Dubai
March/April 2023
Three Wonderful Weeks
Two Adorable Cats
One Magnificent City
Week 1
4 nights at Adagio Aparthotel, Deira, prior to housesit. Couldn’t fault the accommodation or the location. Excellent view of the city. A bit noisy with the traffic, but nothing could detract from the perfect start to our Dubai houseit.
Ramadan – The Holy Month
As non muslims, Ramadan was the perfect time to complete a cultural housesit in Dubai. From our pre-sit hotel in Deira, we heard the 5 times daily call to prayers. Partiularly uplifting was the Maghrib, the sunset prayer and the end of the days fasting. But to hear Fajr, the prayer before sunrise ringing out across Dubai was something that will stay with us forever. Truly inspirational and food for the soul.
Art Gallery in the hotel lobby. Too pricey for the likes of us, but it cost nothing to look!
A little secret – having not visited Dubai before and faced with 100s of hotels in our price range, we chose the Adagio for 4 reasons:
We are huge fans of Classic FM and recognise the musical term, Adagio (play slowly)
The racehorse Adagio, which sadly died.
We once hired a luxury narrowboat named Adagio
My family name Adigu.
Worked out well.
Getting to grips wtih the Metro :
Al Ghubaiba
Gold Souk
Sharaf DG
Al Seef
Bur Dubai
Week 2
The Marina
A feast for the eyes. We wandered from bench to bench, taking in the hustle and bustle of the waterway, but preferring to experience it on terra firma.
Great for people and yatch watching. Perfect for foodies.
Burj Al Arab Hotel – Skyview Bar
This has been on our bucket list for the past fifteen years or so. At least from the days when I was affectionately dubbed the ‘Hotel Inspector’.
Despite our appetite for 5* hotels being well and truly satiated and our newfound love of house and pet sitting, it was impossible to ignore the coming together of architecture and landscape and pay a fleeting visit to Dubai’s much talked about Burj Al Arab Hotel
Nothing stuffy about the Skyview Bar. It is pure theatre, passion and class.
Excellent service . Erdinger was, according to the German man at the next table, poured to perfection. Two waiters poured simultaneously. And as we suspected the race was on to be the first to present the perfect drink!
Easter Sunday
The Greens
The Views
The Greens Souk
Close to home. Sometimes you miss what is under your nose. Found a beautiful area on the doostp, with an excellent supermarket. Perfect for a spot of Christmas shopping
Madinat Jumeirah
Stunning location, although we initially mistook the grounds of the Hotel Talis for our destination. Not sure if it is policy to allow non residents to use the restrooms, but we wandered around the hotel (which was a feast in itself) unchallenged.
EXPO City
We were fortunate to visit when there were few visitors to distract and therefore fully appreciate the space. Truly surreal. Sustainability screamed from every portal. A vision of a future with a future.
Week 3
Ticket to Ride
Monorail between Palm Gateway and Atlantis Aquaventure. Join Groupon Dubai and got cut price day tickets.
Brilliant day out. on the shores of the Arabian Gulf.
Atlantis (top) Pointe by Day (left) Pointe by Nights (right)
“All aboard the train”
Palm Fountain Pointe Waterfront
Song: This Is Our Time
Our final night in Dubai
Always best to leave on a hight. And what better way than with a performance of Art and Music at the Theatre of Digital Art, Souk Madinat.
Preceded by a very very very happy hour at McGettigan’s Irish bar
