Cousin Angie Comes to Dubai!

I never thought I would see the day, but Cousin Angie came to visit us here in Dubai last week!  We were beyond thrilled to have her here, and this was huge considering she doesn't like to travel beyond her 10 square mile radius back home in Texas!  I've been telling her for years that she needs to come, and this year she finally did.  Angie works for Briggs-Freeman Sotheby's Farm and Ranch division in Dallas, and it just so happened that Sotheby's opened up their Dubai office a few months ago!  They were having their Dubai Open House, so several of her associates also flew out here for the all festivities.  It could not have worked out more perfect as all of their company events were within walking distance from our hotel, so she was able to combine work with play!  The twins had just as much fun as I did spending time with Cousin Angie, and they loved hanging out in her room, playing on her phone, looking at her videos and pictures and not allowing her any time to herself!  Mason also enjoyed having Angie here, because she always goes out of her way to make him feel special: talks baseball, looks at ALL of his baseball and football cards, throws the ball with him, visits his school, etc, etc.  I loved that Angie was able to share our day to day life, meet our friends, survive a sand storm, experience the crazy traffic and road rage, stroll along the beach and splash in the Gulf, enjoy the sunshine and 80 degree temps, watch Mason at baseball, celebrate Mason's 8th birthday and have lots and lots of laughs!  Our time together was priceless, and it was such a treat having her here!

 Lunch at the Burj Khalifa in the Armani Hotel 

View from 134th floor, but in the middle of a sand storm

Visting Mason at school

 

The Sotheby's gang gets a tour of where Rod works  

Dinner at the Armani Hotel with views of the Dubai Water Fountain, a full moon and The Address Hotel Downtown

Fabulous dinner and views with the Sotheby's gang!

 Our day of culture:  Visiting the Dubai Museum

 The textile souk

 Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding and the Bastakiya

After many museums, walks, souks, taxi rides, bargain shopping, bartering with local shop owners, all we wanted was a snack and beverage :)

Ended our day at the Sotheby's Launch Party at the DIFC!

 Boat tour around the Dubai Marina and Palm islands

 Boys enjoying the ride (and sweating in their jeans!!)

Impressive architecture!!

Local ladies also enjoying a day out on the water!

Angie and Cash enjoying their gymnastics class

We encountered many peacocks on our walk in a nearby neighborhood!  This guy was fighting with his reflection in the hood's fender! ha!

 Dubai Aquarium 

 Condos along the trunk of the Palm Island

Dubai Marina skyline

 Angie and her boys at the Burj Khalifa

Family Ties

Wow!  Can't believe it's been over  a month since I last updated!  We've been so busy with our day to day life plus we had a wonderful visit from Rod's dad, Bobby (GranBobs) and sister, Demar (Aunt Demar) a couple of weeks ago! Bobby visited us in Dubai a couple of years ago, but this was Demar's first time to Dubai.  We were so excited to have them at our home away from home, but I was also a bit nervous because I wanted to show them a fantastic time and experience Dubai the way we do each year.  They got off to a good start as their flight from Houston to Dubai was uneventful, and they each had a row to themselves on the flight!  I think the most special part of the trip was simply hanging out with them and all time they spent with the kids!  They had an apartment directly across the hall from us, so our two doors pretty much remained open the entire time and the boys ran back and forth between the rooms.

We tried to show them a good balance of old and new Dubai, our daily routine and some of the infamous Dubai landmarks!  We figured out early on that Bobby was more interested in a relaxing vacation and wanted to spend most of his time by the pool, while Demar wanted a bit more culture and touristy activities.  She and I were able to do a lot in the mornings, and then she could relax and attempt to get over the jet lag by the pool in the afternoons.  I asked them what they enjoyed most about Dubai and they both loved the architecture and Demar kept referring to Dubai as the "Emerald City!"  They were also surprised to find how clean, friendly and safe this city is!  Demar was great at documenting her trip, and here are some of the highlights:

DAY 1: Try to adjust to time change so spent an easy day visiting the Dubai Mall

Dubai Aquarium with scuba divers!

Floating butterflies fill the air in Fashion Avenue, which has all the designer boutiques

DAY 2:  Sunrise tour at the Burj Khalifa (world's tallest building), Mason's baseball game, relaxing afternoon at our pool followed by dinner on a terrace overlooking the Arabian gulf

 Views from Observation Deck (Burj Al Arab above and Dubai Water Fountains below)

DAY 3:  Visit Mason's school, TRX class, shopping at local markets, lunch at the Lime Tree Cafe and dinner at Zuma!

 Mason's rendition of a Degas painting

 Everything can be delivered in Dubai; from McDonald's, KFC to all of your fine dining restaurants!  The city is filled with motorcycles and their delivery boxes attached to the back!

A local market similar to a Wal-Mart

DAY 4:  We took a gondola ride around the Marina and the Palm Islands, watched skydivers jump over The Palm, they visited the Dubai Water Fountains and we ate yummy Indian Food for dinner

DAY 5: Visiting the Dubai gold souk, shopping at local markets and a fabulous dinner with friends at our favorite place, La Petite Maison

 Only in Dubai - a chrome Rolls Royce!

 Dubai Gold Souk

 A special birthday dinner for Demar!!

DAY 6:  Demar, Mason and I had the ultimate Dubai experience this afternoon with a desert safari: four-wheel riding in the desert, dune bashing, camel riding, Arabic dinner and entertainment!

Thanks to Mahmoot, our experienced driver, for a great time!

DAY 7: We found the perfect way to end their holiday with a TRX workout, then a day at the spa and pool and capped off their trip with an evening at the races! 

The one and only photo of Rod!  He was busy working most of the time, but thanks to him, we were able to play and experience Dubai! xo