Before I begin, Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all our American followers. You realize you celebrate it about a month too late, eh?
Sorry we have delayed this post. Jackie and I have made it safely to Dubai and enjoyed a bit of R&R and did not get around to writing (until now).
Day 89, Thursday, was our last day in Europe. There were other guests checking in to the apartment so we were asked to leave before 10:00. Our flight left from the airport at 16:10, so we had a few extra hours we needed to kill with our baggage. We debated over locking it up at the railway station, but in the end decided to make straight for the airport.
After a cappuccino, we flagged down a cab and had him take us to the train station. We caught the train and sat in the airport for a few hours. With the extra time we got our VAT refund straightened out (tax back from the bag Jack bought) and kicked back in the airport lounge. I think Jackie makes fun of me a bit, but I am going to miss having Gold Status with Star Alliance next year.
The flight to Dubai had a stopover in Doha (we were flying Qatar Airways). The first leg of our journey went off without a hitch. Landing in Doha was a bit of an unwelcome adventure though. The terminal appears to have no gates, so every flight is loaded and unloaded on the tarmac and passengers are bussed back and forth. Between that, the redundant security checks, the dirty washrooms, and the throngs of people milling around waiting for their flights (at midnight), we did not leave Doha with a good impression.
We landed in Dubai and lined up for customs and immigration. This was a real trial in patience. As anyone who has driven across the border between the US and Canada knows, no matter which line you pick the line beside you will move faster (Jackie and I know a trick in Queenston ON which breaks this rule). Waiting in line, Jackie counted that the next line over was processing 4 people for every one of ours. You can imagine how frustrated she was getting. After a good 45min of this we got through unscathed.
Jackie's Dad, Mike, and Sheila were waiting on the other side (despite it now being 4:00AM) and drove us back to their apartment. We had a couple beers and caught up until it started getting light out, then we finally called it a day.
Jackie and I slept until about 1:00PM that day. After lunch we went for a walk around the neighbourhood. Jackie's Dad and Sheila lives in the neighbourhood of the Dubai Marina in a really nice apartment. There are pools and gyms as part of the complex and all around the marina are restaurants and shops. Below are some pictures:
*Nearby building, almost done construction
*Me and Mike critiquing the gelato
*Dubai Marina
After heading back, Mike and She made a surf and turf dinner for us which was delicious. We also started working on a 2000 piece puzzle of the worlds tallest sky scrapers (3 of which are here in Dubai). We also had a chance to show off a bit of the swag Jackie and I have collected through Europe (though I must warn the following is rated 18A, viewer discretion is advised):
*Form fitting aprons
Saturday morning Jackie and I got up a bit late but went down for a run. Jackie's endurance isn't what it was, but on the bright side her hip did not bother her at all. I felt it was a very positive sign, though Jackie was disappointed with how 'out of shape' she feels.
Afterwards we headed off to visit the Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building. The building took just over five years to build and clocks in at 829m. It took the record from our own beloved CN Tower, which is 'merely' 553m. The observation deck, the worlds highest in open air, is on the 124th floor at 452m. The elevator, the worlds fastest, made the trip in less than 30s. Below are the photos we took from the top:
*Palm Islands off to the distance on the right of picture
*Huge fountain area
After seeing what we wanted to see, we headed back down and wandered through the attached mall. See photos below:
*Fountain in the mall
*Ice rink in the mall
*Aquarium in the mall
It was nearly time for our dinner reservation so we walked over taking a few more photos:
*Our camera does not come close to capturing the whole tower
We ate at a very good steak house, though neither of us ordered steak. Jackie had the red snapper and I had the first hamburger I've had since our wedding week at the cottage. Both were delicious. After dinner we watched an artistic fountain show which was timed to O Mio Babbino Caro (see clip of the song performed by Mr. Bean at 1:00 mark of video); the fountain (shown in a previous picture from the Burj Khalifa) was designed by the same guy who did the fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The show was quite beautiful. Naturally we got some more photos of how the area looks at night:
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