So its off to the zoo we go...and some other stuff...

Off to the zoo we go... in a town called Al Ain which is about an hours drive from Dubai. This is what we did last week Thursday! It was lots of fun but extremely hot! The days are getting hotter and hotter here so I am starting to experience what everyone that lives here has been talking about. On our way there the car registered 37 degrees and that was at 10h30 in the morning.







The highlight of the day was seeing the Bengal tigers - beautiful animals and HUGE in real life! I would hate to come across this animal in the wild! Don't think I would stand a chance! So after our stroll around the park seeing lions, pumas, South African gemsbok, rhino, giraffe, an ostrich and many more animals we went off to Rowan and Fiona's for some takeaways of pizza and chinese and we ended up watching the movie Hairspray. Must say Peter and my brother Vaughanweren't very impressed with the movie, I can't say it is the best I have seen but at least I can see I have seen it.

Bryce, Logan and Peter inside the reptile house
Vaughan and Ella Rose
On Saturday our stuff arrived from SA after about a week of red tape nightmare! The company here in Dubai would not release the shipment because we did not have the original bill of loading papers and after back and forthing to the company in SA we eventually got the right papers! (Ever need a shipping company in SA I can highly recommed the one we used) However, Peter spend about 5 hours at customs going from one cue to the other to get it released but it eventually all worked out! The only problem now is to store the stuff! There are no cupboards in the villa so we have had to do a bit more shopping for a cupboards to store all my scrapbooking and cardmaking goodies!
Some of the boxes!

Yesterday I was being creative and made 7 cards which I will post on my blog tomorrow!

Today we have had no water since 11h00 (so all countries have their problems!). It is now around 19h00 and when I phoned a few minutes ago they say it might take about another 8 - 10 hours! Fustration reigns!!! I don't know which is worse - having no electricity or no water!

My best friend Cheryl is probably in labour as I write this blog in Toronto! She has had to be induced! This is the first grandchild on both sides of the family so I am sure everyone is going to be excited when the new additoin arrives! I will post some pics as soon as the new little person has made its way into this world! Good luck Che, hope that you made it through the experience with very happy memories to follow!

So I think that's it for now...until later...

Okay, I am a bit behind on news...

Last week Friday (which a weekend day here in Dubai for some of you who don't know that), the boys, Peter, myself and my brothers with their wives went to a wonderful waterpark called Dreamland. It is situated about 1 hour's drive from Dubai but really worth the visit! Lots to do, so many supertubes to choose from and swim, swim, swim! The weather was really great - not too hot, no wind and the water park was not so busy which made the experience even more pleasurable!

So here are some pics which will give you some idea what we were up to!

Overview of the park

Bryce

Logan Fiona and cutie-pie Ella-Rose

Nicky and Vaughan

As you can see I am having a bit of difficulty getting onto my tube!

We did get our new car on Monday but haven't had a chance to take pics yet so will tomorrow. I am being also creative today so will try and get some pics up soon. I am off to a craft show tomorrow which will be interesting to see how things are run in Dubai and what sort of crafts are out there.

Chat soon...

Celine Dion was awesome...

I was extremely lucky to see Celine Dion last night in the golden circle (would never afford this luxury in SA) and in Dubai on top of that! It was an awesome concert and well worth the wait. I went with my very pregnant sister-in-law, Fiona (well done Fi for managing to stand so long and endure the wait!). Fiona and I set out at 16h30 by taxi to the Four Seasons Golf Club, near Dubai Festival City where Celine Dion was performing. The concert only started at 20h30 but we thought we would leave a little (a lot!) earlier to avoid the traffic, the queue's and the crowds! Well, there was no traffic, only a small queue and the crowds only arrived later! The advantage was that when they eventually let us through the gates at around 18h00 we got to be about 10 metres from the stage!

Fiona and I waiting patiently!

Albeit a very cold evening where the wind made the chill factor go up - socks and long sleeves where definitely the order of the day - Celine Dion sang her heart out. At least both Fiona and I brought along our jackets otherwise we would have been sitting in the public toilets listening from there! The time just flew by (unlike the last hour we had to wait for her to sing - that seemed to drag on forever!). She sang some news songs ie, "Taking Chances", "Alone", some tributes like the "Show must go on", "We will rock you" by Queen and some classics, "The Power of Love", "My heart will go on" which was her closing song for the evening in a beautiful flowing yellow dress to close the evening!

Hopefully this will be the first of many concerts to come in Dubai and I think next time I might just arrive only a hour before the concert! I suppose each one is different!

If anyone in SA saw the concert please give us your comments on how you experienced it! I heard that the organisation on the first night was attrocious! There were still a few people stuck in traffic still on the highway when the concert started!!

Tomorrow we are off to a water park for the day so I will let you know what we were up to there!

Our first sightseeing day...

While Peter had to unfortunately work yesterday, Saturday, the boys and I took advantage and went sightseeing. Our first stop was at Children's City, a eductional project that offers children their own learning zone, they had lots of fun because there was a lot of interactiveness with different projects that the venue had to offer. Surrounding Children's City are beautiful, well maintained gardens with big trees and areas where you can picnic and the kids can play on the various jungle gyms scattered throughout the park.

After our visit we walked in the park and then went on the cable car which is also situated in the park. It runs along the creek side of the park and stretches about 2.5 km, it took about 35 minutes. Wonderful views of the creek and the park and as far as the eye could see!

After all this fun and excitement we set off for Jumeirah beach, our first trip to the beach since we arrived! Bryce and Logan passed out in the back seat for a catnap along the way but as soon as the car stopped they both perked up to see where we were.

Here is a pic of some lucky person who owns that beautiful boat in the background. Logan was the only one who decided he wanted to swim - I must admit the water was lovely. Not like Cape Town where your toes just about freeze and fall off! It was cool and clear - we will be definitely returning for another visit.

So a busy day all in all - oh yes, we also bought a new car last night. After we picked Peter up from work we decided to go car shopping. We have a hired car at the moment. First time we have a car "out of the box" so to speak so very exciting stuff! Details to follow as soon as the details have them finalised.

I can't believe we are into March already! Until next time...