Dubai...day 2

Virginie, Cesar, Kendrick, Gina, and I slept in and headed for Friday brunch (Friday/Saturday is the weekend in UAE). The food in Dubai is incredible - so fresh, amazing fruit juices, and my favorite - the lemon mint drink! We decided to go microplaning over the Dubai Creek after brunch and Cesar drove us literally where the streets have no names (as Kendrick, Gina, and I sang to him from the backseat). Once we finally got there, no microplanes in sight...but we didn't care, we made our own! The building on the very left of the picture is the Burj Dubai, which once finished will be the tallest building in the world - 1 kilometer high!

From there we were off to Jumeirah Beach...on the left you can see all the kite surfers, who came quite close to those of us swimming...on the right is the Jumeirah Grand Mosque (post to come!).

Bathing beauties!

The view of the Burj al Arab...the world's only 6 star hotel.
We had drinks Bahri Bar in the Madinat Jumeirah (only hotels can have liquor and club liscences, hense and inordinate amount of hotels!).
Mina A'Salam entrance.
We headed home and packed up for a quick trip to Oman. During the 3.5 drive to Oman, we stoped for mango smoothies and coconut milk...which Kendrick and I enjoyed in the Business Class back seat (reclinable seats).

FULL REGULAR! And we were off to Oman!

Dubai...day 1

I left Copenhagen on the new SAS direct flight on Wednesday night - upgraded of course! - and arrived in Dubai at 6am on Thursday. It was a quick ride over to Virginie and Cesar's apartment and after chatting with them while they got ready for work, I slept from 8-2pm! Below is their building..they are on the 47th out of 54 floors and it only takes 30seconds by elevator to get there...fastest in Dubai...for now, until the Burg Dubai is finished!

After getting some lunch and working out, I met Gina at the pool (a friend from CPH who was also visiting Virginie and Cesar with her husband Kendrick, they had been in Iran for a few days, check Gina's blog for deets!).
Then we met Virginie at the Palace Spa where she had booked me a facial and massages for Gina and herself. PS, I highly reccomend looking at all the hotel links I put in, these places are amazing. I am not a huge spa goer, but after this experience I think that may change! The spa was gorgeous. After a consultation choosing our treatments and changing into comfy robes, we went to the relaxation room where they bathed our feet in water with rose petals. After our treatments we met up in the relaxation room and caught up while relaxing on chaise lounges sipping tea.
We were enjoying ourselves so much that we left a little late for dinner...but there were plenty of people waiting for us at the One and Only Royal Mirage's Beach Bar and Grill. Including Josh, who I worked with in Virginia for a year. It was an incredibly fun and delicious dinner in a fantastic setting...right on the beach!

Culinary tour through Amsterdam and Brugge

When Maersk told me that I had "garden leave" (I gave them a month notice that I was leaving, but since I am going to a competitor they are giving me a month of pay and housing, but I am not to come to work) I had to decide what to do to pass the time. Any guesses? That is right - TRAVEL!!!

Cecilia decided on a spur of the moment trip...qualifications were a direct flight, less than 3hr, and somewhat cheap...we settled on Amsterdam and were off less than 36 hours later! From Amsterdam we got straight on a train and headed to Brugge as Kara and Gustavo had told us that it was a must do...and they were right! Brugge is incredible, a quaint town with canals everywhere - it is even on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its well preserved medieval architecture - not to mention the yummy chocolate!

We lost ourselves in the narrow cobblestoned streets, purused our fair share of chocolateers, and took a canal tour. Right in front of the bell tower in the main square there are dueling fry shops...we each ordered one and compared...maybe we have poor fry pallates, but we could not really tell the difference. They sure do have some intresting toppings though!

We went to the oldest pub in Brugge (1515) for some great soup and washed it down with a local Belgium beer of course.

For dinner, we went to a fantastic restaurant. Sure, we are used to a lot less than stellar culinary experiences in CPH, but this delicious and a max hygge (cozy) atmosphere. We even "helped" to grill our prawns, lamb, and fillet. And don't forget the beer!

The real treat for me was that we closed down the place and the owner's son brought out his 3yr old Sharpay, Chloe. Adorable! This of course made Cecilia laugh as she had witnessed me befriending many "puppies" (which she correctly pointed out were dogs not puppies) all day long!

The following afternoon we headed back to Amsterdam. Ah Amsterdam, the Venice of the North. It was spectacular in the fall - all the gorgeous leaves..the smell of fall...the crisp air...YAY!

After arriving just after the sunset, we headed over to the Red Light District while it was still "tame". So bizarre and sad to see all those women sitting in the windows. We went back early and rested up for the big day ahead.

First up, the Anne Frank House. They really did a fantastic job with the exhibit. Then we took a water taxi down to the museum district. After a delicious lunch we headed to the Van Gogh Museum...also very impressive.

After a brief nap, we were off to a pub down the street from our hotel. There, I heard Americans and struck up a conversation. This turned into a fabulous dinner for 9 next door with 2 couples from Pennsylvania who are expats in York, England, a couple from San Fran who are expats in Amsterdam, and a Britt who is an expat in Amsterdam. We had the taster menu which was about 6 appitizers, 6 mains, and 6 deserts...so gourmet and so good!

