Bright and shiny.

Despite being told our reservation for tea did not provide access to the rest of the hotel, we did a little bit of exploring. How could we not?

Once you enter and ascend the escalator, you immediately notice the atrium, the “World’s Tallest Atrium” to be exact.

In the center of the atrium there’s a mesmerizing fountain. The water is so perfect it doesn’t look like water! When it sprays out in tall arches it looks more like clear plastic tubes. Every 30 minutes a column of water is supposed to spray 32 meters up in the air. Unfortunately, if anyone puts their hands in the water the schedule is disrupted and pushed back another 30 minutes. Since everyone is trying to reassure themselves that the perfect water truly is liquid, many hands were in the fountain. No big spray show for us.

We sneakily took an elevator up to the 25th floor. That’s high. Looking over the edge was pretty scary for me. That’s when we realized what we had thought was the ceiling of the hotel, was actually the bottom of a restaurant. We had gone several stories above it

Top photo: looking down at a restaurant
Bottom photo: look up at the underside of a restaurant

During tea our view faced toward the mainland. Here you can see the bridge that takes you out to the artificial island the hotel sits on.

Everything inside the hotel was beautiful but I was especially fascinated by the floral arrangements. Very creative.

I can’t say that I took away any decorating ideas for myself, but the colorful atmosphere was a nice complement to our afternoon of luxury.

xo, jill

And two for tea.

A few weeks ago Mike and I took a look at the calendar and noticed something special. We’d been goofing around together and teasing each other for nearly 12 full months! We decided that was cause for a little celebration at the Burj Al Arab.

Visiting the Burj Al Arab is kind of a big deal. When you make reservations (which are required to enter) you are given a secret code. Without that code, there’s no getting past security or through the gate. Even though I’m not too impressed by exclusivity, I must admit handing over the secret password did give me a bit of a thrill.

Once inside the hotel we were able to do a bit of exploring before sitting down to the Ultimate Afternoon Tea. The service is comprised of 7 courses and costs 325AED ($90) without champagne, 375AED ($103) with champagne.

It was easy to lose count of the courses but I did my best to get photos of all the pretty food.

We started off with sparkling date juice.

Next, fresh berries and cream.

Then, we were brought a selection of meat filled and vegetarian sandwiches.

The sandwiches were followed by a vegetarian carvery course consisting of little spinach puffs, a mushroom quiche, and greens. (The meat selection was a salmon bake.)

A little sorbet to cleanse the pallet.

At this point the actual “tea” or hot drinks were served. I chose a simple strawberry ceylon. Mike opted to be a bit more luxurious. His cappuccino came with gold flakes on top.

The hot drinks were accompanied by scones with cream and jams.

The last two courses consisted of French pastries and truffles on a Ferris wheel.

Near the end of our meal, a server brought over a rose and a card in honor of our anniversary. We couldn’t stop giggling. It was clear they thought we were married.

For the record, I did not elope. And rest assured, if I did, my maiden name would reign!

The tea lasted nearly 3 hours and was certainly a little piece of luxury. My only disappointment was that despite stating on the phone and upon arrival that I required a vegetarian option, I was still served meat. It was all sorted (after my third request) and the food was superb. I guess I just assumed that a “5 Star Deluxe” hotel would get it right the first time.

It was definitely a special afternoon.xo, jill

PS more photos of the interior to come.

from the future!

Over the past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to visit the future… twice.

Masdar City is a giant zero-carbon environmental project coming to fruition just outside of Abu Dhabi. Right now the project is only in phase 1, but when it’s complete the city will house 55,000 people, 1,000 businesses, and a university… all running on renewable resources!

We went to check the place out. There’s not too much happening out there now… the university is running, and a few businesses are open. We shopped at the small organic store, ate dinner at Sumo Sushi, and checked out Caribou Coffee for dessert.

The best part was the transportation… driverless pods!

You climb into a little bug of a vehicle, push a button, and you’re off! The pod is powered with solar energy and uses magnets to navigate. Awesome.

Hopefully Masdar’s sustainability will begin to creep into the mainstream Abu Dhabi lifestyle. It certainly will be interesting to see what the project looks like as the next stages are completed.

xo, jill

…break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!

While on our way to Ras Al Khaimah the week before last, something caught my eye just south of Dubai. Something I had never noticed. A Kit Kat factory! We decided we’d check it out on our return, if only for a photoshoot.

Luckily, on our way home we took an accidental alternate route that brought us near to the proper industrial park. We thought it might be gated up or secured somehow… but nope. We drove right up to the factory with the Kit Kat bars we had purchased for the occasion.

In the few minutes we spent outside taking these photos, the chocolate completely turned to soup. Molly did her best to rehabilitate them with the air conditioning during the rest of the drive, but it was messy little treat nonetheless.

xo, jill

“Ras Al Khaimah is best emirate. Not like Abu Dhabi.” – grade 3 student

Last weekend Molly and I took advantage of another GoNabIt voucher. We decided to spend a little Jolly Time (Jill + Molly) relaxing at the Golden Tulip in Ras Al Khaimah. The voucher included a 1 night stay, 30 minute massage, 100AED dinner voucher, breakfast, and access to the warm springs. The level of adventure wasn’t quite the same as last year’s weekend getaways (Egypt and India), but for $50 each, we weren’t complaining.

Since the hotel is located in the middle of nowhere and the heat was too intense for any hiking, it truly was a relaxing stay. We lounged at the pool, enjoyed our massages, lounged a bit more, attempted a snail shower, and happily ate our pizza and soup dinner.

The next morning we walked down a steep hill to the warm springs. Warm springs in 100F heat… not too smart. We didn’t last long in the water but I’m happy to report the absence of any fainting spells. (Triumph!) And since I wanted to remain upright, we requested a van for the journey back up.

It was a fun weekend with one of my very favorite friends. More on our sweet discovery soon!

xo, jill

PS The last time Molly and I visited RAK together we did quite a bit more exploring: museum, abandoned village, sleeping with goats.