Day 32 Dubai

 Unheard of! I slept in till 9am. Even though being on holiday, mentally and emotionally it recharged our batteries, it was physically exhausting. 

As soon as we had breakfast, we left the house. Britt was working from home and even though she was brilliant at being totally in the zone for zoom calls and the like, we knew we must be posing a distraction. Our grand plans for a creek bike ride on the electric bikes had to be shelved when we realized that by 11am it was going to be 37 degrees. A much better plan was to spend the day in the thoroughly airconditioned Dubai Mall.

We knew the Dubai Mall pretty well from previous visits, and especially the first visit when Britt and Wil lived in an apartment just next door to the Palace Hotel. The Mall has never failed to impress us. Its size, its glamour, its range.. walking through its halls is like walking through the pages of a high end fashion magazine. This impression was very much enhanced by arriving at the luxury end of the Mall. There was another level of familiarity in that every now and then we caught sight of companies that are Britt's clients.

Johnny was so patient. His things were tech and watches, but he came through clothes, shoes and handbag stores galore. I had no interest or the resources to buy any of these glamour goods, but just from a creative and sociological point of view it was incredibly interesting. After this effort I thought he deserved a coffee and cake from the Paul patisserie. I had some of that glorious Mint lemonade. I really will have to try to make some when we are back home. 

The Mall is an ever changing thing, and the newest iteration of it has been a China wing. This was in its infancy but there was ample evidence of the range of Chinese businesses that will soon be populating this area. We had some really nice noodles and sweet and sour chicken. Before we left, we enjoyed the performance of Chinese music and the demonstration of Chinese calligraphy. I'm sure that when we next visit, this whole Chinese wing will have taken off. Dubai doesn't do anything by halves. 

To watch the dancing fountain, we has scoped out the best position. While most people opted for the vantage from the bridge or the perimeter of the fountain, we realized that the deck outside the Apple shop on the first floor would be the best spot. We and about 40 other people had the same idea. 

We also saw the massive aquarium. seriously, this was completely wonderful. For us the most impressive creatures were the stingrays, which swirled around like ballerinas. 

After four hours, we were both footsore and ready to go home. This was our last chance of the trip to make use of that gloriously large pool. Britt had not taken a break since she sat down for work at 9am, so she (and Molly) joined us in the pool for 15 minutes. Molly genuinely enjoyed the experience. As soon as she saw Britt getting into her bathers, she started a bit of frantic jumping and then followed Britt out the door to the pool. I think Britt has now got a permanent pool buddy.

Upstairs the great packing was taking place. We had not bought anything for ourselves, but Britt was sending a wide range of goods home for family. Yes we had a couple of items for family too. We had tried to limit our disruption to Britt and Wil's home, but we had to check every room for our stuff , which seemed to have spread far and wide. We had to make room for all manner of cosmetics and perfumes, designer handbags, very special dates, sardines, and even some very special Casa Adega oil.  It was just as well that our ticket gave is a 35kg luggage allowance.

Oh yes. Great news. The credit cards that had been left behind in a rental in Portugal, had been picked up by Fed Ex and delivered to the Faux offices. From here they had been couriered to Britt's home and were waiting for us when we got home. They will be put to good use tomorrow at Dubai airport as the Diners card will give us access to a lounge as we wait for our flight. Than you, thank you, thank you angel Britt.

For Britt work continued till after 7pm but we made good use of the time, tidying up our room and catching up on the blog. Listening into the Britt's zoom calls gave us another insight into the role she has in the company and the extent of her skills. We were so proud of our shining star.

Our last dinner of the trip was at Al Falamanki, a local Lebanese place where people gather not only for a meal, but to smoke a hookah and play a game of cards or backgammon. The menu began with n explanation of the history of the restaurant and of the quirky decore. It read like a love letter from a son to a much beloved father. It was a very tasty meal of dips and grilled meats and cheese. It was washed down with a drink Dubai does best, mint lemonade. As we finished our meal, there was a sudden explosive  commotion at the table behind us. Five waiters came out banging various metal kitchen utensils and singing (badly) "happy birthday to you" to a customer. This was my kind of place.

No evening is complete without a dog walk and that was what we did on our return to home. We took the route around the archaeological site. It was still warm. A velvety sky stretched above us and Dubai put on its evening glitter to wish us good night. But before we could go to bed, we had promised Britt another performance for the security camera. Bob Denver helped us a bit with ä shortened version of "Leaving on a jet plane".

