Expo 2015: The Pavilions, Part 2

More pavilions photos, check them out:

Clockwise from top: Zero pavilion, USA pavilion, Turkey pavilion, UAE pavilion.

Best of 2012

2013 is almost here so I'd like to share with you mi top ten favorite posts from 2012:
(in case you missed them, the link to the post is under the photo)

1) Caribbean Cruise:
We had a blast cruising the Caribbean for the second time on NCL's Epic; we visited Saint Thomas, Saint Martin and Nassau, had lots of food and enjoyed great shows.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/02/epic-cruise-part-1.html

2. How to piss off a Mexican
I wrote this post as a humorous example of some annoying stereotypes about Mexicans

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/03/how-to-piss-off-mexican.html

3. Dubai:
I loved Dubai, it was a great trip, best part of it was being able to dine inside the wonderful Burj Al Arab.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/03/dubai-day-3.html

4. Eataly, Turin:
For the foodie in me, any trip to Eataly is like going to Disneyland so I enjoyed going back to Eataly Turin and having their delicious tuna.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/04/eataly-paradise.html

5. Tuna recipe
As I just wrote, I love tuna, and I enjoy cooking it at home as well, this has to be one of my favorite recipes.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/06/saturday-lunch.html

6. Eataly, Rome
Our weekend in Rome was even more special after we discovered Eataly Rome had just opened, and we had a delicious Roman tripe to make it even better

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/06/eataly-rome.html

7. Piazza Navona, Rome
Rome is one of my favorite cities in the world and Piazza Navona is one of my favorite spots in the Eternal City

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/07/piazza-navona-rome.html

8. Club Med Ixtapa, Mexico
we had a relaxing (and weight-gaining) holiday in Club Med Ixtapa, best service and food ever!

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/09/club-med-ixtapa-part-1.html

9. Statue-hunting in Düsseldorf:
It was a great challenge to find the 9 Poeggeler statues while visiting Düsseldorf

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/10/statue-hunting-in-dusseldorf.html

10. Hangar Bicocca:
Although I live in the area, I had never been to Hangar Bicocca, a very nice exposition space in North Milan

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/10/sunday-in-hangar-bicocca.html

Bonus -  Sunflower fields forever
Beautiful landscapes, great weather, fantastic food, I just love Le Marche!

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/08/sunflower-fields-forever.html

My first 30's!

Here's a little collage I made to symbolize my first 30 years in this world...

... and if the next 30 are as great as these were, can't wait!!!

Dubai - Day 3

After breakfast we took a taxi to the Souk Madinat, an entertainment complex that includes a traditional Arabian souk (market) with plenty of shops, restaurants and bars, beware, abras here cost 60 dirhams, not the 1 dirham you pay for the real ones in the creek. We walked around, trying to get as close to the Burj al Arab as possible.

Then we took a taxi to JBR (Jumeirah Beach Residences, an area south of the Burj al Arab with lots of shops and cafés next to the beach. We didn't have our swimsuits on so we couldn't jump in the water, instead we walked to Dubai Marina, a nice artificial canal quarter, then we ended up in the Dubai Marina Mall (nothing special after seeing the Mall of Emirates and Dubai Mall, but worth visiting to go to Shakespeare & Co. for lunch or a cup of tea).

Jumeirah Beach

We went back to the hotel to get ready for a special dinner at the Burj al Arab.

entering the Burj al Arab

The Burj al Arab, the world's most luxurious hotel and one of the most photographed structures in the world, stands on an artificial island connected to Jumeirah beach by a private bridge. It was designed by a group of British architects and it took about 5 years to build. It has 202 luxurious two-level suites with jacuzzis, private butler and shopper, free use of the hotel's Rolls Royce fleet, etc.

