This weekend has been an enjoyable and relaxing one. It probably won't make for the most fast paced or interesting post, but for us this has been a well needed break.
Saturday morning I went for a run, and later in the morning all four of us went down to the pool for a few hours to swim and read in the sun. In the afternoon Jackie and Sheila went into town for manicures and Mike and I stayed in the apartment. I have been programming in python a little bit as a way to stay sharp before going back to work. It was nice to dedicate a whole afternoon to it.
That evening Sheila made pesto and feta stuffed chicken breasts and a salad which were delicious and, Jackie and I figure, quite healthy. We watched a movie on TV and called it a night.
Sunday morning Jackie wanted to do a bit of shopping so she, She, and I went to the nearby Ibn Battuta mall. It was our first chance to ride Dubai's metro system. The system opened in 2009 and is fully automated. At 75km it is the worlds largest automated network.
The mall is a tribute to the 14th century Muslim trader who travelled across the Islamic world from North Africa to China. The mall is broken up into different segments, the decor of which relates back to a place he travelled through, Egypt, Persia, India, China, etc.
After the shopping trip we headed back home. We had to meet by 14:00 right below Mike and She's apartment to catch a boat tour of the Dubai Waterfront. Despite another tour outfit trying to poach us, we ended up on the right boat with two quiet but friendly Indian guys. Here we are pulling out of the harbour:
The tour lasted about 2 hours and we went through some pretty serious waves around the Jumeira Palm. We stopped infront of the Atlantis Hotel and the iconic Burj Al Arab for some photos:
We all took a bit of a pounding going through the chop, but it was a blast. We were laughing the whole way. We pulled back into the Barasti Beach area and threw the anchor for a bit of swimming. The water was saltier than we remember the Atlantic being along the Northeast Coast but it was a whole lot warmer:
We finished right at 16:00 and all agreed that it was a great time.
For dinner that night we drove across town to Festival City to eat at the Belgium Beer Cafe. Online they advertise over forty beers from Belgium, however their menu only listed a dozen, four of which they were out of. It was a little frustrating, but the atmosphere and the food were good. Here are a couple photos we took on the way to dinner and at the restaurant:
Monday morning Jackie and I debated over going to one of the two local water parks, but talked ourselves out of it since there were still higher priority things to do and see in Dubai. We started by taking the metro system back to the worlds largest mall to catch another spectacular fountain display (Jackie is kind of obsessed with the shows) and to do a little more shopping.
From the mall we walked to Tim Hortons. This time the line was a little more reasonable and we got a little taste of home:
Sheila met us at Tim Hortons and drove us to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel to go for lunch at a restaurant that she really likes right on the beach. The view was pretty spectacular being right between the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Burj Al Arab Hotel. The food was pretty good too. Their a la carte menu was not available due to a large group they were preparing for later that day so we had to eat at their buffet. Everything was very tasty but it was more food than we had planned on eating. Here are some photos we took at the beach:
After lunch we went to a local shopping neighbourhood called Madinat. We walked around for a while then left to pick up our race packages at the nearby veterinary clinic (?!). Jackie and I each grabbed our numbers (even though Jack will not be running), ID trackers, and kits of swag. The kits were backpacks loaded with cookies...no kidding. There were also some energy drinks and a package of pasta.
We are spending the evening in before another day of sightseeing.
Saturday morning I went for a run, and later in the morning all four of us went down to the pool for a few hours to swim and read in the sun. In the afternoon Jackie and Sheila went into town for manicures and Mike and I stayed in the apartment. I have been programming in python a little bit as a way to stay sharp before going back to work. It was nice to dedicate a whole afternoon to it.
That evening Sheila made pesto and feta stuffed chicken breasts and a salad which were delicious and, Jackie and I figure, quite healthy. We watched a movie on TV and called it a night.
Sunday morning Jackie wanted to do a bit of shopping so she, She, and I went to the nearby Ibn Battuta mall. It was our first chance to ride Dubai's metro system. The system opened in 2009 and is fully automated. At 75km it is the worlds largest automated network.
The mall is a tribute to the 14th century Muslim trader who travelled across the Islamic world from North Africa to China. The mall is broken up into different segments, the decor of which relates back to a place he travelled through, Egypt, Persia, India, China, etc.
*An almost completed building in the Dubai Marina
*Dubai Marina
*A catamaran braving the high seas with us
The tour lasted about 2 hours and we went through some pretty serious waves around the Jumeira Palm. We stopped infront of the Atlantis Hotel and the iconic Burj Al Arab for some photos:
*Atlantis Hotel
*Burj Al Arab
We all took a bit of a pounding going through the chop, but it was a blast. We were laughing the whole way. We pulled back into the Barasti Beach area and threw the anchor for a bit of swimming. The water was saltier than we remember the Atlantic being along the Northeast Coast but it was a whole lot warmer:
*Time's up
*Cruising back into harbour
We finished right at 16:00 and all agreed that it was a great time.
For dinner that night we drove across town to Festival City to eat at the Belgium Beer Cafe. Online they advertise over forty beers from Belgium, however their menu only listed a dozen, four of which they were out of. It was a little frustrating, but the atmosphere and the food were good. Here are a couple photos we took on the way to dinner and at the restaurant:
*Feels just like home...
*Almost half of the beers in the restaurant
Monday morning Jackie and I debated over going to one of the two local water parks, but talked ourselves out of it since there were still higher priority things to do and see in Dubai. We started by taking the metro system back to the worlds largest mall to catch another spectacular fountain display (Jackie is kind of obsessed with the shows) and to do a little more shopping.
*Burj Khalifa, currently the world's tallest building
From the mall we walked to Tim Hortons. This time the line was a little more reasonable and we got a little taste of home:
Sheila met us at Tim Hortons and drove us to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel to go for lunch at a restaurant that she really likes right on the beach. The view was pretty spectacular being right between the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Burj Al Arab Hotel. The food was pretty good too. Their a la carte menu was not available due to a large group they were preparing for later that day so we had to eat at their buffet. Everything was very tasty but it was more food than we had planned on eating. Here are some photos we took at the beach:
*A (small) sampling of the desserts
*View of the Burj Al Arab from the beach in front of the restaurant
*Jumeirah Beach Hotel
After lunch we went to a local shopping neighbourhood called Madinat. We walked around for a while then left to pick up our race packages at the nearby veterinary clinic (?!). Jackie and I each grabbed our numbers (even though Jack will not be running), ID trackers, and kits of swag. The kits were backpacks loaded with cookies...no kidding. There were also some energy drinks and a package of pasta.
We are spending the evening in before another day of sightseeing.
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