Weekend in Dubai

The weekend before the Qatar Masters, the Taylor clan decided to hop across the Persian Gulf on a short 40 minute flight to escape Doha for a few days and enjoy some time in Dubai. For those of you on Facebook, these pictures are old news. But considering this was technically our first trip since we moved here, and this is "Tripping With The Taylors", I couldn't pass up this opportunity to share our adventure.

As we approached landing, we flew over The World islands off of the coast of Dubai. As you can see from the empty islands below, this is evidence of the financial crisis that hit back in 2008 and still hasn't completely rebounded.  

We're lucky enough to have family from the Taylor side that very graciously hosted us for the weekend (Thank you Mike and Carol!!!). We arrived around 10 am on Thursday morning and after we exchanged our Riyals for Dirhams, we took a taxi to the Mall of the Emirates. Among the malls 6,500,000 square feet you will find a fourteen-screen movie theatre, a gaming arena, a drama theatre, and the largest assortment of shopping I've ever seen in my life. Although believe it or not, the biggest claim to fame isn't even the shopping. The Mall of the Emirates is the location of the Middle East's first indoor ski slope, Ski Dubai. Kris was very tempted to rent a snowboard and take a few runs down the slope, but we opted to save that for another trip since we were only there for a few days.

The indoor resort features a 60-meter high indoor mountain with 5 slopes of varying steepness and difficulty, including a 400-meter-long run, the world's first indoor black run, and a 90-meter-long quarter pipe for snowboarders. A quad lift and a tow lift carry skiers and snowboarders up the mountain. Adjoining the slopes is a 3,000-square-meter Snow Park play area comprising sled and toboggan runs, an icy body slide, climbing towers, a snowball shooting gallery, an ice cave and a 3D theater. 

Ever since my first trip to the Doha, I fell in love with the gorgeous lanterns that you can find all over the Middle East. I couldn't pass up this shot of the colorful display filling the ceiling of this little shop. This is also the shop where Kris purchased a pouffe for his big feet (which is an ottoman of sorts) traditionally made from camels leather. Ken and Kate have 2 which we use to prop our feet on when watching TV. But lately, Little Girl (our kitty) has decided to claim one as her own.

After we took in the sites at the mall, we decided to head over Souk Madinat Jumeirah. The Souk is an impressive marketplace featuring tons of traditional boutique shops, cafe's, bars and restaurants. It was a nice change of pace to be able to sit at a restaurant and enjoy a cold beer (or cider for me) out in public. Lucky for us, we had some time to kill before dinner and we were able to indulge in a few more beers and ciders.

View of the Burj Al Arab, the worlds only 7 Star Hotel! 

Water taxi anyone? If you're staying at the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel the water taxi is the only way to get to/from your room.

Gorgeous blue skies framed the traditional motif of the souk's.

After some shopping we had a delicious dinner at The Noodle House where we dined on crispy duck and discovered our new favorite soup, curry laksa with chicken and prawns!  I highly recommend trying this soup if you have a Noodle House in your area. After dinner we headed back to the Smith household for a few more drinks and lots more reminiscing. 

The next day we had booked a trip with Seawings for an aerial tour of Dubai on a 9 passenger plane. But mother nature had another plan in mind. We had just finished getting ready and were about to call a taxi. Out of no where, a sand storm popped up and swept over Dubai. Right before our eyes the view transformed from clear blue skies to sand filled winds which provided practically zero visibility. Palm trees were swaying and almost reached horizontal positions... debris filled the air.... and our big plans were immediately canceled as Seawings grounded all planes for the rest of the day.

(Photo courtesy of www.seawings.ae)

This would have been the view from our Seawings adventure, but we had to postpone it until we can make it back to Dubai. 

Here is the view from our taxi during the sand storm. Mind you... this is after it had calmed down a bit. We decided to head to Dubai Mall since it was an indoor activity that we could enjoy without feeling the wrath of the sand storm.

One of my favorite spots in the Dubai Mall had to be the Gold Souk. For all those jewelry lovers out there, this is the place to be. We spent most of our time wandering around doing some window shopping. The selection is endless and so are the diamonds!

I loved these fountains. They reminded me of my diving days!

Kris and I are standing in front of the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. Since Dubai does everything big, it's no wonder that the aquarium has officially earned the Guinness World Record for the world's "Largest Acrylic Panel" (32.88 m wide × 8.3 m high × 750 mm thick and weighing 245,614 kg). 

