My 29th Birthday

I know, I tried but I failed. Yes I am talking about updating my Dubai trip and yes it was back in June!!! Well, at least I still remember it - looking at the upside!

The Dubai trip was a birthday present from T and guess what? We still talk about it like we were only there yesterday. Anyway, so here are some of the pics taken on my b-day, my last twenty-something birthday!

Posing in front of the infamous aquarium at the lobby. And look at us, our rigid smiles!

Here is another one of me, under one of the many chandelliers

At the Skyview Bar, having a quick cheeky drink before our dinner

The beginning of our 'splendid' culinary journey - the so-called three minute 'simulated' submarine experience and T can't seem to keep his eyes open already!!!!!?????

To be honest, the food wasn't all that but the ambiance was quite extraordinary. I think most people just go for the experience than anything else. The aquarium is just amazing! Unfortunately no photographs are allowed within the restaurant.

This is back to the hotel room after the dinner and there was a bottle of bubbly waiting for us!!

and rose petals around the bath tub!

the bathroom

and yes the bed, too! Courtesy of T and the hotel!

Flowers from T, which was quite incredible considering neither of us are really the flower-type of persons. More cakes and fruits from the hotel.

Oh and the best bit was that T proposed at dinner and bless his cotton socks - his face was as red as a lobster and I think it was more of a nerve thing rather than the influence of alcohol... or could it be the latter? I don't know but I know he didn't really enjoy the meal as he was contemplating the timing and so was fidgeting the whole time!

Anyway, it all ended very positive and I say positive is because we were both rather 'merry' after a few drinks but one thing I do remember is that I said YES!

So there....my 29th Birthday.

Talise Spa

Here are some more photos from our Dubai trip. After the awe-inspiring, exhilirating birthday dinner - specially planned by Mr T (definitely will do a separate post on that and I will try not to take another month to write that up!!), we decided that we needed a bit of TLC for our mind, body and soul! Well, any excuses really. So off we went to the beautiful Talise Spa which is again, conveniently located within the resort.

This is the back view of the hotel, taken on the abras (water taxi).

On the way to the Spa. There are 3.7 km of working waterways with fully operational abras (traditional water taxis) which transport guests from their rooms to the restaurants, beach and the spa.

Inside the spa and this is just one of the many areas where you can relax and chill out.

After our massage treatments, we went to the vegetarian retaurant next to the spa for lunch. Someone clearly needed a bit of fuel as that someone snored throughout the treatment and we all know how snoring burns off calories!

They are complimentary bread from the chef and can I just say how tasty these are!!! Warm walnut bread on the left and rosemary bread on the right, served with pesto sauce and tomato butter.

Another complimentary starter - beetroot jelly with mango sauce. Really light and those two flavours compliment each other very well.

This is T's starter - flower & herb salad with three dressings: yoghurt & advocado; balsamic vinager and orange & pomogranate dressing.

my starter - roasted artichoke with topinambur puree, marinated tomatoes, rosemary and thyme oil served with topinambur crisps.

T's main - spinach pimento risott with roasted asparagus, moreles, deep fried parsley leaves and parmesan sauce

Mine - pan fried millet tofu cake, minted green tea puree with hazelnut oil baked cherry tomatoes and pak choi

T's desesrt - passion fruit delice with exotic fruit potpurri with coconut cream

Mine - iced cardamom coffee cream, fresh figs in vanilla grapefruit syrup, chocolate cake

This is just another one of the many reasons why we absolutely adore Dubai!

Parisian Feast

We decided to go to the Parisian restaurant within the resort we stayed on the first night for dinner and I have to say that it probably was one of the most enjoyable meals we had. Not only the waiters/waitresses were super attentive and friendly, they also made some very good recommendations!


Complimentary fresh herbal salad with feta cheese

My starter - Grilled aubergines with yoghurt and mint

T's starter - Pistachio soup : silky, smooth, really delicious!

Hammous (a kind of fish) fillet kebab with pomegranate rice, grilled tomatoes and pita bread. The portion was huge, I could hardly even finish the fish, let alone the rice and bread! However, the fish was really beautifully cooked, very moist and tender.

T's gigantic shank of lamb with herby rice and chilli sauce. According to T, it was one of the best lambs he had and just look at the size of it....I don't need to say more!

Rose petal tea - absolutely divine!!! It was so lovely that I had two glasses of them!

desserts made from chick pea and pistachio - they literally melt in your mouth!

After dinner, we had a quick drink at the hotel lobby.

I had a Loulabelle (left) - 'an exquisite mix of strawberries, rose & white grape juice shake and topeed up with lemonade

Mr T opted for a Camingo (right) - 'A refined combination of fresh strawberries, vanilla and the Arabian touch of camel milk'. Camel milk actually doesn't taste as bad as we thought, in fact it doesn't really taste of anything, apart from it's more cloudy than normal milk.

It was a perfect end to the day and evening before we retired to bed.

It must be one of the very few nights that I had a really good sleep!

Here It Comes

Right, here comes our much-anticipated Dubai trip.

When we arrived at the hotel, the room wasn’t ready yet so we decided to go for the grand buffet breakfast and we were there for almost two hours while waiting to check-in our room. We were both so tired that I literally passed out on the sofa in the hotel lobby.

This is me trying to keep my eyes open in the lobby.

An hour later, the room still wasn't ready, so we decided to take the hotel shuttle bus to Mall of the Emirates for some retail therapy.

This picture was taken in the bus just outside the hotel.

However, we didn't spend too much time in the mall; not just because we didn't get any sleep on the plane or being slightly jet-lagged, we simply got bored in there. They have all the brands you can think of there, even my favourite Harvey Nichols but the stuff there just weren’t the same.

Just as we were thinking where we could go next, the hotel called to say that our room was ready.

This is the picturesque view from our room...I can honestly look at it all day long!

From another angle

more pics to follow!..please bear with me...