Now this is a desert storm!!

I tried to post a video on Instagram of the storm we experienced on Friday night (you can find my Instagram feed on the far right side of this blog if your not an Instagram user), but my video could not do the ferocity of this storm justice.

Fortunately, some crazy locals were in the right place, at the right time, and captured this amazing video. Be patient and keep watching as first the Burj Khalifa and then the whole city just disappears under the intensity of the storm.

This will amaze even you hardened storm going Melbournites and South Gippslanders!

Summer is upon us so this is probably the last rain for the year!

Visitor fun!

This weekend we had the beautiful Lexi and BJ come stay with us on their way through to Europe.
It was an absolute blast to see some familiar faces and hang out together.
While it made us a little homesick, seeing it through the eyes of newbies also made us appreciate where we live and how lucky we are to be here in this amazing place.
FYI - I stole these photo's from Lexi's camera (thank you).

A drive out to the end of the Palm Islands to see the amazing Atlantis Hotel

Morning beach fun

Drinks at the Address Hotel, overlooking the dancing fountain, Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa - how gorgeous is Lexi!

Fab photo from the Address Hotel overlooking Old Town (Attareen Island) and the tower behind is our home!

Looking out from the Burj Khalifa (world's tallest building)

Lexi couldn't resist this shot from our car park. There is actually another Ferrari and Porsche usually parked next to these two. I am in such fear of wiping this row of cars out every time I drive in and out of our car park... ouch!



Love this photo! Taken at Burj Al Arab after attempting to Stand-up Paddle Board.... it was too windy and choppy apparently (Piper and I stayed home for afternoon nap).



On the last night Lexi and I snuck away and enjoyed Sangria's at the Palace Hotel pool bar. It is amazing, with fan cooled cabana's and day beds to lounge on and drink cocktails!

A timely reminder we live in Arabia....

This weekend we were pretty much house bound for the entire 2 days due to severe sand storms!
The wind whipped up on Thursday evening and by Friday morning it was horrendous.
I am still getting my head around the fact we are on the otherside of the world... when I read the weather report as strong southerly winds I expected a cold snap with freezing winds NOT nasty, dry, hot winds that bring sand storms!
It was so bad we had to get a taxi instead of the 5 minute walk to the mall for our groceries and that was the only time we left the house and Lily just completely refused to pee outside in the wind much to Naz's frustration!
The downside now is that we need rain to clean everything...... it has only rained once for 5 minutes since we moved here 5 months ago so that is not likely to happen!
I bravely wrapped a scarf around my head and ventured out to take some of the photo's below.

Looking out or window first thing in the morning.... the pool is still blue and not the sandpit it became later in the day

You can only just make out the buildings in the distance on the right

If you know this area at all you will realise all the buildings behind have completely disappeared

New Years Eve 2011/12

We celebrated the beginning of a new year by hosting a fancy dress party at our home. The theme was "in my past life I was..." We had a fabulous night with a great bunch of people, a combination of work colleagues and friends we have made in our apartment building.
We certainly felt the time difference though.... as our friends and family in Australia rang in the new year we were busy with final party preparations and waiting for our first guests to arrive!
NYE also highlighted how much we are missing our friends and family at this time of year and I shed a little tear at Oz's midnight.
Dubai's celebrations at midnight were centered on Downtown and the Burj Khalifa (right outside our door) and we knew it was going to be a big night! We had heard lots of stories of people getting stuck for up to 5 hours in traffic to go 3km and the mass amount of people  at last years NYE celebrations so we were happy to not be travelling anywhere other than a 1 minute stroll out the front door to watch the fireworks.
They locked down our area early in the day, annoyingly with no consideration for residents access. A mid morning dash to the supermarket resulted in a very loud argument with security who had locked down the bridge we use to get to the mall from our home blocking my access home. With very heavy shopping bags there was no way I was walking the way they were suggesting residents would have to use.... I was 3 minutes from home and to go the other way would of been at least a 40 minute walk! Needless to say neither of us would back down so I bolted through and hoped I wouldn't be spending NYE in a jail cell! Thankfully he gave up but I then encountered 2 more security guards and blocked access routes just to get into our building.... only in Dubai!!
We were very grateful and happy to experience NYE in Dubai but not so sure we will be doing it again - up to 1,000,000 converging on the footstep of your home is a little crazy!

Batgirl, Fairy and Spartacus

Piper and her friend enjoying my cupcake icecream cones!

Burj Khalifa just before the fireworks, we were very lucky to avoid the large crowds on the island in front and in the other vieweing areas. Residents were able to access this area from internally and avoid the crush!

Our Christmas in Dubai

It was a very different Christmas this year and sadly it was all over far too quickly as the UAE is a muslim country we had to take annual leave for Christmas Day and Boxing day and now I am back at work.
But we made the most of our time and enjoyed good food, great company and lots of drinks... oops I mean laughs! Here are a few snaps of our Christmas fun!

Decorating our Christmas cookies and preparing for our Christmas Eve Party!

All partied out!

Christmas Morning....

Morning cricket match with friends to get the day underway, followed by lunch in the Burj Khalifa!

When in Rome.... I mean why not play cricket in a park at the foot of the world's tallest building!

Piper and Laura preparing to field



Playing with her new scooter from Santa

We finished our Christmas day off with a trip to the beach and some aggressive beach soccer



Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas with lots of laughs and fun like ours xo