Blood Bowl Dark Elves

It has been a while, too long, but here is the latest from my painting desk... Blood Bowl Dark Elves.

http://www.ilktac.com/find11.html

Surprise Visitors to Dubai

Wow, 2 posts in as many days...

Last night was the culmination of a big secret that has been going on since about November in which our youngest Brookie's best friend from Australia has come to visit.  It was a secret to Brooke but we have been aware and preparing for what has seemed like ages and last night her friend Madi, her mum Jo and her big sister Cassie landed in Dubai and I secretly went out to pick them up from the airport.

Then at about 7pm, we pull up at the house, we ring the doorbell and Niki sends Brooke to open the door... SURPRISE!!!

She was absolutely shocked!  She had no idea and soon there were "happy tears" all around.  So at the moment, we have a full house with friends.  And that means presents!!

Niki must have mentioned that we missed certain foods from home and Jo brought boxes of lollies - yes BOXES - of things such as Redskins and my favourite Violet Crumble bars.  Aussie Aeroguard as well... we're now well stocked (the local and British stuff here is rubbish!).

So it's a big shopping extravaganza here as the 5 girls in the house are already lining up which mall they're off to over the next 17 days.

Full house yes, but always good to have visitors from home... and once again showing off that Dubai is actually a pretty cool place to live.

Amy Winehouse in Dubai

Well... been awhile!

Many things going on here and I want to post more but have been pretty busy, but one thing that I just have to report on is that we went to the Amy Winehouse "concert" in Dubai this weekend.  "Concert" is in quotation marks deliberately because it was so bad, that we along with thousands of others, left before it was over.

In hindsight, apparently this isnt unusual for her as she invariably turns up drunk and/or high to her shows and we got off to a bad start when she was gargling her "drink" that was in a white coffee mug as soon as she came on stage.

From there, she was disinterested, vague, forgot the words to her songs, played with her earrings and fingernails as opposed to engage with the audience and then she just walked off stage for 20 minutes leaving the show in the hands of her backup singers.

The crowd boo'ed her mercilessly.  Worst concert we have been to and a complete waste of money.

And to think she was in an Islamic country in which public displays of drunkeness are outlawed and yet she was paid good money to put that tripe on.

Here is some amateur footage (not mine) of her show... it doesnt actually show the worst bits, but I presume the person who took this must have left after he took it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnhkFu81qJo&feature=player_embedded#at=140

Change of Scenery

Well, Xmas is always a slow down on many things and Lime Kettles is one that seemingly takes a backseat when you're on the road for 3-4 weeks on holiday.

We had an excellent time in Sydney and caught up with all the family and friends and whilst we deliberately made it less hectic than last year it was still a busy but enjoyable time.  Am happy to report that we scored well on the Santa front with all of us picking up new iPads courtesy of my Mum & Dad (thanks!) and also the girls scored iPod Touches as well... so we're now a fully "synced" family with Apple products.  Coupled with my AppleTV I got for my birthday, we're now sticking our noses at Microsoft.  Having said that though, I cannot bring myself to buy an Apple for PC / Laptop purposes... I hate Microsoft in general but the hassle to learn a new O/S and the Office Products (I know you can get Office for Mac, but still....) is in my too hard / unnecessary basket.

On the UAE front, it is winter here and its cool and we get morning fogs and light rain on occasion but in the main it is still sunny and temps in the high 20's celcius.  The big change is however just this past week, I am actually saying good bye to my job at Masdar and am moving back to the parent company.

Sad, and not by my choice, but I have been "reassigned" and the one thing about working here in the UAE is that change is continuous and management see their workforce as expendable and fluid.  My new job is going to be challenging and interesting but it will be in the office in downtown Abu Dhabi and will be a world away from working "on site" here.

So, this is my last week here... and I have to say it has been a really enjoyable experience and I will miss the people and also the excitement of working on such a unique set of projects.  I guess this means then I will have some new inspiration for blog posts as I settle in to working life closer to town.

Merry Xmas

2010 is coming to a close. As I write this, I am sitting in Sydney after arriving here from Dubai for the Christmas / NY holidays. Our trip to Sydney was fine and uneventful (which is what you want on a plane!) and whilst the weather isnt brilliant, to be honest I dont mind overcast and showers as a bit of variety from our Dubai home.

