Unreal.

Yesterday I took my parents up to Dubai Mall for one last day trip before they head off home, after being away from Australia for close to six weeks. (They divided their time between the UAE and UK.)

The mall is okay and I do like going there, but it is too big with over 1200 shops under it's roof. It is okay if you know what shops you would like to visit and have a general idea where they are all situated, otherwise it can lead to a very tiresome and long day.

But myself, Lily, Mum and Dad weren't there really to shop. Okay, did a little shopping but we did go and take some photographs.

The Mall is situated at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, the highest building in the world, which I have surely blogged about before. But with my camera in hand, this time I took some photos.

Below (panoramic shot) is the foot of the Burj on the left and then across to part of the Mall on the right.  All these buildings look out onto a massive man-made lake, whose bottom is tiled with bright blue tiles to make it look inviting any day of the year.

There is a bridge that connects the Mall with a Souk (Arabian market place), which is really lovely to look at.  Lots of intricate laid Mosaic tiles and the like, patterns carved into wood and Arabian lights swinging from the overhead part of the bridge...

When you stand on the bridge and turn to your left, you come face to face with the beautiful Burj Khalifa herself, a whole 828 metres (or 2717 feet for you old schoolers) in height.

It is one of those building you must see with your own eyes to believe.  It makes you wonder what the UAE has up it's sleeve for it's next world-record standing attempt doesn't it?

Marina Mall

There are lots of shopping malls here in Abu Dhabi. I guess the most popular one which attracts the crowds (for some reason, I'm not sure why - I don't see anything fancy about it), is the one opposite the city called Marina Mall.

I'm pretty sure they're making plans on renovating this mall - it is starting to look a bit dated and tired as compared to the newer ones in town.  However some of the art work in the Mall is pretty cool - lots of mosaics and the like.

The main entrance houses a water feature which is (theses days) pretty ordinary, with water falling from the tower on the hour.  If not on the hour, the feature is pretty much waterless, yet the colours are quite striking.

I took the photo below so you could see the portrait of one of the Sheikhs which are dotted around the city - he probably puts them there himself. *LOL*  I thought this portrait of the Sheikh was a little on the amusing side, as it is known that dogs are not popular in Arabic countries, especially here in the UAE where it seems only ex-pats have pet dogs.  I must be wrong.

Like Venice, Without The Canals.

One thing we loved about Barcelona, was the fact it did remind us of Venice, Italy, just minus the canals and 400 bridges, but with scooters added for good measure...

If you haven't been to Venice, nor Barcelona for that matter, it is made up of an array of maze-like little lane ways, dotted with little shop faces and you never quite sure what you'll discover around in the next lane way.  MrL and I loved exploring the section of Barcelona which was like this....

You find toy stores...

I love the reflection of Little Lily's face in this photo...

Chicken rotisseries out on the street...

Old Spanish men hanging around their local bar...

The Corner Store, one of which you'll find that you keep on passing...

Cute artwork on pulled-down roller-doors...

Little delicatessens....

And, out of the blue, you'll find a most awesome Japanese Fabric shop (in which you will buy some fabric to make yourself a special skirt - but that's another post!)...

Part of the fun when going on holidays is getting lost and exploring.  Pretty sure that happened to us every day in Barcelona, but we loved it.  Just awesome.

Better Than Harrods.

We discovered quite a few 'cool' shopping areas of Berlin. The guy, who we met to pick up our keys at our apartment, suggested an area just north of the Spree River which was full of little indie shops in small little streets.  When we found the area, it was getting on in time, we were all a little tired from all the walking, and I think we were a little over whelmed by our discovery of finding an array of stores we had been keen to look in.

MrL, Monet and myself all walked out of the area with a new pair of Birkenstocks each - paying less than half if we had bought them in Abu Dhabi.  Monet had earned hers very much so and they never left her feet from that day (and still haven't, two weeks on).

