David had a conference in Dubai the first week of February, so we all went along for the trip. It was a completely different experience from last time we went to Dubai, as we spent most of our time at the Dubai Mall (since that's where the conference was). The Burj Khalifa had just been renamed and officially opened as world's largest building. Can you figure out which skyscraper it is in the next photo? (This photo was taken from the balcony of our friends' condo where we stayed during the trip)
Dubai Skyline
The real reason we came to Dubai (and the Middle East, for that matter!). While David attended and presented at the education conference, the kids and I hung out at the mall. Photos below: Fashion Avenue (every high-end store I've ever heard of, or not), Armani Junior (I spotted a baby onesie for $60), arab-style manequins, indoor fountain, ice skating rink, aquarium, Gold Souq... all inside the mall. Plus three stories of more trendy shops. I just shopped at Osh Kosh and Coldstone Creamery.
At 6:00pm each evening, we'd meet up with David at the fancy hotel within the mall, and walk out of world's largest mall to stand at the base of world's tallest building and watch world's tallest fountains. So very Dubai.
Waiting for the fountain show to begin.
You can see the base of Burj Khalifa in the background.
The photos do not do justice to the beautiful fountains. Imagine 4x more fountains than shown here, choreographed to a different international song every 20 minutes. My favorite was Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman singing "Time to say goodbye." The show was even more spectacular after sunset with the lights.
We told Ethan that he was looking at the tallest building in the world. Probably hard for a 3-year-old to truly appreciate, but he liked it anyhow.
We had planned to go up the elevator on tour, but tickets were sold out. The next week the building was closed to tourists. Hopefully it will reopen before we move back to the U.S. in June.
How neat. That is one place I have always wanted to visit. Glad I get to see actually pictures of actual people I know there. What an experience.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures! I know you'd said you've been once before, but it's still cool and looks exciting!
ReplyDeleteWow, it is like a cross between vegas and new york...all on steroids! Glad you are having so many amazing experiences.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is, that's very cool!
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