The year on reflection has been a great one. Work has consolidated in Dubai and is now routine rather than the wonderous experience of oddities that I blogged about in 2009. Its not that it is no longer "different" but rather I have adjusted where what was once odd and different is now the norm.

On the family front, the year has been excellent. We have made great friends, have met wonderful people and have enjoyed many unique experiences. We have explored the UAE and seen many sites ranging from the view at the top of the Burj Khalifa which is a monument of man's engineering down to seeing the sun set over the mountains of Fujeirah as they drop into the Indian Ocean.

We have reached the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which has been about a 10yr goal of mine to take Niki to and we both were extremely happy to see the kids still hang on to their childhood by dancing around with the Disney Princesses at Euro Disney.

2010 was also the year of learning new things... I have kept up my Arabic lessons and the girls are both getting very adept at French. Kate went into the IB curriculum version of High School and adjusted well.

Sadly though, we lost our first dog Zoe to old age and we still miss her. We also thought we lost Charlie the Cat too, but he came back after a 5 day stay somewhere else?! Both Niki and I had to make sudden trips back to Sydney for her mum and my dad for health reasons but we're glad that they both turned out OK.

But overall, 2010 has been one of the best years ever and we're very much looking forward to 2011. And whilst I know that I havent been posting as often as I once did, but this blog is still a great record of life and next year in 2011 will be the 8th year of Lime Kettles and I will keep posting.

So thank you readers for still reading and I wish everyone a very Merry Xmas and I hope your New Year will be a great one.

All the best!
Clay

Dubai Birthday

Well, it was my birthday last weekend and given that last year I spent my birthday in a plane to Sydney, this year was a much better occasion and I celebrated with Niki and the girls and our Dubai friends at a big "brunch".

My birthday you see fell on Friday, and therefore as its the "done thing" in Dubai, we celebrated with a Friday Brunch.

Brunch is where you pay a fixed price and get to eat and drink (including alcohol) as much as you like.  It's definately an occasion to leave the car at home and take a taxi!  All hotels in Dubai offer a Friday Brunch and you can generally find one that meets your price range and you can also take a "non-alcohol" choice as well which reduces the cost of course.  Kids are also offered a discounted price and kids typically under 4 eat and drink free.

This all stems from the Arabic custom of having a Friday meal together with family (much like the Sunday Roast in western cultures) and 90% of all Brunches are buffets.

We went to one of our favourites - Beachcombers at Jumeriah Beach Hotel - in which the food is Thai / Malaysian and we pretty much ate from midday to sunset all the satay sticks, fried rice, roti bread and prawn dumplings you could poke a stick at with an endless supply of Tiger Beer.

Cost was 285 Dirhams a head for full alcohol brunch, 185 for non-alcohol and a token amount for kids.  We had 24 people, of which 3 were kids, 2 were non-paying babies and the rest were adults and it came to about 4500 dirhams.  Now to convert to Aussie Dollars, divide by 3.6 approximately which is about $1,250.  Where else can you feed 24 people for 4 hours with unlimited alcohol in a 5 star location for $50 a head!!

Now my head was a bit fuzzy at the time, but the bill did count how many bottles of Tiger we did order and the final total was 59 beers.  That was from about 6-7 beer drinkers, so we did pretty good!

I tells ya dear readers in Sydney, Dubai is a great place to visit and a great place to celebrate your birthday!!

UAE National Day

Well after our trip to Fujeirah, we now have a 4 day weekend coming up with the UAE National Day on Thursday and on Sunday, its the public holiday for the Islamic New Year.  So four days off!  With Ramadan, then Big Eid, then Little Eid, National Day and Islamic New Year, the last couple of months of the calendar year here are full of holidays.  Oh and there was Prophet Mohammed's Birthday as well a couple of weeks ago but we didnt have a holiday because it fell on the weekend.

So, like in Australia in which the country seems to slow down after Melbourne Cup Day, here in the UAE its a bit more of a holiday mode.

