Dubai

On New Year’s Eve we flew 8,000 miles across the world to Dubai, a place that has been on all of our bucket lists for a long time. Driving into the city from the airport after our 16+ hour flight, I was amazed at the beautiful lights, pristine streets, and the fact that not a single piece of garbage was anywhere. It felt so surreal - almost like I was in a dream. On the first day in Dubai, we went to the Dubai Mall just 10 mins from our hotel which was incredible. I’ve never seen such a big, perfect mall in my life! It puts all of our nicest malls to shame, even the Mall of America has nothing on this mall. We also walked through a palace, got jaw-dropping views of the Burj Khalifa (currently tallest building in the world), and wandered around in awe pretty much all afternoon.

That evening, we went to floor 125 in the Burj Khalifa to see the views of Dubai. It was breathtaking to say the least. I’ve never seen such an expansive lit up city in my life. The fact that it was built entirely in the middle of the desert is also mind boggling. Over the next few days, we did more exploring near the Burj Al Arab, and loved the beach area at the Palm. It was immaculate! I’ve also never seen so many huge buildings, glistening waterways, and modern buildings in one place.

Our favorite night though was when we drove to the Al Qudra desert and rode camels, watching the sunset, saw a falcon show, and ate the most delicious meal of our lives. The camel ride lasted an hour and we were literally alone in the middle of the desert, with just our walking guide with us. It was so quiet, still, and absolutely beautiful. For dinner, they prepared fresh “rigag” (traditional Arabic bread), hummus, skewered meats, lentil soup, fresh salads, fresh juices, rice dishes, dough balls… the list goes on and it was insane. We saw some falconry and they performed on drums with dancing. It was such a magical evening that I will never, ever forget. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips that I always dream of taking, and I’m glad I got to share it with two people I love so much. Xoxo.