On our final full day in Berlin, before we headed off to Barcelona, we caught one of those hop on/hop off buses.  For us, those buses are more like, hop on/stay on till you do the full loop.  It didn't help that it was wet and rainy on that final day, but we did manage to get off and visit a store I had previously read about, KaDeWe.  It is known as the capitals equivalent to London's Harrods.  I thought it was better than Harrods...

Our first floor stop was the top floor, which housed the Gourmet Section.  Oh we ohhed and ahhed over the displays and the little eateries housed in there.

Monet's eyes just about popped out of her head when she noticed the 'sweetie section' and promptly chose a lolly pop for both her and her sister.  Truth be told, neither of my girls have indulged in their 'pop' due to them forgetting.  (I have them tucked away!)

Of course MrL and I quite enjoyed the beer section.  If given half a chance, we probably would have liked to purchase one of each...

We gave our legs a break by stopping into the little bar in the Gourmet section and sipped a cool pilsner whilst the two girls munched away happily on cheese topped rolls.  No one looks at you twice when you have a beer in Germany, at any time of the day - it is just the done thing.  Love that.

Down on the lower floors, Monet couldn't believe this section dedicated to Dogs.  Spoilt pooches more like it... (yes, this was all poochie stuff!)

The toy section was pretty cool.  I love me a cute cuddly toy...

I recommend visiting there if you do happen to visit Berlin.  I'm glad we did.

De-Construct, Abu Dhabi style

After MrL taking Monet to the Doctor's on Saturday morning (bloody ear infections - I tell you, they'll be the death of me!), the four of us drove into Abu Dhabi city to purchase a couple of things and to go out for lunch.

I thought I would share with you a couple of observations.  As you know, I am married to someone who works in construction, so our eyes are always peeled for new buildings, infrastructures etc., but only here in the UAE have we ever seen building being torn down via this method;

We always gasp when we spy this type of action happening.  It is so dangerous and when the buildings are 'deconstructed' this way, it really means they could actually collapse at any moment (though I doubt they do).  This building above, would've probably looked like the building below, a couple of weeks ago.

All boarded up and ready to be torn down to make way for a brand spanking new building.  I'm not sure what happens to all the people who once called all those apartments home.  There are some real shocker buildings here in Abu Dhabi and in a way, I am glad they're pulling down the eye-sores!

MrL made his purchases on needed items and then we headed to our favourite restaurant at the Beach Rotana Hotel located next door to Abu Dhabi Mall, (see location at the end of post), Prego's.  It's Italian and we've rarely been disappointed when we've eaten there.

I cannot go past my favourite dish on the menu (it seems I now order it every. time.)  A spinach and ricotta ravioli with a butter, basil and hazelnut sauce.

Monet cannot go past her favourite pizza.  (It is a rare restaurant here that has pork items on it's menu and even rarer to find a proper pizza with out the pork substitute of beef or turkey ham!)

After our filling lunch, we browsed Abu Dhabi Mall (we both noted that it really has improved over the past couple of years) and finally made our way home by late afternoon.

A Day Out

Up bright and early this morning, the four of us got in the car and headed up the road to Dubai Mall.

Up the 'Fashion Car park' we drove....  It is impossible NOT to feel carsick as you drive up the eight levels to the start of the car park...

Where we usually park, you end up quite near the biggest bookshop in the country (but it does feel like the biggest in the world), 'Book World'.  I snuck a piccie, you're not meant to take photographs in there.  I bought a couple of guide books, all ready for our holiday!

Outside the bookshop, we peered down to see other families playing on the lighted floor, three levels down.   It was hard to get Lily to move from that spot.  She loved the lights.

I quite like getting to Dubai Mall early, if anything to beat the crowds, like we did today.  This photo was taken at around 10:30am.  If it was a few hours later, the place would be pumping, and I'm not really one for crowds.  Especially in shopping malls.

And of course,  no visit to this particular mall is complete without seeing the Aquarium.  Our girls love it.