Except for Christmas of course, which isnt recognised but many many expats do take some holidays.  For us Australians who are used to summer holidays over Christmas its a bigger deal than compared to the English.  The English celebrate Christmas Day of course, but then its back to work.  So most of my colleagues really only take the Christmas days off and maybe extend through to New Years but I am once again a bit of the office freak in that I am taking three weeks off.

December 21 to January 9 I will be off work but we are thinking that we wont head back to Sydney next year.  The airfare costs are 50% more expensive, the friends and relatives at home are busy busy busy with Christmas of course but also many of our friends are taking holidays away out of Sydney so the reality is we don't see everybody and it just seems so rushed with logistics for presents and booking dates in diaries etc etc.

So next year we may change it up and have Christmas in Dubai and see how it pans out.

Having said that, it will be good to get back to Sydney and see the people that we will see.  Other than my Dad's heart attack trip, I havent been back since last Christmas and I am looking forward to it and I wont deny, that I am keen to have a break from work which has been particularly busy of late.

But before all that though, its a Happy Islamic New Year and a Happy UAE National Day!!

Fujeirah

Now, a valid reason for the lack of posts... we went to Fujeirah this week on the eastern / Indian Ocean side of the UAE.  It was the first time I had seen the Indian Ocean (its actually called the Gulf of Oman this far north, but it all flows into the Indian Ocean) and it was a really interesting trip.

Whilst we stayed at the lovely Fujeirah Rotana Resort, it was the drive in and the drive out that was really interesting.  We took the scenic route in as we drove to Hatta (where we went about three weeks ago) and then pressed on to the coast over a small mountain pass road.  The mountains in the UAE and heading down the Indian Ocean coast to Oman are massive bare rock outcrops that look very jagged and rough.  The Blue Mountains of Sydney are really a big hill covered in gum trees in comparison as these were the biggest mountains I had seen (and yes, I have never been to New Zealand, the Rocky Mountains in the USA or the Swiss Alps).

The trip was also interesting because once again we got a glimpse of the older UAE and how the people outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are not that well off.  The townships we travelled through were all pretty ramshackle with road side fruit shops and places to buy firewood, it was very old school.  The roads were rougher as well and whilst there were plenty of flash resorts on the coast, the rest of the place was pretty bleak.

But that's what its all about - getting out and seeing the country side... and by the end of the three days, we had driven up all the way along the UAE East Coast from Kalba to Dibba. 

The holiday itself was very relaxing with our friends and I spent two days by the pool working on my tan.

The drive out home we headed north and then back west through the main mountain pass road which is right on the border to Mussandam and the Omani territory north of the UAE.  The roads were better but the views as the mountains came right to the sea were breathtaking.

All in all, a great trip away for our Eid break... and now we're on the down hill run to our trip home to Sydney for Xmas.

Blog Lag

Sorry for the lack of posts... simple explanation is that work has been really busy and really difficult I have been putting in a large number of hours of late.

But that should change as this week is the last week before a week off for Eid.  I may have to work the Sunday, but other than that it will be Mon - Thurs off work next week and we will be heading to Fujeirah on the east coast of the UAE for a well deserved break for a couple of nights with the rest of the break spent in and around the pool.  I am not sure about Sunday... its an official work day but its also the date of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, so many people will be away there and the day will be pretty dead.  I may go in the morning and see how busy work is and then knock off to watch the race.

But to recap on the past couple of weeks, we didnt end up going on our trip to Mussandam as mentioned in my last post because of what is known as a "Dubai Stuff Up".  Essentially our friend Marianne booked the trip, had a confirming email, and then the pick up didnt show.  When we rang them, they had no record of our booking.  No money was lost but its just one of those things that things dont happen as certain as you may hope.  But all wasn't lost as we jumped in the cars and spent a day travelling to Hatta in the south east corner of the country and we still got to cross the Omani border to get there.

The weather at the moment is also brilliant with temps in the high 20's / low 30's (celcius) and the humidity non existant.  Its been really nice and Oct / Nov is certainly the best time of year.  We're still swimming albeit its a bit cooler when getting out and we had our first rain today for about 10 minutes.

On the other side of Eid, it will be a short wait before we're returning to Sydney for Xmas and so we need to start thinking about Xmas presents.  Again, it will be a combo of buying stuff here and packing it in the suitcases and buying stuff there in Sydney.

