It was such a great trip from Melbourne to Dubai in the Emirates A380. We got good aisle seats and it was such a quiet craft that for most of the journey we could barely feel any vibration. Ok, fair enough, the terribly expensive Boss noise cancelling headphones also probably had a lot to do with making the journey very pleasant. After past experiences of 30 hour trips to England, the 14 hour Dubai trip was a walk in the park. The meals were terrific and the staff pleasant. We even arrived 40 minutes before schedule. When we rang Britty that we had landed, she was just leaving home. Britt and Wil had organised for duty free booze purchases and even that worked like clockwork with the guy from the duty free shop waiting patiently for us near passport control. Dubai airport was super efficient and we basically took no time to pass through security and out to a broadly smiling birthday girl, Britt.
It was only 6am but the air was already heavy with heat and humidity. We travelled home in style in Britt's gleaming blue Jag. We felt very special being chauffeured home by a beautiful, successful daughter, in a flash car to a really beautiful home a short walk from Jumeriah beach. No sleeping on the sofa in the lounge room this time. Instead we have a huge bedroom at the front of the house. We were early enough to catch Wil at home before he set off to work and there was just enough time for Britt and Wil to open up their joint birthday present, an oil painting by Pat Shirvington. Its an image of the Aussie bush with a magpie keeping watch over the heat and stillness of the scene. Hopefully they will think of home whenever they look at it.
It was great meeting the long legged and lolloping Eddie and reacquainting ourselves with the very beautiful Bella and Molly. i made sure they would love me by being liberal with the packet of shmakoes I'd brought with me from Oz. The house is enormous when compared to the London flat and there are lots of outdoor areas. Its a really elegant and comfortable home. Soon after Wil left for work, we changed into shorts and took the girls and Eddie for a walk by the newly finished canal at the end of the street. It was great to explore the area on foot and get the lie of the land. When a police boat motored past, Britt thought they might pull us up for walking the dogs in an area that isn't designated for that purpose, but luckily they looked the other way. Even though it was considered a relatively cool day, we were all dripping by the time we got back.
The immediate area is full of huge houses and there are even a couple of embassies nearby. We also found a huge archaeological site that has been fenced off for further study. It was great to get out and about and Britt took us on a drive around to see all the new developments. Dubai seems to be growing as fast as Eddie. Whole suburbs seem to have sprung up in what was only 4 years ago, just sandy desert. We popped into the Dubai Mall to get Ginny some perfume she wanted and dad got his first experience of a Victoria's Secret store. We then went on to a favourite cafe for a cooling drink but in the end we succumbed to the temptation of the breakfast menu with Britt having scrambled eggs and dad and me sharing blueberry pancakes. Just as we were leaving, who should walk in but the owner of the business that Britt had worked with in London on the East By West restaurant project. He seems a nice, down to earth guy. From here we were off to the swanky butcher for a leg of lamb and the supermarket for the rest of the makings. John and I had promised to make slashed lamb and roast veggies. Of course there also has to be chocolate cake too, We were after all celebrating both Wil's and Britt's birthdays.
We also managed to find some no alcohol beer . Both Britt and I are cutting down on alcohol based drinks (but I'm sure we can make an exception if there is an opportunity to have some really nice champagne).
By 3pm the chocolate cake was cooking ad the lamb prepped and ready for the oven We had even found the time to sample some of the beer we has bought. We had also found the time to put up the Dubai flag bunting we found in the supermarket... it is after all National Flag Day. Meanwhile, poor Wil is still soldiering on at work.