Monet thinks a visit to this mall, actually any Dubai mall, is not complete without going to choose her own bag of sweets.  *Argh*  MrL and I usually take turns to help Monet pick out her sweets, today it wasn't mine.  ;P

And speaking of sweets, when Lily starts to get restless in the pram/stroller, it only takes a little playing with her big sister for her to forget her worries of being strapped in.

Today we picked up some bargains - though I didn't spy anything I liked (think I'm getting fussy) in the clothing department, Monet scored a couple of real bargain pieces from Pumpkin Patch, as it is Summer Sale Time here in the UAE.  Funky dude.

That was our day out.  What did you get up to on the first day of your weekend?

Love Me A Bargain.

There's a little outlet shop in one of the malls in Abu Dhabi called 'Tchibo'.  It is a German store and I always try and 'pop in' whenever I am in that particular mall, as you never know what one will find.  It is jam packed full of home wares and travel wares, from bags and shoes, shirts to cups and the stock changes probably each week.

On a whim, I popped in last week.  And I walked out with a pair of travel pants (or Trekkinghose/Hiking Trousers as they've called them);

Now this store is always a buzz with shoppers.  And the reason why?  Because it is cheap.  Damn cheap.  Those pants cost me a whole...wait for it.....wait for it....30 dirhams.  At the time of typing, 30 dirham is roughly ummm....$7.60aud.  Can you believe that?  They're going to be the perfect pair of trousers for jumping on a plane with and in one of my favourite colours (that dark olive greeny colour I seem to wear a lot of!)

They have a few more stores in the UAE and I know they're dotted over in Europe too.

Oh yes, I do love me a bargain.

Ahh Mussafah.

There is a certain section of Abu Dhabi makes you realise exactly where you are. That place is Mussafah, a dusty industrial suburb, off island and full of labour camps and labourers. Probably not the best place for a woman to be (unless you like being stared continually at), but there is nothing quite like driving through safely in behind tinted wndows of your own car.

You may remember this post of one of the first times I drove in Mussafah.... Driving here, well, you can drive anywhere.

Sometimes you can forget where you are - there are areas of this country which are full of glitz and glam and western ex-pats.  Then there are places like this...

The iPod (& belly) belong to me, my reflection from the window.

From a distance you wouldn't realise that Mussafah has dusty streets, full of ex-pats from Pakistan and India (and other countries too), gutters that are 6 foot high (it seems), lack of proper paving for footpaths, a zillion trucks lining the streets, lots of bargain basement stores (not that I've been shopping there you know!)

They have actually built a massive shopping mall there though, called Dalma Mall and is becoming quite the hub.  It is huge and only partly opened.  It is a little glitzy and houses Abu Dhabi's only Matalan store.  There's a big clean hypermarket there and many other stores waiting to be opened, including a new Marks and Spencer and Toys'R'Us amongst others.

There is also an impressive water fountain inside which my two girls thought was great.  I swear, Lily would have stood there all day if it wasn't for us taking her away due to a dozen Indian men wanting to take her photo - (this is nothing out of the ordinary and I never see it in a 'creepy' way when men want to look at her - remember most of these men, most who are labourers in this country, have children back home whom they never see, maybe every few years.)

We live in a house, a very big house in Abu Dhabi....

Friday was shopping day for us.  

We wanted to hit some shops, as you do.  Our destination was 150k's up the road at Dubai Mall, the largest shopping mall in the world, located under the Burj Dubai.  The past couple of times we have been there it was still in the process of opening (shop variety wise) but when we pounded the mall this time, we found most shops were open.  Gotta love that.

On the way 'up' to Dubai we got pretty excited to see some camels wandering on the side of the road (behind a fence) and even on the way home we saw more.  Rather funny as it was the first ones we had seen like that (one after the other), especially coming from Australia where we would always see, yet still get excited, about seeing wild Kangaroos on the side of the road. 

Monet and I both love the aquarium at the Mall - you can pay to go through the aquarium itself (unsure of the price) but otherwise you can stand behind barriers and see the giant glass wall with coral and fish.  It is pretty awesome to see for yourself.