In other news, we rent our maid quarters (yes, we have a maid quarters!) out to an Indian man called Victor who works at the local vets.  I am sure I have blogged about this in the past, but to recap Victor was really lovely with our pets at the vet surgery and when he found himself looking for a new place we rented him our un-used maid room in exchange for a bit of rent and to look after the animals while we go on holidays.  It has worked out really well and he is quiet, keeps to himself and does a great job with our dog Molly who he walks most days.  Victor though must be very lonely and his wife and child are in India and he goes back once every 2 years.  He simply works and hangs out at home and doesnt have a big social life.  However he was very excited because his brother is coming to Dubai and he will bunk in with Victor soon.  I put up the rent a bit but I think it will be good for him as the only people he talks to at home is our part time maid and her husband who come by on Friday's.

If you asked me before we left for Dubai would we sub-let our place to an Indian trainee vet, I would have thought you were nuts but he has helped out heaps with our travelling and keeping the pets safe and looked after.

Eid Mubarak!

Ras al Khaimah In Turmoil?

Further to yesterday's blog post about the death of Sheikh Saqr, all seems at peace here in Dubai and it was a surprise to stumble on this article in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

The contents of this article are not mentioned in local press here and this is all a surprise to me.  Not that I am saying it isnt true, but it is clear that the local media does not report such "scandal" and to everyone here who reads the English language press, there has been nothing but a smooth transition of power.  Maybe the Arabic language press may be being more direct, but for me this is totally new.

Having said that, I am aware that in Sunni controlled Abu Dhabi, that there is a concern that Sh'ite muslims in the northern part of the country (Dubai, Ras al Khaimah and Ajman) need to be monitored for ties to Sh'ite governed Iran.  After living here for nearly 2 years I cannot tell the difference between a Sh'ite and a Sunni but apparently it is possible by subtle differences in the collar of the white robe Khandoura and the way the head dress is worn.  I can pick a Kuwaiti from an Emirati, but I cant pick the difference in religion affiliation.

On Saturday, we're going with friends to Mussandam and we will have to travel through Ras al Khaimah to get there but its still perfectly safe and its hardly believable that it was over a year ago that we went to Ras al Khaimah for a holiday.

National Mourning...

The ruler of the Emirate Ras al Khaimah, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, passed away this morning at the spritely age of 92.  He was, according to wikipedia, the worlds oldest ruling monarch and had been the ruler of Ras al Khaimah since 1948 after taking over in a "bloodless" coup.

Yes, I can read wikipedia and regurgitate all this but what does it mean on the ground here in the UAE?

Well... for starters, there has been a period of National Mourning declared.  It varies from Emirate to Emirate with Ras al Khaimah declaring that they will be in mourning for 40 days.  The rest of the Emirates are plumping for generally three days of mourning but what is interesting to me is that the largest Emirate - Abu Dhabi - has actually not declared any official mourning period with the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan only passing on his deepest condolences.

Which is disappointing because "National Mourning" includes the closing of government offices and businesses, which would have been a day or three off work for me because I work for an Abu Dhabi government company.

Other than closed government offices what National Mourning means that all radio stations now only play "mourning music" which is at best soft classical music but is typically recitals of the Holy Q'uran and Arabic poetry.  This extends to ALL radio stations, which means when the kids want to listen to Virgin Radio Top 40 in the car, its sorry, but we only have Arabic poetry.

Also, all public events and celebrations are cancelled.  The opening of the multi million dollar Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi has been postponed which would have involved a huge number of celebrities and big wigs cancelled / rescheduled but also even our kids school cancelled their "International Day Parade" out of respect for the Sheikhs death.

So, it impacts everyone from the big events in town down to the kids and schools... but I have to say that the reaction has been sombre and respectful without being hysterical in the media.  It is by no means a "Princess Diana" event, but then again he was 92 and it was hardly unexpected.

Rest in Peace Sheikh Saqr.

God Parents!

Well, after being here for 18mths we reached a nice milestone this weekend with Niki and I becoming god parents this weekend.

We were very chuffed to be invited to be god parents to baby Olivia who is our friends and neighbours Trevor & Sam's newest addition and its a bit of a feather in our caps to be asked to be a part of their family.

