We started the day at the gym. We successfully found our way back to our hotel room (both trav and i have cicled the gym floor around and around on separate occasion trying to find out just how we got up there and how in the heck we can get back down). Then we went to the most fabulous breakfast buffet ever. The buffet had so many stations; there was Indian, German, Asian, fruit bar with dragon fruit and yellow watermelon and a custom order juice bar (trav got orange-beet juice. it was pretty but would've tasted batter with some ranch dressing) and yummy swiss muslei, and the most AMAZING baked good table ever. i could kick myself for not taking a pitcture of it. there were croissants, chocolate croissants, brioche, tarts, cinnamon rolls, muffins, fresh bread, jams and preserves, and more! Of course I started with the fruit, muslei, and baked goods. ate a little bit of all of it and then went back for a croissant and some scrambled eggs with roasted cherry tomatoes. trav went straight for the dim sum of course! trav had to leave for work, but i stuck around and finally had to drag myself out of there so no one would look at me funny for going back yet again to the buffet.
I wanted to layout by the pool for the rest of the morning, but there was a sand storm! I started out for a little while, but i started grinding sand between my teeth, so i went inside. i had to change our hotel anyway. the rest of the day i spent wandering the mall. i must have walked 10 miles, no joke. the mall is huge, no doubt, but there aren't a lot of stores that we don't have in California, nor many stores that i can actually afford anything from. I did get part of two Christmas presents taken care of.
After Trav got off work, we went over the Jameria (sp?) beach area. We didn't actually go to the beach, but went to a souke (that's what they call indoor/outdoor buildings with lots of shops and restaurants. this souk is a 15 minute taxi ride from our hotel and the burj tower and is right next to the burj al arab, or the sail hotel. we ate right on a canal that hada fantastic view of the sail hotel. after dinner, we went over to the sail hotel and had drinks in their sky view lounge. it was a total trip! first of all, you have to make reservations just to enter the hotel grounds. the hotel is on a man made island so it's very exclusive. The sky view lounge is on the 26th floor and cantilevers off the main structure. luckily, i couldn't tell that we were suspended over the water once we were inside. the inside of the burj al arab (sail hotel) was sooooo crazy! it was a mix between the 70s, elton john, space mountain and disneyland and just plain over the top-ness in the tackiest way possible. it was so cool and totally perfect. a great way to start my 30s.
at the restaurant with my "mocktail." it was orange juice.
you can kind of see the sail hotel in the background:
inside the sail hotel:
the hotel sent me a cake! I didn't tell them it was my birthday, but they must have saw it on my passport when i check in. how cool are they?
