HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS!!!!

Once again Steve's dad is able to relive his dream in spending his birthdays on crystal clear beaches with soft sand in lovely warm climents. Like we did 3 years ago in Phuket, we're so happy to be able to celebrate the special occasion with Steve's parents again. This time however instead of Asia, we are in the Middle East. Dad .... We introduce you to all the best places!!!


This is the life.... Dad soaking up the warm weather, relaxing and looking like he does this everyday.



Steve's mum.... a natural born mermaid !!! The sea here is so salty, so you tend to float instead of swim.




Here's dad again, this time with a pint of beer!!!!






Then it's back home to open up presents and glasses of champagne for all before we head off to dinner.


We celebrated the birthday dinner at Prime Rib at the Le Royal Meridien, the food was fantastic, service was exceptional and the ambiance was perfect. All the staff were so friendly and professional. As special thanks to Mathew (Head Chef) for cooking our perfect meals, and to Leanne for recommending the restaurant. At the end of the evening, all satisfied with good food and fine wine, we headed home. Happy 63rd Birthday Pops!

High Tea @ The Burj Al Arab

As a special treat, we booked to have afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab. But also, to find out what all the hype about this 7 star hotel was about.

Arriving at the hotel, we were welcomed by a sea of colours and amazing structures. There's so much to absorb when you first enter and in regards to the design of the interior .... hmmm...we would describe as "very different".












We then took a glass elevator to take us up to the 47th Floor to get to the Skyview Bar. It was an amazing experience just seeing land disappear below us as we were shot up the tall tower. The view when we finally got to the top was spectacular. As far as your eyes could see there was clear blue waters, on one side The Palm being constructed, on the other glimpses of some islands on The World being constructed and then round the back the massive develpment of Dubai land.



The sun setting over The Palm

Then we headed off to the Rooftop Bar at the One and Only for cocktails. Steve's mum tried her very first Mojito (a refreshing minty cocktail) and Steve and his dad did a bit of father and son bonding....

Peanutbutter Jam

In the evening we took Steve's mum and dad to have dinner at Tai Chi, a great Thai/Chinese restaurant at Wafi Mall. The Mall has a very egyptian theme, including pyramids and large stone pharoahs.










With full bellies and satisfied tastebuds, we headed for a real treat. We were all going along to Peanut Butter Jam and to listen to Frankie sing.

Peanut Butter Jam runs every Friday during the cooler months in Dubai. It's a really relaxed atmosphere where everyone sits on bean bags under the starlight to listen to local bands jam the night away.

Frankie was FANTASTIC as usual. She really impressed Steve's mum and dad AND almost brought Steve's dad to tears with her rendition of one of his favourite songs ..... "Fields of Gold". I think Frankie has a new fan club. Frankie - "We are all on the priority list for your first album"!!!!!

Desert Safari

Steve and Dad decided that they wanted to retrace the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia and explore the desert, basically they wanted to be big kids and go off roading. So the boys headed out at 7am to Hatta and back. It took them about 4 hours with a couple of stops including a big lunch along the way. Here's a couple of different terrains they saw along the way.



















On route the boys encountered some friendly camels freely roaming the roads. It just shows you that even though the country has modernized, some things just don't change.

Kite flying

One of the birthday presents I bought for Steve this year was a kite, not your usual kites. But a super duper large kite, with 2 handles and about 2 metres in length. The kite does swoops and dips.... and all the other fun things. So yesterday while Steve's mum and dad were here, they had a go and showed us young ones how the pros do it.

Then it was drinks by the beach, relaxing and enjoying the sunset. Here's Ma and Pa Palfrey at the Jebi Ali Beach Resort Hotel, miles away from the stresses of the city and the cold UK weather.

Here's Steve looking dashing as ever.

Watching the sun set.... a very romantic end to the evening.

A Day at the Beach

We decided to take a drive down to the beach. We packed all our things and happily drove towards Jebi Ali. Unbeknownst to us, our day would not be as plain sailing as we had planned. The adventure began not far from the well trodden path when full of anticipation of seeing the vast sea open up in front of us. Then the curageous or be it full hardy ventured full speed ahead into the soft sand of the dubai desert beach. No more than 10 metres into our drive onto the beach we found ourselves stuck, with wheels spinning full speed throwing sand in the air. Someone was rather embarrassed at the predicament we found ourselves in..... hehehe. We forgot to let some air out of our tyres which would have made it much easier for us to drive on the soft sand and prevented us from getting stuck.


Here we are stuck in the middle of nowhere - so close but yet so far away! Frankie and Eden - this one is for you... " Are we bovered!!"


Luckily for us, some locals came to our rescue. A lovely local man came to help with a shovel and a couple of planks. Then a couple of dashing arabian knights (local lads) came riding over the desert in their magnificent white horse (a four wheel drive) to answer our call and help wench our car out of the sand. And all of them didn't speak much english.

Our saviours to the rescue ....






Finally, we made it!!!!

Mama and Papa Palfrey visit Dubai

Steve's mum and dad arrived into Dubai on the 9th of November. We met them at the airport and from that time onwards it's been non-stop for these fun loving, youthful and adventurous travellers. Here they are looking ever so lovely at the Uptown Bar on the top of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, with the dazzling dubai night lights as back drop.

Dubai Skyline

There is so much construction going on in Dubai, that the Dubai skyline is ever changing. One very famous and constant feature is the Burj Al Arab. Without other buildings nearby to compare to, we forget how massive in structure the hotel really is.


This picture is of the older more established side of Dubai, called Deira. As you can see there are other modes of transport, these take you to the other side of the Dubai creek. Possibly a far safer form of transportation than driving in dubai. The locals here drive like maniacs, especially during their fasting month of Ramadan.

Moving Into Emirates Hill

Since Steve moved to Dubai almost a year ago and me joining him in July, we have finally found ourselves a lovely oasis to call our own. We've moved in on the 31st of September and one month later have finally unpacked all our stuff (how did we ever find all the space to store everything we don't know) and settled in quite nicely. Here's a sneak preview.










































The above are pictures of our living room and dining room area. We must thank "The Asian Room" (our major sponsor) for contributing to our home, I'm sure it would look very empty otherwise.... hehehehe!!!