Whilst I am not religious at all and to me the name is a bit of a misnomer, it is still a great honour.

So there we were on Friday morning, in Christ's Church Jebel Ali Dubai, being part of the ceremony along with two other babies to have Olivia baptised and us along with our fellow friends John & Deborah to be God Parents.

It just goes to show how much we have come along here in Dubai!  To think I could be a god parent to a little girl from English parents 18mths after landing in this strange country, well I wouldnt have believed you!

Welcome Back Mum!

Niki comes home tonight!  After her being away for two weeks in Sydney, I have come to the end of my run as "Mr Mum" and I think if I can blow my own trumpet, it has gone well.

The girls have had lunches and dinners without resorting to mass orders of take away food and the dishes have been done and the laundry upkept.

I have been able to get away early from work each day and the girls have been able to get home from school to wait for me really well.

I should also say that with the girls being the ages that they are (11 and 9) that they have been really mature and responsible with what they have had to do and Kate has had a key to the house and she hasnt lost it nor abused it.  I am very proud of them!

So tonight, with Niki landing around 11pm, it will be a dinner out at the kids place of choice - Chili's or McDonalds undoubtedly, but I may try to convince them to go to Fuddruckers and then we will probably look thru the mall and then onto to Abu Dhabi airport late to pick up their mum.

As for Niki's trip, her mum is recovering well from her surgery and I am glad Niki was able to get back to be there.

For us, the next holiday time is Eid al-Adha, and we're booked into the Indian Ocean side of the UAE for a couple of nights at Fujairah.  That's going to be on 17-18 of November!

Dubai, the Land of Service.

Dubai is the land of "service".  Everywhere you go, there is someone there to push your shopping cart to the car, pack your groceries and help you with your luggage.  At restaurants and food courts, there is always a "Hello Sir" as soon as you walk in and the service is very attentive.

This is one of the great things about Dubai.  Given that is so cheap for the Emirati's to import service staff and Emirati's also have a very high expectation of service, for us expats its a dream come true.  No 16 year old school girls behind the counter texting her BFF whilst you wait to be served here!

The downside though is that at times the service can be infruriatingly good and the keen desire to provide good service drives you batty.  Today, was a case in point.

We subscribe to the local pay tv company and they're rolling out High Definition boxes and upgrading everyone for free.  (Would you get that in Australia?).  I rang them to ask when I can book them in and they said, dont worry sir, we will ring you personally when your name comes up and arrange a technician to come and install it.

So, two days ago the phone rings and a pleasant voice at the other end told me all about the transition and that they would take care of it and I didnt have to worry at all.  They asked what time would suit on Tuesday and I asked for as late as possible so that I could get home from work to meet the technician.  Given that Niki is in Australia, I had to be there for the technician.  Positively she said "does the 4pm to 8pm slot suit you".  I agreed and she said that the technician would call when he was an hour or so away.

Tuesday comes and I am at work this morning and the phone rings at 11:30am.  "Hello Mr Clayton, this is (insert random name I didnt catch) from Orbit Showtime".  I said yes, how can I help you...  "Well Mr Clayton, I am at your Villa but nobody is home".  Umm... why are you at my villa at 11:30?  You're nearly five hours early I replied!  "I was in area, and my next appointments are at Deira" (which is about 45km across town) "... and I thought you might like early installation".

I replied that I am at work, was an hour drive away and that I wasnt leaving until 3pm to be home by 4pm.

"Can you leave now Sir?"

Um... NO... I have work, I am already stretched for time and you're five hours early!

"OK sir... sorry, I can wait.  When can you be here?" he asks... he is being disarmingly pleasant and this is just him trying to do me a favour but my diary now looks like I need to rearrange things to accommodate his 'favour'.

I said I will see what I can do and call you back when I am leaving Abu Dhabi.

"No problem sir, I will wait".

I in turn, perhaps rudely, didnt leave until a bit after 2pm.  I had things to do and I got caught up in work and worked through lunch.  I rang him as I walked to my car and told him I would be there around 3:30pm.

"OK Mr Clayton, no worries.  Can I ask Mr Clayton... can you drive faster?"

