Palmer started walking the week before I left and I hear (and have seen via video phone) that he has been walking up a storm. I can't wait to squeeze his cheeks and see my hubby.
But, what a great visit and experience I've had over the past few days.
A few highlights:
Adrienne took me to the Doha souk to see the merchant stalls. The souk is an old-fashioned market with everything from spices to fabric to pets for your home. Like everything else in Dubai, the souk is a fairly new construction built to look old.
I am still a little baffled over the necessity of dying these poor chicks day-glo colors:
I popped over to Dubai (just an hour's flight) for the day to see the sights. I have college friends that are living in Dubai for a few years, so Hillary and her sweet daughter Leighton were so kind to be my tour guides for the day.
We squeezed most of the major Dubai attractions into about 8 hours. The world's tallest building (for the time being), the Burj Khalifa was quite impressive.
The indoor ski hill at one of the big malls is comical. Hillary told me that some of the local men wear ankle-length North Face jackets to deal with the cold temps. Excuse the glare, as I shot it thru a window.
We also checked out the man made island shaped like a palm tree. Here we are driving down the trunk:
I think the defining factor of this city is the amazing architecture. There are a ton of skyscrapers, although it's unclear how much of it is actually occupied...
Pit stop for cocktails:
And onward we march to my favorite part of the day, the old Dubai port. Goods are literally hot off the presses, or boats rather. You will see anything from tires to mattresses to rice to garlic to children's toys loaded from these ancient-looking boats. It was the most authentic-seeming part of the day and I loved how much of a melting pot the busy area was.
Back in Doha, I accompanied Adrienne to another sports outing. Arabian horse racing is much more popular with the locals than golf. ExxonMobil sponsors the big Heir Apparent Sword Race, a nationally televised horse race where the royal son hands out the winner's prize.
We sat in a suite next to the Heir Apparent and I had a ball watching the royal protocol during tea-time, etc. Since I was standing next to a *nice* man in a white thobe with a big gun at his hip, I chose not to take a photo of the royal leader.
But, here are some lovely photos of the beautiful horses instead.
And they're off!
This is the life.
But, I'm in love with my life back home, too, and can't wait to get back.
Thanks, Adrienne, for being such a great hostess! What a great time.
-Bethany
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