If just walking through the aquarium isn't enough, you even have the opportunity to go scuba diving in the tank. Dubai Aquarium has more than 33,000 living animals, representing more than 85 species including over 400 sharks and rays combined.

The Burj Khalifa - The tallest building in the world at over 828 metres (2,716.5 feet) and more than 160 stories. After a day of staring at this monstrosity you're sure to have a crick in your neck.

While we were in Dubai, we also had the opportunity to meet up with the Shaver sisters, Katie and Lisa, who lived in the same neighborhood as the Sinapi's growing up.

Katie and her husband Matt invited us to their apartment for some pre-dinner wine. They enjoy a gorgeous view from their balcony which we immediately took advantage of upon arriving. 

We decided to eat dinner at The Mango Tree, a delicious Thai restaurant which has one of the best views in the city overlooking the Dubai Fountains. I can't help but describe these fountains as the "Bellagio Fountains on steroids". There happened to be an event going on that night in the general vicinity. So instead of the traditional display that runs about every 20 minutes, we were entertained non-stop throughout the night. The fountains typically run with a set schedule of songs, but that night they threw in a few extras including my personal favorite "Thriller".

Before heading to the airport (with a short stop at IKEA), we posed for a few more photos with this picturesque background.

Until next time Dubai!

We're Baaaack.....to Doha, that is.

As you may be aware, Kris and I have taken over a month hiatus from the blog. But we're back and with a good deal to blog about. I just spent 3 1/2 weeks back home thoroughly enjoying the company of my family and friends. It was only a slight adjustment settling back into "normalcy". The realization that I can eat pork freely, text my family & friends whenever I want, smooch my husband in public, not be working off of an 8 hour time difference, and enjoy the comfort of our cozy home... it all set in quickly and comfortably. On the flip side, the realization of U.S. gas prices, the freezing cold weather, and the winter flu that seemed to have hit my family when my plane touched down, hit me like a ton of bricks. Nonetheless... we were thrilled to be back home.


Kris was able to make the trip for one week, but had to be back quickly for work. The time flew by and I was pulled in many different directions to ensure quality time with all! In the blink of an eye I was on a plane and headed back to the desert! But we made sure to jam pack the trip with as much action as humanly possible. 


We started off with a quick trip to NYC to visit college friends Mannon and Liam and drop off our wedding shower gift. Much to our disappointment, we're not able to attend the big event in June. Jocelyn and Shane were kind enough to chauffeur Kris and I (the heavily jet-lagged duo) up to the Big Apple where we ate at the famous Sparks Steak House and enjoyed views from the top of the Empire State Building. I walked around the city as if I was imitating scenes from "Weekend At Bernie's" as I stumbled around in a daze. But we had an amazing time with the company of our closest friends.

Many thanks to Liam for hooking up Kris with some clothes and a nice warm coat. He was totally unprepared for the freezing weather.

Sparks Steakhouse is world renowned for their fabulous steaks and amazing wine cellar. Sparks is also extremely well known as the location where Gambino crime family boss Paul Castellano and underboss Thomas Bilotti were gunned down near its entrance in 1985. The hit was under the orders from John Gotti.

Jocelyn, Mannon and I waiting in the subway. This was before I clumsily sprained my ankle crossing the road. I'm still recovering from the sprain as my ankle remains bruised and swollen 5 weeks later. But since I've been back I've been following orders from my nurses (Megan and Aimee) to RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and I've been staying off of it as much as possible. I can't wait until it heals and I can get back on the golf course.

On February 28th we were blessed to be able to celebrate Nanny's 92nd birthday.We also celebrated Faith's 6th Birthday (a week in advance so I could be there)! 

I was also lucky enough to catch a Marc Broussard concert while I was home. Jocelyn, Megan and I trekked to the Sellersville Theater to catch our favorite band in action.

Our seats were practically on top of the stage. Megs, Joce and I enjoyed the view from our table right up front. Only one thing was missing... and that was my sister, Rachael. Unfortunately we were right in the middle of tax season at this point, so Rachael was working hard and not able to join us at the show.

Marc jamming out to some of our favs and some new ones. 

In our usual fashion we took it upon ourselves to chat with the opening band, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. 

In addition to the above, I also attended a lovely baby shower for Aubree, a jewelry party with my girls at Megan's, a trip to Harrisburg with Mom to get my marriage license attested, a Sinapi dinner at The Brody's new home, girls night at the Taylor household, dinner with Dina and Steph, I volunteered at Faith's school for Dr. Seuss's Birthday, attended family night at Ava's preschool and watched her sing on the stage like a rock star, got to see one of Jake's basketball games, and accompanied Joy on a trip to the KOP mall to feed her addiction to Teavana. In the midst of all the running around, it was wonderful to spend quality time with Mom & Dad and the rest of my family and friends. We were even able to squeeze in one of our traditional Sinapi/Seeker dinners at Aunt Patrice and Uncle Randy's. 

