3/24/2012

Dubai Part 3- Desert

Our last night in Dubia was spent in the desert.  We had an entourage of Range Rovers driving us through the sand dunes.  Note to self:  Whenever you get in a car with a roll bar, be prepared for extreme driving.  I was a little sick when we made our first stop. 
camels in dubai

The first stop on our adventure was to watch the sun set.  
  Beautiful evening with the sun setting in the background.




Moments before the sun set. 


Champagne toast (and a chance to recover from riding on the sand dunes). 
  
Camel rides look much more glamorous than they are.  Sitting on a camel while it is getting up and down is very scary.   Hard to believe that people travel across the desert on one of these.


Visiting a fortune teller. She told me that a move to a new house in the same city might be in my future.   I was thinking, "Hmmm, have you seen my new kitchen?  I am not going anywhere."  
All in fun. 

Fortune Tellers are so not Steve's thing, but I asked him to go so we could compare notes.  He was with  the fortune teller for an hour!  We were all joking that he was getting revenue forecasts for the upcoming year. 
Having a great dinner.

Hookah bar area being set up. 

The "A Team" dancers.  They were spectacular. 

Random pictures of our trip:

Some interesting entertainment one of the nights.
At dinner outside.

More pictures of the "Gold to Go" vending machine at the mall.  When you want gold fast, you can just push a few buttons and get an ounce of gold. 

Table shot at one of our dinners.




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3/15/2012

Dubai Part 2

The thing about Dubai is that everything is the "largest,biggest, tallest" in the world.  There is so much construction going on.  Cranes atop every building.  The architecture of the buildings is fascinating.  Each building is in a unique shape.  I wonder about the people who live there (especially the expats) how they survive the summers in stifling heat.
 
The fountain in the hotel was filled with fresh flower petals each day. The lobby smelled amazing.


We went to dinner downtown one of our nights in Dubai.  A friend of one of Steve's coworkers had recommended the restaurant.  I have to admit I was a little leary because it was attached to the largest mall in the world.  Little did I know that the location was key with this restaurant. 
As we walked out on the balcony (several stories high) we heard loud music. As we stepped out, we realized the light fountain show (which happens to be the "largest in the world" was just beginning. It was an amazing show put on every 30 minutes.



The pictures do not show how spectacular the light fountain show was.  The fountain is in the middle of the 30-acre Burj Khalifa Lake.  The fountain shoots water jets as high as 500 ft (equivalent to that of a 50-story building).

Around the entire area, there are people standing around watching the show.  Photo below taken from Dubai Fountain Website.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum formally opens The Dubai Fountain

The restaurant was actually across the Burj Khalifa.  The beam from the fountain show is considered to be "the brightest spot in the Middle East, if not the world."  (quote taken from the Dubai Fountain website).

Photo below taken from Dubai Fountain website.  Truly a spectacular site.
The Dubai Fountain 3

We visited the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world). 

A quick elevator ride. 


Only in Dubai, if you need gold quick, you can go to the gold vending machines. 

We didn't want to look down, we were so high.
At a newly constructed mosque.  Most of the buildings were built in the last 10 years.  There are mosques on every corner.  It made us want to learn more about the culture and Islam. 



On an early morning walk.  We woke up at 4-5 a.m. everyday.  The 12 hour time difference got to us.
 On the abras at the hotel.
 The resort  was huge with so many sites to see. It was fun exploring.   


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3/13/2012

Dubai Part 1

As I review the pictures from our amazing trip, I realize that this might take a few posts.  I will start with a few snapshots from our trip to Dubai. 
The hotel Burj Al Arab (Sail Hotel) is built right on the water. 

Our hotel Jumeirah.  Looks like a castle that has been there for hundreds of years. 
Medinat Jumeirah
Had to take abras around the hotel.
Image of Mina A Salam Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai

View from the balcony of a restaurant.
Image of Mina A Salam Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai
One of the pools at the hotel.

The beautiful desert. Fascinating that this city is in the middle of the desert.

The flag of the UAE.  Just as I was taking the picture of flag and building, a woman came around the corner.  One of the few Arab women we saw during the day.
 On top of this tower are the speakers to call people to prayer.

Pictures of the Sheik everywhere.  



Crossing the "creek" on abras (water taxis).
In the Gold Souk
gold center


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3/12/2012

Quite a view

Love Springtime. . . 

This is our view from all the back windows of our house 
on all three sides of our fence.


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3/08/2012

Mission- 4th Grade Fieldtrip

Just getting back from our trip to Dubai.  Will post about that later,  jet lag is winning right now.
In the meantime, here are pics from a day with Chelsea. 

I went on the 4th grade Mission field trip to the Mission in San Luis Obispo.  I learned so much along with the 4th graders.  It was so much fun going on the tour.

Behind us is farmland, but it used to be a swamp with the foothills covered in trees.
This is the only mission that all four groups lived: Spaniards, Pioneers, Native Americans, and Mexicans. 

Standing on the original "El Camino."

Walking around the church.
Original log house built. 
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