whispers

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phoenix rising

thoughts

My Dinning Room

safari in the desert

today brian didn't have to work so we went on a desert safari. we went dune jumping, smoked a hookah, rode camels, watched a belly dancer, had henna painted, and enjoyed a traditional arabian meal. check out the pics. when i am not so tired, i will fill you in on the details of the day. it was tons of fun!

another wonderful day in dubai

i spent the day meandering through neighborhoods and shopping at local souks. here are some of my discoveries.

 

dinner along dubai creek

for dinner, we ate creekside. we went to a spot along dubai creek where there are more locals and less tourists. whew! we ate outdoors at this arabian restaurant and enjoyed a seafood platter while we watched the dinner cruises float by. after dinner we strolled along the creek back up through the old souk area before catching a cab back to the hotel. 

wednesday - my day in dubai

ah - vacation is great! my mornings are spent working out as long as like (no needs to rush to work or rush home to let the dog out) and laying by the pool working on my winter tan (i have always wanted to do that :-)) my afternoons are filled with exploration of dubai. today i ventured out to the gold souk (gold market). the gold souk is just as it sounds. hundred of shops selling gold and jewels in all sorts of colors & styles. the great thing about the gold souk is it is located in the old part of dubai (same area as the dubai museum and old souk from tuesday, just on the other side of dubai creek). at first it was exciting to see all the gold and gems sparkling back at me, especially juxtaposed to the old store fronts and buildings. here again, it is great fun if you like to haggle (and if you have the money to spend on the gold and jewels). i did try on some very beautiful pieces of jewelry worth tens of thousands of dollars. (normally, in the states, if i walk into a jewelry store and and try on expensive pieces without the intent to purchase any it, i get some serious attitude) after a few stores of this, the jewels started to loose their sparkle and the gold started to loose it's luster. maybe it was the old store fronts, maybe it was the massive quantity, or maybe it was every shop keeper trying to bargin with me even after i walked out the door. i decided that i had enough of the gold souk and decided to get lost in the neighborhood. according the tour book i bought before leaving the states, there is a spice souk (in the event you haven't caught the trend by now, a spice souk is a spice market) a few blocks from the gold souk. i figured i could make my way to the spice souk through the neighborhood. (although a few wrong turns and i could end up at the fish market - can't bring those home - stinky!) turns out i never found the spice souk, instead i spent about an  hour wandering around a iraqi/pakistani neighborhood. in and out of shops i went. some selling cheap (in quality and price) electronics and some of the worst knock off watch and hand bags i have ever seen! it was just funny. before i knew it the sun was starting to set (16:30ish) which means brian was wrapping up at his conference soon and i needed to get back to the hotel. off i went to find a taxi. dinner update to come....

tuesday - my day in dubai

while brian was at his conference, i headed out into the city. i first stopped off at the dubai museum. the entrance fee is 3 dir which is about $0.90. the museum is worth ten times that amount. the exhibits were an elaborated maze of scenes under the al fahidi fort (pictured). it was a very interesting account of the uae's history and contained many aritfacts. after the museum, i ventured by the grand mosque (pictured) and hung out while the the muslims were being called to prayer. next i ventured into the old souk (old marketplace) and did a little light shopping. if you like to haggle this is the place for you! the shop keepers are abrasive and ready to make a deal. i then wandered through a pakistani neighborhood and soaked up some middle eastern culture. as the sun began to set (around 16:30), I headed back to the hotel to meet brian for dinner. 

dinner at atlantis

here we are hard at (brian's) work while enjoying dinner at levantine at the atlanis hotel in dubai. while the food was yummy and the decor exotic and beautiful, the service was very slow. the highlight of the meal was the professional belly dancer (not the kind you see in the States - trust me!). oh! and we got to drive out onto one of the three man made palm islands. 

another pic from dubai

here we are in the kitchen of a persian restaurant our first night in dubai

dubai baby!

ok, so it doesn't have the same ring as "london babay!" but it sounds fun! the jury is still out on dubai. one moment i love the city and the next moment i feel like i have been taken advantage of by the dubai marketing department. :-) don't get me wrong, i am loving every day here, but it almost feels like the tourists are encouraged to shop! shop! shop! granted, we are taking a desert safari tour on thursday night and we will visit a mosque or two while we are here (if i can figue out how to get in without offending the muslims...).  the city is very accommodating to tourists; it is very easy to get around and the service is top notch. more to come...

london baby!

brian and i spent a couple of days in london while traveling to dubai. i was worried that our time in london would be stressful and overwhelming, but it turned out to be an amazing couple of days. everything worked out smoothly for us. we stayed at the grand at trafalgar square which put us blocks from the london eye and big ben. we were just a short (and lovely) stroll through st. james park to buckingham palace. we stopped at a few pubs the first evening we were there and enjoyed a few local (and some not so local beers). 

on to dubai!

oceanside 70.3 - we did it!

la jolla rocks!

happy easter!

the peace sign

we all know it. we see it everywhere we go (probably even more than the nike swoosh). but where did it come from?

Gerald Holtom designed the symbol in 1958 for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (http://www.cnduk.org/). The design is based around the Navy's flag signaling system called Semaphore. This system is based on waving a set of hand-held flag in particular positions representing the letters in the alphabet. Holtom combined the letters N & D to create the symbol for Nuclear Disarmament that is has become universally known as the symbol for peace.

Another note, he did trademark the symbol, therefore it does not belong to anyone, or perhaps it belongs to everyone.

i ate meat

friday night, my boss gave us a certificate for a free dinner for two at fogo de chao (brazilian steakhouse - http://www.fogodechao.com/). we went for dinner on friday night - it was a date! it was a fun new way to dine. the first course is the salad bar, which was a large spread of all things salad. yummy! when you finish your salad, you then flip over you token from the red side to the green side which indicates, "bring on the meat gauchos!" the gauchos walk up to the table with the huge skewers of meat and offer you their choice of meat. the meat eater in me (who is not completely dead) got very excited by this. i got a few pieces of filet mignon and went to town. my tastes buds were instantly excited and my teeth did a happy dance as they tore through the muscle. it was a treat! about 10 minutes later i had to put my fork down. not from being full, but because i was so nauseous. as much as i enjoyed tasting the meat, digesting the meat was a different ball game. luckily, the wine was still edible :-)

recipe: vegan mac and no cheese

this is one of the best recipes i have stumble upon since becoming vegetarian/almost vegan. it really does taste and smell like cheese. it is very filling.

vegan mac and no cheese (from all recipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package uncooked elbow macaroni
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 half medium onion, chopped
1 cup cashews
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/3 cups water
salt to taste
1/3 cup canola oil
4 ounces roasted red peppers, drained
6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Transfer to a medium baking dish.

- Heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until tender and lightly browned. Gently mix with the macaroni.

- In a blender or food processor, mix cashews, lemon juice, water, and salt. Gradually blend in canola oil, roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and onion powder. Blend until smooth. Thoroughly mix with the macaroni and onions.

- Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.