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Friday, July 29, 2016

Global Village: A Must in Dubai

   One of my absolute favorite things in Dubai is Global Village. This event takes place during the cooler months from November to April. Global Village is wonderful, it is a collection of countries where most countries have a pavilion.  In these pavilions they sell clothes, food and art from that country. There are fair style rides as well as performances by local artists. If you have kids, this is an excellent family outing. My favourite pavilion is Africa (I know it isn't a country), they do black henna, which can be hard to find in the UAE. They sell items from all over Africa for excellent prices and the purses, omg 10$ for a gorgeous clutch, every year I buy at least two. I am sometimes tempted to buy a bunch and resell them.

 I bought the bottom one, I should have bought the bottom two. 

Getting some black henna done by a Sudanese lady. Black henna gets a bad name because it needs to be dyed to get that black color, often one can get severe allergic reactions from that dye. Global Village is the only place I will get black henna done, I figure if people who know what they are doing are the ones doing the henna I am safe. 


I also went on the ferris wheel, such a wonderful view.


Parking is a bit of a pain, when you park, please look at the number assigned to your area. We didn't do that and we had to look for our car for about an hour at the end of the night. 
#notfun

They also had fireworks,

If you are in the UAE between November and April, you have to go to Global Village. You will find so many wonderful souvenirs from around the world. You may need to go more than once, i honestly go every year.



Thursday, July 28, 2016

Paint and Sip In The UAE

   I don't always go out, but I do love trying new things. My co-worker and friend L, has a husband who is an artist (V). They host their first paint and sip back in February. For those of you who don't know what a Paint and Sip is, it is when an artist teaches a group of people how to paint a painting meanwhile you sip on wine and have snacks. Very fun. 

Here I am with my final product! 


Here we all are with our paintings. 

Such a fun time! 
Most people tend to do these for birthday parties. 

I also love to see the variety in the paintings. 


Friday, July 22, 2016

European World Wind Tour: Why Solo Travel Is The Ish.

     Last Christmas break I went on the trip of a lifetime. I was supposed to go to Prague with a friend and he bailed on me during booking. I had never been interested in Prague until he mentioned it, but the more I researched the more I love it. So I left Dubai and headed to Prague. 

The streets are like a fairy tale. I also frequented the famous Christmas markets. 

I did a free walking tour (they are wonderful , all you have to is tip the guide). I usually take these tour the first day and if there is anything that I see in the tour that I am interested in, then I will go back and check it out. 


I also went to the infamous 'Bone Church ' located in Kuta Hora an hour outside of Prague. 



From Prague I flew to Amsterdam. I once again did a free walking tour, a friend from the UAE met me and we walked around the red light district and took a nice river cruise. I have to go back to ride a bike around the city. I also went to the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House. 



From Amsterdam, I flew to Milan. I got to see the Last Supper painting in person. #amazing


Unreal. You have to buy a ticket in advance and you only get 15 minutes to sit and take in the painting. After that I went to see the Duomo, one of the largest churches in the world. 


The views from the Duomo's roof were stunning. 


I ate the best pizza I have ever had.


From Milan I flew to Düsseldorf,Germany. There I met a friend from Canada who has family there. 


We walked around and took in the cites.


Drank a beer, even though beer isn't my thing. 


From Düsseldorf, my friend and I went to Paris for New Year's Eve. 

We had an amazing time! 


We walked down the Champs D'Elyse, and ate at an amazing steak frites restaurant. 

 

We also went to the Lovre and saw the Mona Lisa, I was surprised at how small she was. 


Five countries in two weeks isn't too shabby. I think I need to do another trip like this but in the summer. 



Such an amazing trip. 

Thursday, July 21, 2016

One More Year...

Hello friends from near and far, 
    I appreciate all of you reading the blog and I also appreciate all the friends that I have made through the blog.  There will be a few more posts, but I am here to say that this August will be my last year in the UAE.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have spent, but all good things must come to an end.I am going to spend my last year doing all the things that I haven"t done yet:

-Yas water world
-Eat at the restaurant at the top of the Burj Khalifah.
-Ski Dubai
-Miracle Garden
-ride the fastest roller coaster at Ferrari World

I have two more classes for this Masters and trying to put a little money aside, now that I am practically debt free. 

The time will fly and I am still up in the air as to what will happen once I am done.

Thanks again for reading.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

I'm Still Here!!!!

Hellllooooooo! 
   Long time no post. I'm sill here. I'm still standing. I'm still strong. In the last post (from 4 months ago) I promised to tell you about the trip that I took during National Day. Well my friends I went to... EGYPT!!!

Since I was in grade 2, we learned about the pyramids, the Nile, the Egyptian gods and goddesses, heck my mother is named Icis after the Egyptian goddess of fertility. 


This was our hotel Le Meridian Pryramids. We upgraded to a room with a pyramid view, A PYRAMID VIEW!! Every morning I couldn't believe that the pyramids (or Double P's) as my friend and I call it. Never in my life would I thought I would have gone to such an iconic location. I have learned about the pyramids since I was in grade 2 and to actually be able to see, touch and go inside the pyramids is a blessing. 

There were almost no tourists, I guess everyone is scared to visit, but I felt 100% safe. 

This is one of my favorite pictures of life:


I also got to see the Sphinx.


We also got to ride camels in front of the pyramids.

Posting these pictures I still can't believe I've gone. 

If you get the chance please go. This was an unforgettable experience. 

More posts to come! I haven't forgotten about you. Thank you for still reading! I'm still reading your comments. I am also humbled at everyone who makes it over to the UAE and says I helped them get there. I have one more year, so I will make the best of it.