Super special birthday!

Today was such a great day. We were up and out early for a walking tour in the old city section and met our guide Hesham after a 20 min cab ride. He took us on a fantastic tour through the Al Fahidi neighbourhood, the original/old Dubai. He also taught us a lot about Islam and the history of how people lived in this region. Super interesting to learn about their culture from a local’s perspective. They even have naming challenges like we are currently facing (Persian Gulf and Arabian Gulf are the same body of water). We saw everything from modern smart police stations to old houses with courtyards and the souks (markets). We started in the grand souk which had loads of stalls filled with fresh spices and food. We tried samosas and hopped a boat across to the oldest souks. We bought all kinds of local specialties including sandalwood to burn, mango tea and menthol and Iranian saffron (for Kelly and I to share). Finished with camel milk/date/chocolate treats for our coworkers and counterfeit Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal football kits for the boys and sand art for E. We ended in the gold souk, which was insane (but we didn’t buy anything:) I also spoke too soon, camel milk gelato was eaten and honestly was pretty delicious.

The kids and Tige revealed that they were sending me to the spa in the hotel for a few treatments and we headed home for the sweetest and most thought gifts, handwritten cards and even an original song. Tige enjoyed the rooftop infinity pool with the kids while I was relaxing. After the spa I met them at the pool and we went back to the apartment for a call with Mom and Dad, dinner and snuggles. I couldn’t have wished for a better day.Read more