Nancy's Adventure

This morning I made loaves of banana nut bread with some very ripe bananas.  I am still trying to get used to the oven and the difference in temperature settings in centigrade, so they ended up a bit crusty around the edges.  Had the air conditioning going and a fan running as well...pretty hot in the kitchen.  

Some of us went to the food court for lunch at the mall...saw this line up in the parking lot...lots and lots of fast food (not just Pizza Hut but Hardee's and Wendy's as well) and regular restaurants deliver food to your home if you like.

I had food from this "Mexican - Lebanese" restaurant.  An unusual combination, don't you think?

The chicken reminded me of the way Greek gyros are made...the wraps were very tasty.

Later in the afternoon I went on an adventure on my own to pick up a wonderful keepsake for this trip.  I ordered it at a neat store down in the Gold and Diamond Park down in the city.  So, I took a bus to the Metro.  Did I tell you the bus stops have an air conditioned modern sleek little huts for you to wait in until the bus comes?  I must take a picture of one of them....really quite nice.  This is a picture of the Grand Mosque of Mirdif near the bus stop.  The north end of the Metro is by the airport and very convenient.

The picture above is the Gold and Diamond Park and the picture below is the cool metro station right across the street.  It looks like the entire metro line was developed and built all at one time, so the stations are all this design...very clearly marked and easy to navigate.  Just about everyone we have encountered speaks English - or can understand enough to be helpful.  I enjoy listening to the recordings on the metro - first in Arabic and then in English ( both spoken and written ).  

I have also enjoyed people watching...so very many different countries represented...young and old.  The clothes, the languages, the jewelry...all so fascinating.  So very many beautiful people.  

It took nearly an hour to take the bus and metro to where I needed to go.  All went smoothly, people are polite and helpful.  I think I mentioned before - no smoking, eating, drinking, or chewing gum on or near the metro. The stations and trains are all very neat and clean.

Here is my keepsake....Nancy in Arabic....

At least that's what it is supposed to be.  I am at their mercy and can only trust they did it correctly!

It's silver and very pretty.  

It was only one stop further to go to the Mall of the Emirates, so I headed down there after I visited the jewelry store.  By the way, even picking up the piece in the jewelry store was an event.  They have seats at the counter and invite you to sit down.  A young woman brought me a mini Pepsi in a can to drink while they got the piece, polished it, and put it in a pretty box.  The same man who took my order and helped me last week, was there to help me again.  Last week he even took us back to the factory area when a designer sketched what it would look like for me.  We got our rings polished and could watch all the Indian craftsmen at work on various pieces of original work as well as working on repairs.  Quite interesting.

The Mall of the Emirates is huge...and it is the mall with the ski slopes!  Just amazing!!!  One of a kind and over the top.  You can rent clothes and equipment, take ski lessons, and visiti the ski lodge for a bite to eat afterwards.  This Ski Dubai map shows you just some of what you can enjoy on the mountain!

The pictures were taken through huge windows enclosing the snow area, so there are some reflections in some of them.  It is incredible and quite pretty!  Worth a visit...

Magical on a sunny, hot, humid summer day.... 

The outside and the inside of the ski lodge.  There was also a whole street of shops you could walk around in the ski village.  It was kind of crowded, so I didn't take the time to walk down there.

The gray building in the middle of the picture below is what the ski slope looks like from the air conditioned walkway from the Mall to the Metro..

Ever seen anything like it?  Cheap entertainment to just go watch!