Today’s story starts with a text message from my friend E. “If we don’t put it on the calendar, we will never go.” She was right. We had been talking about going for I don’t know how long. Maybe a year,give or take a few months. There was always something on our schedules. So we opened our calendars and set a date. In a few weeks, we would make the hour plus journey  with our sights set on Mermaid Toast. What is Mermaid toast, you ask? At this point, we really had no idea. I had read about the dish in one of our local magazines but there had not been a photo. With a name like Mermaid Toast we really felt we needed to know. Never mind that it had evidently been a trend for awhile. We were moms busy homeschooling our kids and no time for trendy things.

One thing led to another and we decided to invite more people. We decided if we were going to make the drive from from Abu Dhabi to Dubai that we needed to make it count. Our Itinerary grew to include an art and craft store, a furniture shop and Global Village. I called shotgun almost right away. If I was going to be out riding around all day, possibly in traffic, I didn’t want to be car sick. I didn’t want to ruin this rare day. But let’s not get off topic. Back to the mermaid toast! 

In the beginning, the car was full of homeschool moms ready for a much needed day out. Every seat was filled and we wondered where we would put the packages if we did a lot of shopping. Boy can some of us in our little group shop when we want to! However as the date of the trip grew closer and the realities of mom life set in, members of the Mermaid Toast Expedition party slowly dropped off. In the end, it was down to three of us: myself, E and A. We set out with high hopes and good cheer, knowing that the answer to what Mermaid toast could be was just a little ways down the road. Our other friends were missed but at least now, there was going to be more room in the back of the car for any loot we might find. A small consolation prize indeed.

As we pulled up to the little tea house, we were surprised to see they had a valet. The spoiling had begun!  The place was trendy and cute. We had expected tea, of course but  were very surprised by the selection. Several  menus were placed on the table along with a basket of glass bottles. Each bottle was filled with a tea blend, many of which, were combinations I would never have thought to try. It was so hard to choose!

In the end, I chose the Chocola-Tea. It was served as a tea latte which was also something I am not used to drinking. I generally just have a little bit of sugar in my tea but frothy milk with chocolate seemed apropos. The tea was served in adorable mugs with stenciled images on top. It was different. It was fun and somehow, felt a bit more decadent than our usual tea at home. Note to self: crochet some doilies and get more special tea cups. 

Somehow, we all ended up ordering the same thing for lunch: steak sandwiches and Mermaid Toast. The flavors of our tea were the only thing that differed. The sandwich was delicious. And of course, there was the Mermaid Toast in all it’s glory. Many of the items in the teashop featured trendy saying and motifs. The toast was no different. It was in the form of a Mermaid Cat! This was an instant hit for me. How did it taste? Also delicious but not as sweet as it looks. The icing was a nice spread of colored cream cheese topped with a bit of honey for a subtle sweetness. Fresh fruit made up the cat’s face and mermaid tail. It was a great finish to the perfect lunch.

With our tummy’s full of good food, we headed on to our next adventure. Our goal was to stop at the arts and crafts supply store for the one in this city is much bigger than the one where we lived. E and A are all about the art supplies in much the same way I am. We would end up spending over an hour in that store but that is a story for another day. For now this post is done. Writing it has warmed me up from the inside out, much the same way a good cup of tea does. ( and yes I know that is sweet and sappy. Whatever! I love my friends and I am not ashamed to say it! Although I am pretty sure that S will comment to me later about ” that little love fest” going on over here. S we missed you so much that day! And L and St too. We found so many things you all would have liked!)  Anyway, I am going to leave myself with a few happy memories of our Mermaid Toast adventure. Meanwhile,stay tuned. I might just be sharing another post about my adventures with E and A sometime soon.

Don’t forget to stop by Effy Wild’s blog. She is the host of this writing challenge. Her day three post is here. You will love the way she writes. Plus it’s a bit less saccharine sweet and a lot more deep than my posts tend to be.