Here in Dubai - Hope I Get to See It!

So after a looong 13+ hour flight, I really am in the Middle East now. Dubai, aka the "City of Gold." Unfortunately my views of the city have been limited to the what I can see from my room and from a cab for now, as work has priority and we've had a couple of late nights out with our hosts here.

Thankfully, a couple of us have late flights back home on Tuesday, so hopefully we'll at least have a few hours to see the city in the daylight and be tourists.

Here's the view from my room. It's kind of cloudy outside because it was the start of a sand storm. I got sand in my teeth just by standing outside the hotel waiting for a taxi. 

Yes, that is a mall connected to my hotel. Pretty much the thing to do in Dubai is shop. Malls are everywhere and they are huge - helpful when it can get up to the 100s in temperature in the summer with high humidity. Even the bus stops in this town are air conditioned.

I'm typically a Courtyard by Marriott or Embassy Suites kind of gal when it comes to hotels, but we are staying at a five-star hotel in Dubai. I can't help blubbering - my room is kickass.

Here's a portion of my bathroom. Yes, that is a shower ROOM with a tub in it. It took me ten minutes to find the buttons that controlled the blindes to the window - I thought I'd never be able to take a show sans flash.

The funny street signs artwork installation that is in my hotel lobby.

One of the key landmarks of Dubai - the Burj Al Arab, which is the only seven-star hotel in the world. I guess when you are supposedly the most top-tier hotel ever, you can make up as many stars for yourself as you want.

My first "official" dinner in Dubai - ha ha. Shepherd's pie is very middle eastern, don't you think? We ended up hanging with the expat crowd at to the Dhow and Anchor at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which is an English pub. Pretty awesome meal though.