hold Rihanna Gaga as she carefully touches its fur, but she only dares to do so for a few seconds, then starts to giggle loudly. The sweet dog has no objections to anything that happens around her.
The breakfasts takes a while but is waiting for us as we return from the dog. Unlike the last few weeks, Rihanna Gaga is not interested in any of the food, although she starts to eat bits of egg and bread when I'm nearly finished. The owner of the dogs tries to interest her in the smaller dog. Every time he throws a ball and the dog follows it to bring it back to him, he warns her. Rihanna Gaga is, again, fascinated. She's not afraid at all and the dog pays no attention to her. When I throw the ball, it's even more fun and every time the dog darts after the ball, she laughs loudly.
One of the waitresses tells me that the owners of this beach club were also involved in setting up Solbeach, together with two others. One of them now lives in Africa, where he runs a safari organisation (she shows me a colourful leaflet of his business), while the other runs this beach club. After we have chatted for a while, I pay and we leave. EscuBelle is still closed.
I count myself lucky that we ended up here today, since I definitely wanted to cover Zanzibar on this blog. It's one of the more mellow places around here. There's a good vibe and the African themed decoration is a pleasant change from the more common Buddha statues and South American styles. The whole beach club is executed in dark wood and there's lots of nice touches, such as the tables made out of logs and lamps made out of organic materials.
Rihanna Gaga is in a very cheerful mood. Yesterday, we had a party at our place, celebrating our birthdays: Rihanna Gaga turned one on the 15th of July, her mum and I both had our birthdays in September. The party was nice and a lot of friends and family turned up. Rihanna Gaga had a nice time, but it was also a bit stressful for her, to be around so many people at once. So today, it's time for some tranquility and there's plenty of that at Zanzibar.
We're the only guests. The waitress is still setting up the terrace as we arrive and over the next hour, several members of staff will arrive. But apart from that, there's no one. When we arrive, a quiet Dire Straits song is playing and after that, there's mostly moody lounge and quiet indie songs coming from the loudspeakers. In front of the beach club, a tractor drawing a large machine that cleans the beach is driving along the coastline and we sit and watch it for a long time while we sip our drinks.
The breakfast (€12,50) is a modest affair: a croissant, a boiled egg and scrambled eggs, a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, a large slice of bread, a small bun and some salad. However, the price also includes tea and fresh orange juice, making this a not overly expensive breakfast. I also order a smoothie for Rihanna Gaga, but she is more interested in my orange juice, which she claims all for herself.
The breakfasts takes a while but is waiting for us as we return from the dog. Unlike the last few weeks, Rihanna Gaga is not interested in any of the food, although she starts to eat bits of egg and bread when I'm nearly finished. The owner of the dogs tries to interest her in the smaller dog. Every time he throws a ball and the dog follows it to bring it back to him, he warns her. Rihanna Gaga is, again, fascinated. She's not afraid at all and the dog pays no attention to her. When I throw the ball, it's even more fun and every time the dog darts after the ball, she laughs loudly.
One of the waitresses tells me that the owners of this beach club were also involved in setting up Solbeach, together with two others. One of them now lives in Africa, where he runs a safari organisation (she shows me a colourful leaflet of his business), while the other runs this beach club. After we have chatted for a while, I pay and we leave. EscuBelle is still closed.
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