sub 30 at last, at least in the morning

Yes I know this post is a couple of days later than normal, I do apologise I just haven’t been feeling all that inspired this week and didn’t want to bore you more than normal, call it a case of writer’s block, or maybe I should say blogger’s block, not sure my rambling counts as proper writing.

Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming another good friend to Dubai. That makes two people that have visited us now. So nice to see our friends, when are the rest of you visiting huh? Garth was here on business for Gitex Technology Week (which was massive apparently), and we had the pleasure of his company for dinner. Twice! The first evening we took him to Tagine and happily it was just as good as the first time, and of course I had to have the very best dessert in the world, Kenaffa (hope that is spelt right), which is a phyllo pastry creation from heaven. He made us even happier by treating us to dinner that night. Of course we HAD to reciprocate (any excuse for another meal I say), so on Thursday we headed down to a restaurant Stu had spotted in the first couple of weeks he was here on his meanders with Bevan, and didn’t try at the time being a little shell-shocked as he was still converting prices into rands.

The restaurant in question is called Villa Beach, part of the luxurious and sprawling Jumeirah Beach Hotel. As per their website “Villa Beach restaurant offers beautiful views of the Arabian Gulf and the spectacular resort facilities of the hotel, in a tranquil and charming atmosphere. This restaurant offers an à la carte menu featuring the freshest ingredients for your pleasure..” I could not have put it better myself. When we arrived (a little sloppy in our attire maybe) the blonde at the desk told us that she couldn’t help us (no reservation you see), but in an effort to be helpful she went off to consult with the manager just to be sure (my words not hers). The manager, a tiny bubbly friendly Italian guy, bounded over and told us not to listen to her she always says NO, and promptly seated us. Sadly we were not on the terrace where the views are extra beautiful, but it was still lovely. The boys shared a bottle of Chilean wine, I was designated driver AGAIN, bloody taxis but that is another story. Stu started with figs wrapped in prosciutto whilst Garth had a scallop starter and I went for the Tomato experience (tomato terrine, soup and a deep fried ball of mozzarella cheese). The boys proceeded to devour half a cow masquerading as a Côte de bœuf, which they shared, whilst I had a vegetarian pasta. Completely stuffed we passed on pud, yes I know whatever next! We enjoyed watching the lights change colour on the side of the Burj Al Arab throughout the meal, its about the closest you can get to it without a reservation which results in a significant lightening of the wallet.

The seven star Burj Al Arab, designed to resemble a billowing sail and at 321m is certainly be one of the most recognisable and visable new landmarks in Dubai. One of only seven 7★ hotels in the world, 4 of which are incomplete at this time, the Burj Al Arab is simply breathtaking to look at. My dream is to be able to spend a weekend there, every room is a suite, and the staff apparently always know your name. High tea there will set you back around 300 dirhams each, gulp! In fact each suite includes a Swedish Tempur-pedic® bed for heaven’s sake. I have seen these in a store here, they are amazing, and very expensive indeed.

Winter, whatever that may end up looking like here in the desert, is now definitely on the way. Its dark by 6pm and only light after 6am. But the very best part is that the temperature in the mornings and evenings is below 30°C. To celebrate this we bought ourselves an outdoor table and chairs. Well its a second hand teak table that was being sold by a chap moving into a smaller unit, and we got a good deal. It needs some TLC but we had breakfast outside on Saturday morning which was heaven. And its given the cats something new to sit on, lie under and use as a scratching post. So everybody is happy!

☺

image 1: courtesy of Jumeirah Beach Hotel website
image 2: courtesy of this website