We were picked up by a Kareem bang on 7am, leaving Britty free to pick up Zoe from Woof, where she had been holidaying during our visit. Then Britt charged off to work to take the staff through a 100 slide presentation to the staff on the company history, direction and culture. She and other long serving staff were also presented with acknowledgments of all they had contributed to the phenomenal growth of the company in recent years. Congratulations!

The airport drop off and take off was seamless. As the plane glided over Dubai, we caught a final sight of the city, We could easily make out the Dubai canal and Britt's house nearby. In contrast, landing in Melbourne was smooth but luggage collection and duty free pick up was painfully slow. We declared everything we had brought with us but in the end we were just waved through. Surprise.. Melb airport had got rid of the taxi rank and sold the pick up right to Uber. So it was a bit confusing getting the ride home. This trip ended as all good trips do, with the great washing and ironing routine. The best thing about coming home was family and Ginny, Charlie and Perry all came over to say hello. Britty tells us that Molly has been searching the house for us. We will have to Zoom call her. 

This had been a wonderful trip and we had a million memories to sustain us until the next time. Thank you Britty and Wil. We have much to be grateful for.

Day 31 Dubai

With the beach so close to the Jumeira  house, it would be a shame not to go down there, so after breakfast, that's what we did. It was a gloriously clean sandy beach with crystal clear water. Two huge communication  towers shone lights across the sand ensuring that the beach could be used at night. Solar powered buoys ensured that night and day swimmers were safe from jet skis and boats. Everything in Dubai is branded and as we walked over the sand freshly turned over and raked that morning by a machine, the name of the company which had done the work was impressed in the sand. 

We staked out a spot and set up our beach umbrella. Even though I could say Johnny and I are not beach people, we were soon in the the water and thoroughly enjoying it. Beach fun is beach fun, regardless of the country and there were kids cavorting and building castles. There were ladies chatting in shoulder high water. There were families tossing toddlers into the sea and toddlers squealing with delight and fear. We were thinking we might do more of this when we get back home. 

After a couple of hours we headed home, with a slight diversion to the very good meat place for a roast chicken for dinner tonight. We thought we would make roast chicken baguettes and take them down to the shore for a picnic dinner. Johnny noticed that they were also selling prime cuts of Australian beef. Guess the price for a T-bone steak. $90! Well we didn't buy any of that.

We arrived home to a clean house and with the washing machine working overtime, chewing through the piles of dirty clothes we had created. The lovely Diana has worked her magic. I think after all the years she has worked for Britt and Wil, she could almost be considered part of the family. Even the doggoes treat her as one of the inner circle. Diana is one of the many thousands, if not millions of migrant workers on whose labour Dubai's glittering success has been achieved. Gratefully, she and her Philippine family have also very much benefitted from the transaction.

We rang Perry in WA. He was elated with his time and his achievement. his feet, blistered from the sand rubbing inside the socks,  looked worse for wear but that was a small price to pay for the success. 

It was a late lunch today. Johnny toasted bagels and we had lots of different toppings. We ate sitting under the pergola and it was perfect. so many of the frangipani were in flower and even the oleander was putting on a show. The garden was a little bit of paradise.

Of course what would you do on a day where the afternoon temperatures wee in the mid thirties? You would have a dip in the pool, but today molly joined us. Up until now she has been a bit afraid of the water and terrified of any splashing. There were a couple of lilo toys and Britt put her on her own raft. she seemed to love it.

While Britt and I went indoors to enjoy the cool, Johnny was eying off Wil's bike. Taking out the bike meant a few adjustments to the seat etc, but he was soon out there. The plan was to take it out on the boardwalk next to the creek. We had both seen the signs saying "No bikes" but we had it on good authority that it was a rule ignored by everyone. The traffic on the roads could really move so I hoped he would stick to the footpaths. He came back looking like a sweaty beetroot, but having really enjoyed it.

Dinner as planned by on the beach. we took a picnic and chicken salad rolls down there. We arrived just in time to see the last embers of the day dying and then all the lights around the islands and the starts in the sky light up. We passed a house near the waterfront that was lit by an estimated 10,000 fairy lights. apparently this signals that an Emirati family is having a wedding. 

it had been a rest day, but we wee still so very tired when we drove home, but there was no rest until the doggoes had their walk. This time we walked past the archaeological site and then turned right towards Al Wasl Road. Dubai doesn't stop and the traffic out there was just as heavy as it had been during the day. after a cup of coffee, doggoes and humans all set off for bed.