We're back!

What a great adventure we have been on.

 We arrived in Dubai on Friday evening

 It was valentines day....we were too tired to go and find somewhere to eat so we ordered room service.

Above is the view from one of our windows on the Saturday morning.

 We stayed at the Towers Rotana (above).

We hopped on the highly efficient and beautifully clean train towards Dubai Creek.

We didn't take an abra, the river taxi, but walked along the path and spotted this beautiful bird in the grounds of the Rulers Court.

I loved the Dhows painted in pastel colours.

Then we walked into the Bastakia.

past the Al Fahidi fort, the city's first major sea defence and for a time also the accommodation of Dubai's rulers.

Above is a Wind-tower house. A traditional built building with the towers acting as an early form of air conditioning. 

We hoped back on the train to Dubai Mall and a quick look around the many, many shops and the very large aquarium!

Burj Khalifa

 And then it was time for our pre-booked trip 'at the Top'

 The Burj Khalifa stands 828 metres high. You may of seen Tom Cruise hanging out of it in Mission Impossible. (At the moment it is the tallest man made structure in the world)

 We went up to the observation deck on the 124th floor, 452 metres up!

 The view from there was spectacular!

 Above you can see the artificial island, The Palm.

After all that excitement we went down to earth for a coffee and cake.

And to watch the fountain show at 6pm

And then it was time to leave Dubai and set off in a taxi to Abu Dhabi............

'Happenings'

 Another weekend gone in the blink of an eye.

 The Vikings invaded at school and we had a great day learning all about them....they never did have horns on their helmets!

 We all made a leather bracelet with our names in runes.

 Looked at what they ate and how they lived and the toys the children had.

 And they even had some outfits for the staff!

You know I can't resist a spot of dressing up.

Then yesterday I had a really lovely day spent with my friend Diane and her daughter Becky at a workshop. Read Diane's post here.....

Cath talking about leather

 We met at Hope and Elvis for a Cath Ray bookbinding workshop. (I surprised Diane as she didn't know I had booked on the workshop!)

 Here is Diane and Becky both working very hard....it was a different sort of workshop than usual, lots of quiet concentration!

 Diane brought lunch....what a star!

 and I had baked a cake or two.

The desert Storm Notebook

 In the morning we made this leather folded cover A6 notebook

 And in the afternoon an A5 quarter bound notebook

Here are mine, Diane and Becky's notebooks

One of Becky's photos I think, of me looking a bit confused!

Some serious cheek pinching was done especially for Michela!

I didn't seem to take many photos i'm afraid, I think I was concentrating too much on my books.
But before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye.

An empty cottage on the estate

Louise always makes you feel so welcome and has the most amazing people at Hope and Elvis that help make it  always such a wonderful day.

**********

My little Desert Storm Note book will be going on a special trip very soon.
We fly to Dubai next week!
After meeting up at Christmas with some friends, who came home from the UAE for a visit back to Blighty....
......we got sort of carried away with it all and before we knew it we had agreed to go over there and visit them at half term!

Flights have been booked, cat sitting arrangements made, cases packed and lists and plans done.
We fly to Dubai arriving early evening and spend the night in a hotel and explore the city  the day then go to Abu Dhabi to meet up with our friends on the evening and stay with them until for a week.

(Image from Google)

My Mother-in-Law will come up to look after Lucy and the house and I am sure I will have lots to show you when we get back....it is not a place we would normally crave to visit but now that I have been doing some research I think it could be very interesting.
I plan to use my little sketch book to do some drawing while we are there....if I have time! We have already booked a visit up the tallest building in the world and I think our friends have some other things planned......one might involve a camel ride!!!!

Now because of all of this, I might not be around here for a little while but I am sure I will be able to do a post on the Sunday after we arrive home (jet lag?) because we arrive back early Saturday morning and I plan to be doing nothing that day!