One of the wonderful thing about living in an exotic locale is that people want to come visit (granted, people still aren't AS excited about the UAE as they were coming to see Hawaii....), and my Uncle Neal and Jay have been planning on coming to visit since THE MOMENT we told them that we told them we were relocating.
They flew into Dubai and recovered for an evening before we joined them, introducing them on their first full day in country, to the tradition of brunch. Opulence and elegance at its finest, we opted for the Waldorf Astoria out on the top-most frond of the infamous "Palm" Island that Dubai built, with a wonderful view of the Burj Al Arab, the sail shaped hotel. Honestly, it is the nicest brunch that we have attended, with a smaller but fantastic array of options, and a small venue that allowed for an intimate occasion.
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| Me and Uncle Neal |
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| Table of Aweome |
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| Me and Blue Jay |
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| Two of my favorite men |
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| Uncle Neal and Alison |
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| Me and my ginger |
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| The excitement for making their own cotton candy was abundant |
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| Sandwiched in Alison's Peugeot |
After walking around the streets of "The Walk" on Jumeirah Beach before decompressing at the hotel for a few hours. With it being their final night in Dubai, we made sure to venture over to the Dubai Mall to walk around the promenade and ensure that they could see the overwhelming size of the Burj Khalifa. Lesson learned: NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER go to any mall in Dubai on a Friday evening. It was more people than I have EVER seen in my life, and we were very quickly DONE. But they got to see the Burj and watch the musical water show of the fountain that mimics the one at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. We gladly retreated back to the hotel as quickly as we came.
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| Burj Khalifa |
Unfortunately, we also tried to go to the Old Souk in Diera to see the Spice Souk and Gold Souk in route to home in Abu Dhabi on Saturday morning....also the WORST DECISION EVER, at least on a weekend. We couldn't even get out of the car. Many people rave about it, and I am sure that it is great, but it is definitely not meant to be visited on a weekend. EVER.
So we left and headed for the calmer scene of Abu Dhabi. We ventured over to Almaz by Momo for a nice Moroccan dinner, and it definitely did not disappoint!
It was restaurant week, so we were spoiled by camel tagine, as well as getting them to try pigeon pastilla, both of which were thoroughly enjoyed. Oh what a wonderful weekend.
Stay tuned, we have some incredible adventures from Oman to share!