Lyndon has been quite keen lately to purchase a gift for himself - a train set, so he and Monet could enjoy together, but he didn't see one that 'ticked all boxes' so instead he got a Wii Fit.  How come no one has ever told us about how good they are before??  I swear I hadn't laughed so hard in ages with both Monet and Lyndon doing exercise.  (Mind the shite quality of this photo - I was trying to quickly take one on the sly...)

There is one section where you can go jogging and seeing Monet 'jog' (ie sprint) on the spot was too much for me.  Monet and Lyndon too doing yoga and exercise was amusing but they enjoyed themselves.  It will be great to use for me once baby has entered the world.  (It is recommended not to use when pregnant, well especially 33 weeks along like myself)

Back to Dubai Mall...

I was rather happy to see that a H&M store had opened (you should know by now how much I like H&M, great prices!) and that they basically had most of their store at 50% off.  Monet and #2 gained a few items (so cute) but I'm leaving clothe shopping for moi a bit further along the track.  

I did however purchase a few of my favourite little cookbooks and I lashed out and bought myself some new shoes...

How could I resist those little (well, not little) numbers?  Too cute I thought.  

We had a nice day out and the evening was topped off with us each enjoying an Export Quality Four & Twenty Aussie Meat pie for dinner!  You have no idea how good they taste when you aren't in the country of origin!  (We have a box of 24 which we got off the Dubai Dingos AFL club, located here in the UAE.)

One last thing, Monet made my day today by announcing that this is her favourite song.  She must be taking after me after all!  I don't even care that the song is 14 years old.  It is Blur and that what counts!

Relief.

With great relief I can tell you all that I have got Monet into a School for the new school year. 

She begins KG-2 (like Aussie Prep) come August 30th, (which is during this year's Ramadan over here) and will be an orientation day for all new children and their parents; school tours, teachers met, school uniforms purchased.  I can tell Monet is looking forward to it already.  She got a *glowing* report from her Nursery School Director which I am sure helped.  (I have to tell you, it is very hard to get children into school over here - there are limited places everywhere it seems - and these schools are not cheap.  All international schools here are private.  The company Lyndon currently works for, will pay a certain amount for Monet but the rest we have to fork out.)

It will be a hectic time for us with Monet starting school, her 5th birthday the following week and baby #2 due.  

Speaking of, Monet took this photo yesterday of me, so for all of you who want to spy a 23 week pregnant woman look no further;

Monet was busy trying on her 'winter' clothes for London next week.  We had to purchase some new threads for her on the weekend as her legs seemed to have stretched over the past few months and she didn't have a winter coat, which will be needed going from 40+ degree days into the low teens.

(I can't help but look at that above photo and see that she's looking 'grown up'. When did that happen?)

Things are moving ahead, per usual.

Making The Most Of It...

One thing we have noticed without Monet being 'constantly' around, is our new found freedom.  As horrible as I might sound here, it is nice to go shopping without dragging around a 4 year old who would like this and that.  It is nice to be able to 'browse'.

I have even been to my first 'bottle shop' in the UAE this week.  As Monet is not allowed in I have never been in either.  Bottle Shops/Off License are here in the UAE (as many may not believe, as being in a Muslim belief country where drinking is (meant to be) prohibited).  They aren't 'advertised' and nor do they have big adverts displaying what's on special outside the magic doors.  You are meant to have a 'liquor license' to purchase alcohol which you buy (depending on the police you buy it from at the time, you are looking at about $150 AUD for a license valid for a year.)  One thing we do love about these shops is your alcohol is put into big black bags, so no-one knows what exactly you've bought.  

(And no, I have not had a sip of alcohol since finding out I was pregnant.)

On Wednesday, Lyndon and I visited Hamden Street in the city, as Lyndon wanted a new pair of work boots.  This is Hamden Street.

Lots of jewellery shops, bargain stores, bits and bobs shops - you get the picture.  I figured I'd buy a few little UAE souviners for myself, as I hadn't since moving here.  Monet was rather thrilled to find the things I bought when she returned from Nursery School in the afternoon...

