Candylicious!

The weekend necessitated another trip to Dubai Mall (well, two trips really if you count Thursday night as the weekend - which I guess I do, since once school finishes for the week, the weekend begins). But, I digress. Part of the purpose for this trip was to visit Candylicious - the newly opened 'largest candy store in the world'.
Just in case I haven't emphasised it enough yet, Dubai is obsessed with having the biggest, the brightest, the best of whatever they can. They dream of a day when the Guiness Book of World Records is filled nothing but with Dubai!

It's website tells me that Candylicious is 10,000 square feet. When you are in there if doesn't seem all that big. It's big for a lolly store I guess. My favourite thing about it though is that all the workers have been brainwashed with the store's motto: Eat Happy! I must have heard a least 5 different workers say 'Eat Happy!' in the short time we were in there for. Maybe they get commision everytime they say it.
In the end the only purchase I made was some Milk Duds (which made me think of Tanyth), making the trip well worth the effort .....until I found them in our local supermarket a few days later....oh well!

"Save the Earth. It's the only planet with chocolate"

Al Qasba

We may have found the prettiest part of Sharjah! We went to Al Qasba for Jodie's birthday last week...yep, another birthday...they just keep coming...I think people are just making them up as an excuse to go out.

Al Qasba would be Sharjah's equivilent to Melbourne's Southbank.....sort of. It is a an area with lots of restaurants along the sides of the lagoon.

We went to a Thai restaurant called Lemongrass, which was really good - we found out that they home deliver to our building, so I sense a Thai night coming sometime in the very near future.

The Eye of the Emirates is at Al Qasba - haven't been on it yet, one day soon!

No area would be complete without fountains!

These fountains do a light and music show every half hour, but in between the kids take over.

It's not just a few kids running through either. Every child in sight is standing under a fountain fully clothed - they all just stand there shrieking as they get drenched.

So, of course, if the kids are going to get drenched, you can't expect them just to dry off in this 40 degree heat...no, instead the Emiratis have.... Fast Drying Machines!

You pay your 3 dirhams (about $1), stand inside and it blows hot air at you

- like a hand dryer for your body.

After dinner we hopped in a Dhow for a little cruise out and around the lagoon

-the weather was perfect-

Al Qasba is yet another thing I have added to my list of places to take visitors, so get in fast and you may be the lucky one I take there - I'll even shout you a go in the Fast Drying Machine!

Happy Birthday!

Seems that October is the time for birthdays. There was a birthday at school for one of the kids (he is Emirati, which means that it is not a small affair). His mum bought in a gigantic Spiderman cake for all the kids, along with drinks and goodie bags for everyone too (and we're talking quality goodie bags full of lollies and toys). We sang Happy Birthday in English, then in Arabic (Eid milaad saeed) and then in Russian (S dniom razhdjenia).

We went to Atlantis for Rob's birthday over the weekend and since he is from Italy we learnt to sing Happy Birthday in Italian (Tanti auguri a te).

We went out to lunch for Anca's birthday to a French restaurant called 'Madeline' at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai - very nice! The waiters came out with cake and sang Happy Birthday in French (Joyeux anniversaire).

It was a bit of a girls day out

Larissa had a Creme Brulee that was about the size of her head,

and I had the most amazing Mousse au Chocolat au Lait ever!

But the most important birthday of all was...

Helen's!

Now I just need to learn how to sing Happy Birthday like a kiwi!

Atlantis at The Palm

This weekend we went to Atlantis!

Atlantis is a hotel out on the crescent of The Palm (which is a series of manmade islands in the middle of the Gulf off the coast of Dubai). When Atlantis opened in September last year they spent $16M on fireworks that went off all across The Palm - the biggest fireworks show ever - that is the Dubai way!

I didn't take this photo myself

- the helicopter was low on fuel so I had to settle for a photo off the internet.

We drove past the Burj Al Arab on our way to The Palm - that will be next week's trip

I'm not sure what these buildings are - they look like the Chrysler Building in New York, but of course in true Dubai style there are two of them - bigger and better is their motto!

This is one of the many residences on the fronds of The Palm

I want to live there!

The tunnel leads underwater from the end of The Palm to the outside crescent

I took many many many photos of Atlantis - so pretty!

Typical Dubai - old world meets new world -

camels, monorails, sand... and the Burj Al Arab in the background

I know, I know, this photo looks like the other one.

But this is from the beach side, completely different.

Inside the Lobby

-it's made of fancy glass and kind of ugly, but I had to take a photo of it-

They have an aquarium in there too

Nasimi Beach

- we spent the evening on the beach in front of the Atlantis, lying in beanbags under the stars -

I seriously couldn't stop taking photos of the Atlantis

I realised after as I was looking through them that I managed to take almost the same photo several times over the course of the night.

I love Atlantis!

I was tempted to spend the 1000+ dirhams to stay a night there...maybe next time!