Day 168 - New Year's Eve at Waikiki Beach

 

Last day of 2015! And we had a swim at Waikiki beach, the former paradise beach. In the 1920ies there was only one hotel here which would probably be overlooked today if it hadn't its iconic rose color. The beach is still crowded with bathing people, surfer amateurs, joggers and gazers. My mother couldn't swim, of course, but waited for us to finish our bathing session. After some time behind the jetty where the waves were broken artificially, I noticed that I cut my knee quite deeply and left. We had a Frappucino - which will be my last one, let's see for how long.

For the sunset we drove up to the Mt. Tantalus lookout where we had a 270° view of Honolulu. The sunset wasn't too stunning, but we enjoyed it anyway. We had a nice conversation with some people who had been living in Germany for a while. Soon after the sun set (and the park was closed), we drove to our New Year's Eve dinner at Roy's Hawai'i Kai. I cannot tell how I loved that five-course dinner - which sounds like more food than it actually was. My main course was butterfish with wasabi sauce, tomato essence, lotus root chips and "forbidden" (black) rice - a most delicious farewell from 2015.

We hurried home, re-dressed, grabbed our fake bubbly and rushed to the beach to watch the New Year's fireworks for which Waikiki is famous for. Ten minutes of fireworks in a breathtaking setting of high-rise buildings and lots of people enjoying the evening, too. Awesome!