You can only enter the property if you have a room or a reservation for dinner, afternoon tea, brunch, etc. So after some research online, I decided to book a buffet dinner at the pool restaurant, Bab al Yam (it was also the more affordable one at 325 Dhs, beverages excluded). I booked through the website of the hotel a couple of months in advance and I got an e-mail confirmation with the information and dress code (and a reminder as well) that has to be shown at the entrance to get through.
What can I say about the place? It really is amazing, luxury at its maximum expression: gold, lights, dancing fountains. We got there 15 minutes earlier so we could walk around the lobby and common areas. All polished clean, perfect; even the elevators smell delicious; bathrooms have fresh orchids and Hermés hand lotion.

floors

elevators

The Bab al Yam is the poolside restaurant, in the ground floor (you get there through the elevator). You are greeted warmly by the waiters who give you a tour of the buffet: mongolian barbeque, seafood (delicious lobsters all you can eat!) international dishes, sushi, Arabic mezes, cheeses, desserts and ice cream. Everything was delicious, the waiters were very attentive and polite, I just wish I had eaten more of everything! After dinner we walked around the pool and gardens, it was really a nice experience to finish our trip to Dubai.

The folowing day we shopped for sourvenirs in the Mall of Emirates and headed to the airport. Loved Dubai, wish to come back soon!

Dubai - Day 2

Breakfast with a view

After breakfast at the hotel (amazing buffet! fell in love with the hummus) with a beautiful view of the Burj al Arab and Jumeirah, we walked around the Mall of the Emirates. We decided that the taxi was also a cheap way (and a more comfortable one) to move around Dubai so we took one back to the Dubai Mall. I forgot to tell you, the Dubai Mall is the world's biggest shopping mall based on its total area, with more than 1200 shops! If I thought the Mall of Emirates was paradise, this is paradise for first class! Last year it was the most visited leisure and shopping destination in the world. It has an acquarium, an ice skating rink, the world's largest gold souk, world's largest sweets shop (!!!), a luxury hotel, an indoor theme park, children's educational entertainment center and the usual restaurants (160), cinemas (22), supermarket, etc.

Fashion Avenue - Dubai Mall

sweets shop at Dubai Mall

We visited the amazing Dubai Acquarium, which has the world's largest acrylic viewing panel, behind it there are 10 milion liters of water in which 33000 marine animals live. It's pretty impressive to look at and it's great to walk through the see-through tunnel across it, that's as close as I want to get to a shark!

ceiling

Entrance to the tunnel

 

After a long walk we had lunch at the Armani Caffè in the Fashion Avenue. I had the salmon carpaccio which was delicious and from what I heard the wagyu beef burger was also good.

We had reservations for the Burj Khalifa at 16,30 so we ran to the ticket shop in the lower ground floor of the Mall to get our tickets and get in line to enter. If you don't want to end up paying 80 Euros to get in the Burj Khalifa, please consider buying your tickets in advance. You just have to go to this website about a month/a month and a half before your visit and choose a day and time to visit it (the better visibility is from the early afternoon, sunsets), you'll have to pay by credit card and remeber to bring your confirmation e-mail together with an ID a half an hour before the scheduled entrance. You'll be kept waiting at a hall with information on the building, like these amazing records (from the Burj Khalifa official website):

At over 828 metres (2,716.5 feet) and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following records:

•  Tallest building in the world

•  Tallest free-standing structure in the world

•  Highest number of stories in the world

•  Highest occupied floor in the world

•  Highest outdoor observation deck in the world

•  Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world

•  Tallest service elevator in the world 

It is really amazing, I read that it can be seen from 95 km. away. The Observation Deck called "At the Top" is only on the 124th floor, but I (being afraid of heights) felt it was high enough. The elevator ride is so fast that you only realize you went that high because you feel it in your ears. There's an open air part and also one behind glasses (sourvenir shop inside). From there you can see everything, if there are no sand storms in the area, and you can use the telescopes (you have to pay to use them) that show you the live vision, a clear day vision and night vision. You get to stay for half an hour, I think. Then we got back in the elevator and to the fountain again to shoot some pictures.

facts

fountain from the Burj Khalifa

Observation Deck

higher floors

telescopes

Persian Gulf

Burj Khalifa at sunset

Fountain show at sunset

Back in the Mall of the Emirates we had dinner in the food court and went for a beer (we were dying to get some alcohol in our bodies!) at Apres, a bar by the ski area. If you are planning to visit Dubai, write down this place in your "places to get alcohol in Dubai" list!
TBC...