Sunday, August 31, 2014

Playing Tourist with Shawna: Day in Dubai

It only took 2 months but we finally got our first visitor to our new home: YAY for Shawna!!!! We were suppose excited to have her here, as she is one of our favorite people, and we know that we get along famously (since we have successfully traveled together in the past). We also saved ourselves from playing tourist in our new country since we knew that we would be doing it with visitors. We learned this from being in Hawaii....while I absolutely LOVE the Pearl Harbor Memorial, after the 12th visit it gets a little old (that being said, it has since been redone, and I can't wait to see the updates!). I am still waiting for my licensing stuff to work itself out, so I had plenty of time and enjoyed having the company while Adam was at work.
So our first jaunt was off to explore the renowned city of Dubai! It is only about a 75 minute drive from where we live through the desert.

Hello Dubai Skyline

Shawna is a HUGE animal lover, so I knew that she would be more than enthusiastic to hug a penguin, so Ski Dubai was our first stop. Two things that I will ALWAYS be up for doing while we live here:
1.) Hugging a penguin
2.) Going to the water park

Practicing hugging a penguin

More practicing

Practice was successful!

After penguin hugging, we metro-ed over to Dubai Mall  to see the Burj Khalifa: World tallest building. We were hoping to be able to catch the elevator to the top or have lunch at the restaurant, but this was unsuccessful. If you want to do this, either get there first thing to book a time or book ahead online, as they were completely booked for the rest of the day. Fortuately, we were able to just walk around and see the Burj. Also, the Dubai Mall is really awesome, not for the 1000+ stores they have but the inside waterfalls and the aquarium.

Burj Khalifa

Dim Sum for lunch = TASTY!

Ladies and the Burj


Love and the Burj

Indoor waterfall

LOVED the sculpted divers

The twinkling ceiling around the aquarium = I WANT THIS!

Dubai Mall Aquarium

Dubai Mall Aquarium

Dubai Mall Aquarium

Afterwards, we headed over the Atlantis Resort to check out their aquarium, and it did not disappoint. Adam and I are hopeful that our freediving course will be able to get us into the main tank at either Dubai Mall or Atlantis, so fingers-crossed!!!!

Aquarium at Atlantis

Aquarium at Atlantis

Aquarium at Atlantis: Jellyfish

Aquarium at Atlantis

Aquarium at Atlantis: Angry eel

Aquarium at Atlantis: The large tank

Aquarium at Atlantis: Starfish!

Aquarium at Atlantis: More starfish!

Aquarium at Atlantis: Large tank

Aquarium at Atlantis

Aquarium at Atlantis

Aquarium at Atlantis: Adam loves aquariums

Aquarium at Atlantis: Shawna and Adam silhouettes 

One of my favorites of Shawna, of her entire trip!

The next picture, in the distance because you cannot even get onto its island without a reservation, is the Burl Al Arab....the world's first and only 7-star hotel. I can't even begin to imagine the extravagance that must entrench this place!

Burj Al Arab: Only 7-star hotel in the world = $$$$$

So we had a really great time in Dubai. Some of the things that I wanted to accomplish on our list that we did not have time for: Gold souk and spice souk. Dubai is really known for its shopping, so if that is your thing, you will completely lose your mind here. Such a wonderful day and way to start her visit!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Brussels, Belgium

And for the final leg of our incredible journey: Brussels! This city has been on my list for a few years now, just for its simplicity and beauty, and it did not fail to disappoint. It is one of those cities where you just want to get a tall cup of hot tea/coffee/whatever and amble along the streets without intent or direction. This is exactly what we did for the most part and it was wonderful. The apartment we stayed in here was central located to almost everything, so it was perfect, as we were able to walk everywhere...our favorite mode of transportation!


Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule

Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule

Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule

Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule

Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule

I watched them for a solid 20 minutes, restoring the artwork

So I have to say, as random as it was that we can across these ladies delicately restoring the paintings gracing the walls, I was absolutely mesmerized and captivated by them and their work. These women were working with the microscope eye pieces that you see jewelers use to examine diamond and TINY little brushes to first clean out the paintings and then restore the art. Their movements were so slight and precise, I found myself holding my breath watching them. Where they were at, you could appreciate what a difference their work made by what was already restored, yet how much more there was to be done. I am grateful that there are people that do this, as it literally brings history to life. It is awesome and amazing!

Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule

Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule

Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule

Place du Petit Sablon

Part of the Royal Palace

Oh yes, we could live here for a bit


Best little expresso place yet!


Brussels Love

Oh how I love my town/city squares...and Grand Place in Brussels did not fail to capture my affections. It is a beautiful square with old and beautiful buildings, artists all over the place trying to capture the beauty on their canvases, street artists performing their craft, tourists from every corner of the globe, and the perfect place to people watch. Oh it is wonderful! We spent a long time here; walking slowly around the square appreciating the exquisite architecture, looking over the shoulder and appreciating the talent of the artists, and just enjoying the beautiful day that it was. It was perfect. That being said, I could not wait to come back at night and see it all lit up!

Grand Place

Grand Place

Grand Place

Grand Place

Grand Place

Grand Place

Grand Place

Grand Place

Grand Place

Grand Place

Galeries St. Hubert

Galeries St. Hubert


I almost lost him again...

And then we encountered this place...YES PLEASE!

I told you we would be back at night and it was completely worth it. We arrived as the sun was setting and just sat and watched at the day turned to dusk turned to dark. I highly recommend that you to this, as the changing light on the buildings is fantastic!

Grand Place

Grand Place: As night overcomes

Grand Place: As night overcomes

Grand Place: As night overcomes

Grand Place: As night overcomes

Grand Place: As night overcomes

Grand Place: As night overcomes

Grand Place: As night overcomes

Grand Place: As night overcomes

One of the places in the city that our host told us that we "ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT MISS!!!!" was the Cantillon Brewery. He boasted that it was the best thing the city had to offer, and after loving everything else, we knew that we had to check it out. Prior to arriving, we ventured around one of the local outdoor markets that Brussels seems to be known for, which is the equivalent of a flea market in the US. If you happen to hear about them and are curious as to what they are. They are just a lot of random people coming together in a random square trying to selling off their unwanted wares. It is interesting and just fun to spend a few moments walking around waiting for everything else to open. You know that we are not "stuff" people, so there is nothing that we would pick up, but it is fun to see what people had once treasured. Ok, now, let's focus: CANTILLON IS AMAZING!

Our host was COMPLETELY right. Do NOT come to Brussels and not come here. It is not a beer brewery, it is a lambic brewery, which is the same process of making beer but fruit is used instead of hops. Hello...this place had my name ALL over it. For the price of the entry fee you get an introduction by one of the brewers, are sent on a self-guided tour, and then get two samples at the end. Was this enough? NOPE. We sat around and purchased the rest of the options to sample and away went 3-4 hours of our mid-day enjoying the libations, talking with the awesome brewer, meeting a group of American college students traipsing around on a beer tour, and finally meeting a couple from PA/MD. It was such a nice way to spend the day! This brewery has a nice and comfortable tasting room that encourages interacting.

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Notice the open copper container in the picture above? That is because Cantillon does open air fermentation. When usually making beer, you add yeast into the product. This place exposes it to the air for wild yeast contamination. It may sound gross, but it makes for some INCREDIBLE beverage. We enjoyed this so much that we even went so far to get the name SINGLE distributor for this product in the United States with full intention of making the connect when we are back stateside.

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery


Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery: So excited

Cantillon Brewery: SOOOOO TASTY!

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery: Love us some Lambic

Escargot for lunch = AMAZING and DELICIOUS! 

Brussels is a wonderful and classic European city. We loved it. We stayed for 3 nights and had 3 full days there, I think that this is definitely enough time to fully enjoy this city, and would highly recommend it as a stop for any beer lover who wants to experience all of the beer wonder of Belgium but doesn't have the time to fully tour the country.