Given I drive at the max speed before the cameras flash (which is 160km/h) I reaffirmed that I would be there at 3:30.

Anyway, I arrive and he is there and he is very friendly and helpful and takes me through all the options as if I had never seen a TV remote before... he also tweaked my junction box to boost the signal and was very happy to install.  I offered him a drink which he declined but almost apologetically he asked at the end if he could use my bathroom. 

It was the least I could do given I kept him waiting for about 4 hours!

Niki is in Oz

Well, after I made my trip to Sydney for my Dad's heart operation, Niki left last night and should be landing soon in Sydney to help her Mum who is having an important back operation.

This means that the kids have stayed with me in Dubai and I am playing Mr Mum for two weeks.  Niki was of course very loathe to leave the girls but it is important for her to go back to help out her parents but I think we will cope nicely.

I am going to have to juggle work alot but given that the official working hours are 8:30 to 4:30 and that I tend to work 2 or so hours a day overtime, I guess I can take "on the clock" time and leave at 4:30 every day.  Our neighbours have all offerred to help out with the girls until I get home each day and the kids with their mobiles are always contactable and in turn they can always contact me.

So for the next two weeks, I am going to be pretty busy with the extra shopping and dinner responsibilities (and I hope I don't make the girls ill with my cooking skills!) but it should also be good fun.

Speaking of mobile phones for the kids, Kate who is 11 is really pestering us for a Black Berry.  Why does a girl of 11 need a BlackBerry?  Well its all peer pressure and with a number of parents with what seems to be oodles of disposable income, a number of Kate's class mates have one or an iPhone.  To me its insane, and we checked out the prices for a BlackBerry and the base model is 1100 dirhams (divide by 3.6 for Aussie) and the base data cost per month is another 189 dirhams a month.  Given I just paid 400 dirhams for a phone for her and I sling her 50 dirhams credit every blue moon on her pre-paid, it seems like a big jump in out goings so that she can email and facebook her friends (and of course the dreaded BBM).  It seems that we're getting the first of the teenage style peer pressure purchase blues!

(Just had to laugh, as I type this Brooke is running around the house looking for her mobile as its ringing... the 9 year old social scene is alive and well!)

Well, better sign off, need to get the kids lunch together... McDonalds of course... but it is the weekend after all!

DRAGONS NRL PREMIERS 2010

Well, my football team, the St George Illawarra Dragons won the NRL Premiership!

Today, in steamy Dubai, I took the day off work to ensure that at 10am I was on the lounge ready to watch the game.

After grand final losses in 1985, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1999 and then 10 years of promising so much and delivering so little, the Dragons have led the 2010 premiership from start to finish and today eclipsed the Roosters 32-8.

I have to say today was an emotional day as I sat so far away watching through the Middle East sports network OSN.  Niki sat with me after we dropped the kids to school, had a coffee and then walked the dog.  We were so far away from the hype and the press and of course my mates giving me a hard time but the tension in my lounge room was huge as we waited for kick off.  With the weather in Sydney clearly cold and rainy, we watched some really crap (and I mean really crap) pre-game entertainment before a really crap rendition of the National Anthem.  A note to Australian event organisers:- Do not f#ck around with the Anthem.  Do not jazz it up, put a didgeridoo under it or muck about in any way shape or form.  Get a solid singer with no pretensions to belt it out so that the fans and the players can sing along.  Jessica Mauboy is not such a person... she remixed it to sound like a B-Side of her "upcoming album" which I will not be in a hurry to buy.

Anyway, the game was on and with Niki enthusiastically cheering as well we watched the first half whilst we both kept connected to people back home via Facebook.  The first half didnt go so well and the Roosters led at half time 8-6 but on the plus side it should have been worse.

Second half however was a brilliant effort as the Dragons in driving rain smashed the Roosters to win the game 32-8.  A nearly faultless display of ball handling in tough conditions and some unforgiving defense saw the game in the bag with 15 minutes to play and we were celebrating.  I couldn't believe it... the team that I have been following for as long as I could remember and yet had lost 5 grand finals in my younger years had finally done it.  The last premiership that we won was in 1979 (when I was 7, yet I can't remember it) and now I found myself 13,000km away watching from afar as the trophy was lifted by a St George team for the first time in 31 years.

