Weekend in Dubai

This weekend we went to Dubai for a 'mini break' which we enjoyed. It's a quiet time for hotels, towards the end of Ramadan and the really hot weather, so we got a great deal on 2 nights at the Meridien. Funnily enough I had a vision of Dubai as a sort of expat heaven - wouldn't want to live there as you can't walk around - but actually all the same rules apply, especially at this time of the year. One difference is that the shopping malls do open at 10am, even on a Friday and The Mall of the Emirates is attached to the Kempinski Hotel, which managed to cater for us non Muslim expats by having a secret restaurant behind a curtain where we were able to have lunch and coffee. John's not a great shopper though so apart from a foray to Debenhams for more cushions and some cake tins we didn't make much progress in the furniture department!
We ate in the hotel both nights - at the steak restaurant on Thursday where John had a piece of steak the size of a pillow which he said was lovely. Being a non steak eater I enjoyed my Barramundi and the puddings were fabulous. On Friday night we met up with Mark Rix, who I've known for years in his role of MD at the MEN and his partner Zoe. It was great to catch up, Mark's been here for nearly 9 months now, as CEO of one of the main English language papers here, 7days.
Even in Dubai the hotel couldn't serve coffee in their lounge or alcohol before 7.30pm so I am completely convinced now that Abu Dhabi is the best place to be even if an internet connection and a credit card are beyond my organisational powers at present!
John's driver took us and brought us back which added to the sense of being on holiday, being driven around in the posh Lexus, but the hotel pool was being repaired and we decided that actually it was a bit hot still for the beach. We came back to Abu Dhabi refreshed and ready for John to head off for a busy week and work and me with renewed vigour for getting things done around the apartment.