Wow – what a fun stopover in Dubai! On the way back from the Seychelles, we chose the longest stopover available for our return which was 24 hours. We arrived at 4:20am on the 12th of April and I had booked a ‘day hotel’ in Dubai, so we took a taxi to that hotel ($12.- and a 15 min drive). Then we checked in at 6am and slept from 6:30am to 2:30pm)…well, the kids slept anyway…we were ‘overtired’ and kept waking up since our clocks were totally off. Still, we had to try to get some rest, because our flight wouldn’t leave until 4:15am early the 13th, and we would be up and touring until then. We took a shuttle bus from the hotel to the ‘Dubai Museum’ which is close to the famous souks (Arabian markets) of the city. We walked through the local streets near the museum and then took a ‘water taxi’ across the river to the spice souk and gold souk.
After that we walked to the Metro station nearby to take a green ‘metro’ line to Union station and changeover to the red line which stopped at the World’s famous Dubai Mall! The metro was an experience in itself with signs for girls entrance onto the train and penalties posted for men going into the girl sections. We had to sit separately on the shuttle bus too.
We got off the red line and went directly outside to look up at the Burj Khalifa (830m) and take some pictures. Then we shopped for a couple of hours and had dinner there. There is a beautiful water and light show outside the mall every half hour after 6pm, so we went out to a watch that from a bridge. It was amazing to see actually…very well done!!
After that, we decided that we wanted to go up the tallest building in the world,
so we went to see about getting tickets. They were sold out except for the ‘fast track – on the top’, so we bought those tickets. 
We were brought to a closed room and served Arabian tea while waiting for them to scan our tickets. Then we were shown some footage of the building of it and taken as a group to the elevators. We went directly to the top floor you can visit (555 metres high) and it seemed like only 15 seconds in the elevator. The floor numbers are shown flying past on the walls of the elevator as you speed higher and higher and your ears pop, but you really don’t feel the elevator moving. The site from the top was amazing as it was a clear night. We went on the glass observation decks on the 148th floor and 125th as well.
The Dubai Mall itself was incredible to see with taxi’s that drive around in the mall that can take you to different areas of the mall and the ice rink there was large with music and lights going and a large sitting section, change rooms etc. To rent ‘proper’ hockey skates we had to pay a ‘premium’ but Greg wasn’t going to wear the plastic boots most of the others were wearing. He enjoyed being on the ice again and it was funny to see him flying around all the locals and visitors that had a hard time staying on two feet. It was the first time he had been on skates since playing AAA hockey in Canada. We also saw the Mall’s Aquarium and watched the sharks and sea life there for a while. We closed the mall down at 11:30pm, and then took a taxi back to the airport to wait for our 4:15am flight. We were really happy that we had pushed ourselves to see Dubai on the way home, but we were very tired boarding that flight!
After being in Seville for 2 days, we woke to wish Brianna a Happy 14th Birthday and then drove an hour and a half to Cordoba to spend our 2nd last day in a special way for her. The gift we gave her that boring was tickets to an Arabian Spa that is very unique in Cordoba. We had booked a time of 4:00pm and it included an hour in the various spa pools (cold, warm and hot), as well as a steam room and body massage. We arrived at our apartment and then went into Cordoba for the afternoon. We had lunch on a patio and then toured the famous Cordoba Mosque-Cathedral which is just too amazing to explain. After walking the mosque, we all went to the spa and had the most relaxing 2 hours of our week.
It was truly an unbelievable place. It was silent inside with different rooms that had different pools/baths underground, all candlelight with hot mint tea and ice cold water stations…soft music playing and massage rooms behind white curtains. There were ice cold dipping baths that you could lie in up to your shoulders and Greg and Bri were both able to immerse and stay in them, completely still for 5 minutes!! Chris and I couldn’t even put our foot in. It was ice cold! Then there was a warm pool to wade in (4 feet deep and 85 degrees) as well as hot baths (96) and a steam room. Soft music, with candles lit, all underground…it was divine. Bri even fell asleep in the warm pool with her body supported and head leaning back. We let her sleep 15 minutes like that. Then she had her massage and tea. She loved this ‘spa experience’ and thought it was a great birthday gift (and she is not easy to please). 🙂
That night Chris and I went for walk in the area of our apartment and brought back a pizza and a ‘mystery dish’ for dinner around 9:30pm. We ended up eating late like that every night, influenced by the local rhythm of things I guess. We thought we had ordered fires when we opened these deep fried things? at home… Not sure if it was cuttle fish inside or what (saw that on a menu), but it was mushy and bland with a hoisin sauce dip. lol ?
The next morning, we drove into Malaga for our last night in Spain. Greg drove for a little while too!! Whenever we rent a car we give him time driving since we don’t have a car in Paris and he doesn’t get any chance to practice or feel like a ‘driver’. However, this Jeep was a standard, so his first lessons ever on a standard was in Spain! We pulled onto a quiet side road with no cars around, and he very quickly got the hang of the gears and clutch. Way to go Greg! Once in Malaga, we hit the beach right away for a few hours, ate on the harbour front outside, and then enjoyed a band that was playing there for a winter festival that had just started that day. It was a great atmosphere along the waterfront because of this festival.
C M G B Overseas 