It's days like today that you wish you were back at home, but that's OK... I had my St George jersey on today and had a couple of celebratory beers after the game :-)

Still here!

Sorry blog readers, I am sorry I have been out of sorts with the blog posting but I have been fairly busy with work this past week and it isn't letting up with me traveling to London later this week as well.

Things here have been good though and a few general things I should blog about are:

One, we watched the might Dragons get into the NRL grandfinal yesterday and I have already booked myself a day off from work next Sunday as we take on the Roosters in the big one.  The NRL has been well covered by the local TV this season but it is a lonely place here in Dubai for the NRL fan.  Rarely do I see any NRL gear here (I saw one guy wearing a Raiders cap a few weeks ago) but I was down the local shops yesterday before the game in my Saints jersey and am proud to fly the flag when I can.  We will however (we being Niki and I) be watching the game alone in our lounge room on Sunday.  Saints by 4.

Two, we watched by accident last night the local Dubai TV news.  There is a channel called Dubai One on the TV guide which we never go to because it doesnt actually tell you what is on, but I flicked it on just as the news was starting.  We were laughing though as the stories were hardly hard hitting and it was all good news stories about the Sheikh's (who are in Kentucky USA on some equestrian event) and that there was a Arabian Suluki dog show in Abu Dhabi.  Oh and by the way, the budget surplus in Dubai is set to rise by 367%... not sure what creative accounting worked that out!

Three:  We have been without our maid Dhammi this past fortnight as she went to Sri Lanka for a holiday... it was a bit of a culture shock for us and a sign that we have been living the good life here.  Not that it was difficult but it is just very nice that things get done for us and when it disappears it takes a bit to adjust.  But Dhammi was back this morning and she stopped by on the weekend to give the girls some trinkets and Niki scored a new skirt.  Very generous!

Four:  And again as a contrast for what Dubai is like, we went to brunch on Friday and given there were 17 of us in all, we decided to hire a limo to take us.  What turned up was a jet black stretch Hummer that holds 20 and we piled in and really enjoyed it.  It was a slight premium on paying for enough taxis but not by much and the laughs as we all piled into the Hummer were worth the cost.  It made me think though how lucky we are to have our girls laughing and poking their heads out of the windows waving to passing motorists from such a massive car whilst driving down the golden mile of Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai.  They are certainly having a good life!

So, sorry for the lack of posts... I guess France took the wind out of my blogging sails, but life here is very good and we're still enjoying it.  The weather is down to the mid 30's and is incredibly pleasant and the summer is well and truly over weather wise.  Life is Good!

Go The Dragons!

Bonjour! We're Back!

Yes, we got back from France on the weekend and I am now back at work.  Was meaning to do a meaningful and long descriptive post but this short summary will have to do instead.

We arrived on the overnight flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris and managed to negotiate ourselves through customs and out to the bus terminal to get a bus to the TGV station for the fast train to Bordeaux.  We timed it beautifully as we only had about a 20min wait at Montparnasse station which was ample time to get my first French croissant into me!  YUM!

The train was brilliant and we sped through France to Bordeaux at speeds up to 320km/h and arrived in about 3hrs where we were met by our Dubai friends Philippe and Marianne and their son Raphi.  They had also scored a big 9 seater van and we had plenty of room for our luggage as well as we sped off to our accommodation for the next two nights at La Girarde.

La Girarde was lovely and we relaxed in the afternoon and also headed into the local town of Gensac for a late afternoon aperitif!  Dinner was provided by our hosts at La Girarde Mark and Kathy and it turned out to be the best meal we had all trip.

The next day we toured Margaux and Pauillac and did sight seeing, had some wine and sampled the local markets.  Also had a very funny lunch in which the staff did not speak English and only talked to Philippe (who is French) and basically insulted us when we asked if we could have some French Fries for the kids.  The loose translation of the insult was "that this is not England and the children should eat real food and not just potatoes!".  I think I was more upset at being referred to as English!!

After our end of our time at La Girarde and after alot of good food, we headed back to Paris again via the TGV train.

