Up early, we said hi to the fab Dubai view. Breakfast was a world of cultures and a lovely setting. You could have breakfast for a week and still have not tried the froot loops. Barb was in heaven with a plate of Arabic dips, breads and savoury pastries. Taxi to the airport and some shopping and relaxing while Barb tried to deal with her increasingly frustrating freezing iPhone.

An on time and very pleasant flight to Athens. We arrived at 3.30pm. That first time into a new country is so amazing. Some initial thoughts- the surrounding mountains, kilometres of sprawl of one to two story white coloured buildings on the outskirts of the city, the speeding cars on the highway, ( all going at least 120 in an 80 zone) , the tiny crowded labyrinth of streets, crazy traffic,  the obvious signs of an old city and echoes of economic decay – such a contrast to Dubai. We checked into the Divani Palace Acropolis late afternoon. The dream was to have an Acropolis view. An ok room, there is a balcony outside and it is charming. Lots of character and then look south and time almost stops. There it is the Parthenon, one of the most iconic structures in antiquity. How cool is that!

 

A supermarket visit for supplies and a sit on our terrace to take in the ambience. Dinner in the hotel. Had the option to sit by the pool area so we did. We were the only ones there, balmy evening, about 15 degrees.  Not a fabulous selection, we had a fried cheesy yum thing, chicken and halloumi stuff and moussaka. Pleasant but nothing to rave about.

 

Back to the room where Terry tried to beat Barb’s nano second lay down to sleep ratio, close but who am I to judge. So exciting to be here. I think I have finally worked out my technological issues.  So I have been up for a few more hours. First world problems. So much to explore tomorrow. Kalinichta.

 

 

 

Be careful what you wish for. Finally Sydney got massive storms and we had to sit on the tarmac for an extra 3 hours before our 14.30 hour flight. After seemed like forever we finally got there and made friends with our ‘aisle man’ who is a motor 7racing journalist and a regular visitor to UAE.  We got a taxi from the hotel and gawked at the amazing architecture. The egg type building will be a museum for expo 2020.

The delay meant we missed our pre paid half day tour. We arrived at the Taj Hotel about 9.30 and we were treated like royalty, welcome drinks, an Indian blessing and a traditional necklace.- and this continued throughout our entire stay. A quick coffee each (which incidentally cost the same as the taxi from the airport- petrol is very cheap) A shuttle bus to Dubai Mall where we met our hop on hop off tour.  A first for both Terry and I.

There were 3 zones that you could choose to tour, we did the red zone which went through the old town,  past where the Sheik lives and included a 1 hour cruise on the creek. We went past this very tacky mini Egypt shopping area too. Dropped back at Dubai Mall – the biggest in the world, ( yawn), we checked the aquarium etc got a quick samosa snack and headed back to the hotel to FINALLY have much needed showers and check in.
An upgrade to our amazing view of the Burj Khalifa, present tallest building in the world and the 32nd floor was much appreciated.
Bar hopping in the hotel, drinks on the balcony at Treehouse, a Margherita at the pub- the Eloquent Elephant.  We wanted Arabic food so settled into the hotel Lounge bar for red wine and delicious lamb, chicken and Fattoush Salad. Stuffed and sleepy it was back to the room for bed.

Dubai is massive city and things like the Palm Jumiera and Burj al- Arab we really wanted to see but maybe next time.  The weather was a pleasant 26 degrees, winter.

** apologies for the lateness of this post, have had massive technological issues. 😒