A delicious ending to a great night and a fantastic trip!

Guy Fawkes Night...DK style

Being the proper Brit that she is, Steph threw a Guy Fawkes party (British 4th of July..minus the independance) on Nov 5th.

She made an excellent Indian feast and topped it off with treacle cake. Yes, everybody laughed when I exclaimed "Treacle, like in Harry Potter!" It was delicious, a molassas and ginger cake. I sported my UK garb in support of the evening!No Guy Fawkes celebration is complete without fireworks, so we headed down to the garden for sparklers.

Thanks for a great night Steph!!!

Fall 2008...hard to beat!

Remember how I was "So Excited for October"? Well, I have been thinking about the past 3 months and they have been pretty amazing...hopefully I will top it one day, but it will be quite tough. Here was the itinerary:

Aug 28-30: Daron and Kelly come to CPH
Aug 31-Sept 6: Daron, Kelly, and I go to Italy (Trieste), Croatia, Boznia & Herzegovenia, & Slovenia
Sept 7-9: Daron and Mike in CPH
Oct 1-3: London to see David, Leslie, Julie, and Shannon
Oct 5-18: Brazil for work
Oct 22-26: Genoa for work, Milan for fun
Oct 30-Nov 3: Athens and Santorini to visit Mike and meet Andreas, Sophia, and Carolina...favorite Greeks ever!
Nov 6-9: Brugge and Amsterdam with Cecilia
Nov 12-20: Dubai and Oman to see Virginie, Cesar, and Josh
Nov 25: Move back to Sweet Home Chicago in time for Turkey Day!

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!!

Halloween in Santorini!

We arrived in Santorini at 7am...Carolina, Mike's sister, picked us up in her skeleton costume on her way home from a Halloween party....went to bed at 7:30...and I was up at 9:30 (stupid birds!). So I decided to go for a walk into the town of Pyrgos.
I happened upon this mule and went for a little ride!

After exploring for about an hour, I went back to bed for 2hr until everyone else woke up. From there we headed to the capitol city of Fira and met some of Carolina's friends for coffee.
Nov 1, 2008 was the warmest Nov 1 in Santorini in 50yrs...83 degrees!...so we were off to Kamari beach! The water was quite cold and very salty...but once in, we were fine!

Then, after dinner and a nap, we started prepping for a Halloween party at Murphy's Irish Pub. Like any good American I brought plently of costumes! Mike and I were 70's dancers, Sophia was a cat, and Carolina was a hippie. Mike performed the "ultimate sacrifice" by slicking back his hair to really sell the part...nice!

And Murphy's really got into it as well...orange and black streamers and balloons everywhere... fake spiderwebs...pumpkins and ghosts...and lots of presents (t-shirts, top hats, pumpkin masks, etc). Plus, they put sparklers up all over the bar and every so often would sound a siren and light a bunch of them with a blow torch!Guiness anyone?
Carolina works at a high school teaching English and a lot of her friends joined us...below is Soulis, who is a physics teacher and a bee keeper - how cool is that?! Not only did the teachers join, but also a bunch of their students and they bought us a round of shots at one point (a.w.k.w.a.r.d.). Hmmm....Fun times!

The DJ was amazing...we danced for 3.5hr straight..even Mikali..which is quite and accomplishment!
Definitely the most fun Halloween I can remember...next year, Murphy's...I'm there!

On Sunday, once we got up, we were off to Ia the most amazing village on the island (in my humble opinion).Another gorgeous day!
The view from where we got coffee....
So picturesque!

There are 3 ways up: walk, tram, or mules!

Beautiful Ia...

I've got a ton more pictures and will add a link to this post soon...so stay tuned!

I love Greeks!

Especially the Rikakis family!! A big thanks to Mike, his sister Carolina and uncle Andreas for helping to make my first trip to Greece so amazing! But, in general I love all Greeks - they are such a friendly, fun-loving people, with a gorgeous and historic country, not to mention fantastic food!

I arrived on Thursday afternoon, made my way into the city and had a late lunch while waiting for Mike to finish work. Mike lives next door to his uncle so we went to dinner together and had a great time with lots of laughs. There were several "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" moments - like the stories about all the second cousins and the time that I mentioned that I thought I could understand a few of the Greek words due to my Spanish and I was promptly told by Andreas that there was not one bit of Spanish in Greek!

On Friday, I joined Mike and Andreas for breakfast...a daily event in their houses. Then Mike went to work and I was off to the park near his house for a run. It was a nice park, but I was more entralled by all the people...old men playing chess and backgammon....little kiddos running around.

Then it was off to the Acropolis. Very impressive...I think the pictures speak for themselves.
At night I was taught how to make a proper Greek salad..not bad! Insider tip: put the olive oil on before the oregano so the oregano stays crisp!
It turned out a lot better than the "delicious" pasta that Mike made!
Then it was back to an area of town near the Acropolis to meet Sophia for a drink..sitting outside with a view of the Acropolis by night...not bad!
We only slept for a few hours because it was off to the airport at 3:30am to catch a 5:45 flight to Santorini where Mike's sister lives. This will turn into the longest post ever if I include Santorini as well, so stay tuned for a new post!