We arrived late in the evening and the big excitement was that we discovered our hotel was within spitting distance of the Eiffel Tower and Niki and the girls all were amazed at how it was lit up at night.  If it was one thing that the girls, particularly Kate, were keen to see in Paris it was the Eiffel Tower and so the first impressions of Paris were a big winner!

It was late, we checked in and got some sleep.  Our hotel room wasnt the most modern, but it had two double beds and lots of space and we were up and about the next day to go straight to the Eiffel Tower - which was of course breathtaking.

I had been to Paris before back in 2001, but it was really interesting to see how Niki and the girls took in the sights.  They were all amazed how tall the tower was and Niki commented that she thought it would be shorter.  We queued for a little while, but not too long, and soon enough we went up the lifts.  For those who have done it, the lifts themselves are an exciting part of the experience as you go up the angular lifts up the legs and then relay to the tower lifts.  We took ALOT of photos!

It was very special that finally after nearly 10 years in the planning, Niki and I had our photo together and shared a kiss on the top of the tower... :-)

The rest of Day 1 in Paris was spent on a river cruise and we spent along time in Notre Dame.  Built in 1163, this place is amazing and the history is amazing.  As an Australian in which old means just 200 years, Europe amazes me how things have stood for close to 1000 years.  Notre Dame is probably the oldest thing I have been to.

The rest of the trip to Paris was spent in taxis and on the Big Red Bus tour and we saw all the site.  The Louvre was a special experience as well and we, as with every other tourist, made a bee line to the Mona Lisa, but we spent alot of time in other areas of the museum.  The Egyptian artifacts were a big hit for the kids.

We also went to Montemarte and Sacre Couer, the Arc de Triomphe and spent alot of time in brasseries, souvenir shops and sunning ourselves in the parks.  Our new favourite delicacy is the Ham & Cheese baguette or the Croque Monsieur which is a grilled ham and cheese multi-decker sandwhich.  We also ate alot of duck and drank a fair amount of wine ;-)

After 4 nights in Paris doing all the above, it was time to hit Euro Disney and for the kids especially, this was a great way to finish the holiday.  We booked in for 3 nights at the Disneyland Hotel and whilst its expensive, it is well worth being just 5 minutes from your hotel room to the roller coasters!

Euro Disney was great and we had access to Disneyland, Walt Disney Studios and the Disney Village plus all the amenities of the hotel.  All our meals in the hotel were accompanied by the Disney characters and Pluto even tried to steal my ice cream cone!

As for the parks themselves, we went on all the rides, queues were reasonable (worst wait was 40mins for the Nemo themed "Crush's Coaster" roller coaster) but they also had a "fast pass system" for some rides which we actually never needed to use.  My favourite ride was the Aerosmith Rock'n'Roll roller coaster at Walt Disney Studios and top marks also for the Wild West Big Thunder Bay roller coaster and the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom roller coaster both in Disneyland.

Space Mountain, a Disney classic, was also ridden on about 4 times!

By the end of three days at Euro Disney, we had seen it all and we had to get up very early for our bus transfer to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris and our flight home.

At the end of it, a great 10 days in France and one of the best holidays we have ever had.  The girls loved speaking French and I was surprised at how much they had picked up from school and Kate has vowed to "learn full French" at school...

Pics to come I hope!

Jet Setting

Well I got back from Australia yesterday... for those readers who aren't already aware, Dad had a triple bypass and is as we speak sitting in the hospital recovering nicely.  All will be OK it seems and I left Sydney on Sunday night with him in good spirits.

I have now been in Dubai 24hrs and tonight we fly out for our vacation in France.  2 nights in Bordeaux, 4 nights in Paris and 3 nights at EuroDisney.  It will be a "busy but enjoyable" holiday and its one that I have been thinking about for about 10 years.  I went to Paris in 2001 on the back end of a business trip and I promised I would take Niki back there.  Initially I said it would be a great place for the 2 of us to go for our 10th wedding anniversary (which would have been 2005) but come 2005 we had two small children and it wasn't easy to go.

So now, after being here in Dubai for a bit over 18mths, we finally get to go and take the kids with us.  I am really looking forward to it as are Niki and the girls.

So, this blog will be "updateless" for the next 10-11 days or so but will put some pics up when we get back.

Au revoir!