We're back in the desert now and soaking up the sunshine and weather in the 80's. I need to enjoy it while it lasts because it'll soon be up to 100+. We look forward to our next trip home in July!

Hangin' with the Pros at the Qatar Masters

Qatar has quickly become one of the leading destinations for hosting sporting events. In the short time that we've been here we've seen men and women's tennis tournaments come through Doha, the Asian Cup Soccer tournament lasted throughout most of January, a few cyclying events, and of course the highly renowned bid for the hosting of the 2022 World Cup which was just recently won.

To add to the list, this year marks the 11th anniversary of the Qatar Masters on the PGA European Tour hosted at the Doha Golf Club. This year drew 18 of the top 50 players, as well as a record attendance of spectators. The payout also topped the charts at $2.5 million in winnings.

Having been recently initiated into the golf world by the Taylors, I jumped at the opportunity to join Kris and Kate in earning free vouchers to the Doha Golf Club by volunteering in this years event. I've found that golf can be quite an expensive hobby, especially since I've topped out at golfing 4 times in one week. Not to worry, we've been exhausting the vouchers earned by Ken and Kate in the previous year, which has been a blessing for us. In total, we earned 11 vouchers at this years Masters which adds up to $2,400 of free golf. Thank God!

The day before the Masters starts, the pros team up with amateurs for the Pro Am golf tournament. Kate and I headed to the course to watch some golf, enjoy the gorgeous sunshine, and hopefully meet a few of the players. We were extremely successful in our endeavors and the photos below prove it!

Last year's reigning champion of the Qatar Masters, Robert Karlsson. You can see that he towers over me at 6'5". From the short time around him he seemed to have a very kind and modest personality. He ended up in 6th place this year at -6.

 Lee Westwood unfortunately didn't make the cut. But he's still holding the title for #1 golfer in the world. Lee was as kind as could be. It was refreshing to meet so many amazing golfers who were all so personable.

 

 

Martin Kaymer is ranked #2 in the world at the young age of 26 years old. This German lad was a complete gentlemen and was happy to take a moment out of his time for a photo.

Darren Clark, the Irishman, took 14th place finishing at -4.

Alvaro Quiros finished 2nd in this years Qatar Masters. In 2009 he took the title. I quickly learned that most of the lady volunteers were rooting for this handsome fella!

Quiros' caddy insisted on jumping into the picture to give me a proper "Spanish Sandwich" as he called it. This group was by far one of the friendliest and most approachable.

Sergio Garcia was one of the kindest players that we met. He was very down to earth and seemed relaxed and casual on the course. I'm sure once the tournament actually started he was focused and down to business. He ended up taking the 9th spot at -5.

Retief Goosen was on the quiet and shy side. But thankfully he stopped for a quick photo.

I'm sure you're all familiar with this golf star! It's hard not to recognize John Daly and his signature clothing line. Although he's looking so trim these days I did take a double look. Unfortunately he wasn't playing his best golf this day, so it took a little more effort to track him down for the photo.

Ian Poulter ranked within the top 10 in the world.

Paul Casey, who had just won the Bahrain Masters the weekend before.

Fellow American, Steve Stricker made an appearance.

I couldn't resist this picture of Jimenez fans donning the highly recognized red ponytail.

Miguel Jimenez drew quite a crowd. I hopped in with the group on this photo since he had a line of fans waiting to meet him. 

Just after this photo was taken, one of the amateurs (standing in the background to the left of me) shot a hole in one! What an amazing experience to conquer such a feat while playing with one of the top golfers in the world.



This is the 17th hole and the scene of the hole in one. During the Masters a hole in one would earn you that boat! For the pro am, the lucky guy won a watch.

I spotted another American golfer,Todd Hamilton. He was a bit hesistant to huddle in close for a photo. Do I look like I'm going to bite?

Kris and I working the scoreboard on the 9th hole.



This photo was taken the morning of the final day. You'd think that with today's technology we'd be working a digital scoreboard. It seems the European tour has maintainted the same equipment from the 80's. We literally picked out letters and updated this "Leader Board" one letter at a time. Of course we have no complaints since this volunteering effort is paying for our golf =) We had a great time and will be happy to volunteer next year (if we're still here)!