I don't know how long she played with the 'Russian Dolls' but I can tell you it was a while!

Yesterday, Lyndon and I did some shopping online.  We bought ourselves (and Monet) return airline seats to London town in less than two weeks time. (London is a seven hour direct flight from Abu Dhabi - beats the 24 hour trip we took to get there last year!!)  Lyndon has managed to wrangle a week off work and Monet has a mid-term Nursery School break.  

It will be nice to see my sister and her partner and their newly renovated apartment and stay in our favourite hotel (already booked).  I won't be able to enjoy a pint or two (bummer) but I will be able to enjoy the charms London town offers...

iMe

It feels like I have a brand new computer to upload my photos onto.  

We've had our MacBook now for over two years and on Friday we went out and purchased new upgrading software for it.  It feels like a brand spanker, especially with the introduction of iLife'09.  I am in love with iPhoto even more so now, as I can click on one of four icons, 'iWeb', 'Email', 'Facebook' or 'Flickr'.  As I use both FB and Flickr, my photos can now easily be uploaded to these accounts.  So easy peasy and I am very happy!  Along with new 'cleaning spray and cloth' for the MacBook, not only does our computer feel brand new, it also looks brand new...  

I have decided that my oven is a great baking one.  See what I made on Thursday...

Can I tell you that it taste as good as it looks.  My neighbours can too confirm this statement.  For the recipe, click here...

I do enjoy baking and cooking, but one thing I simply cannot stand is washing those bloody dishes one uses to produce goods.  Well that will be changing tomorrow, with the arrival of this...

I am one lucky ducky.  No more feeling awfully hot, hand washing the dishes.  My kitchen should now look constantly clean (as compared to having dishes lying about all.  the.  time.)  There will be more items being cooked and baked in my kitchen with the introduction of our new dishwasher tomorrow.  Yippee....  

And the best thing?  When we leave this villa, whenever that shall be down the track, and when we leave Abu Dhabi, the oven and the dishwasher come with us.  Now, we just have to keep our eyes open for some property in Melbourne...  (All in due time you realise people, all in due time!)

A Dubai Weekend

We decided on Friday morning to head north to Dubai for the weekend (remembering the working week here runs from Sunday to Thursday.)  We booked a room at the Premier Inn and off we went.  Monet was very excited - for her the prospect of a night away in a hotel is like Christmas for her!  (She's very hotel savvy, let me tell you!)

But before the hotel room beckoned, we had decided to visit Dubai Mall, which lies underneath the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world.  The Mall itself is home to over 2000 shops and restaurants and is one of the largest shopping malls in the world.  It seriously was an amazing place.  The below photo was taken before the crowds hit.

Where else could you find one of the world's biggest bookshops? (It kept going on and on and on....)

An ice rink?

An indoor waterfall?

An aquarium? (Now, that was amazing!)

It honestly blew us away but it is so big it is actually too big.  There is still a lot of shops to be opened in the near future so honestly, if you can't find what you were looking for here, you must have your eyes shut.  

By the time we had lunch (in the most amazing food court ever!), walked around, did a touch of shopping (not much but I did buy a couple of good cookbooks!) and on our way to find our hotel, it was past 4:30pm.  

Dubai roads seem to be a series of ring roads, on and off ramps, bridges and roundabouts.  After (finally) finding ourselves heading in the right direction I caught this snap of the Burj Tower from a distance with the sun setting...

The Premier Inn was great (we'll stay there again down the track I am sure).  It was relatively inexpensive, had a great little bar and a restaurant there and a coffee shop.  The room was not too dissimilar from the one we stayed at in London (which gave us good feeling - same prints on the walls and everything Lol!!) 

After breakfast in the morning we headed to the Emirates Mall for a wander around there.  We left a little while later to head home.  (Over shopping, but surprisingly, shoppers didn't annoy me, which usually happens!) 

Next time we head to Dubai, we have decided we'll go out onto Palm Island and explore some of the amazing architecture on foot, rather than doing drive-bys.