McSasso - Reunited!

She had me at "You aren't going to buy that piece of crap, are you?"

Yes, thanks to Eden and Georgia - aged 3 - lusting after the same overpriced Disney scooter at the South Bay Galleria - I met my best friend.   It was the first time Georgia and Eden bonded over sparkly princesses, and it was the first of many times this amazing woman would make me laugh over the years.  We have seen the world from the same rose colored Tom Ford aviators for years - and now we finally got a chance to see a beautiful part of the world together. 

It was an amazing week - the Best of Dubai tour 2011.  I am so proud of my bestie for braving the 17 hour flight and the rumors of chaos in the region.  And her husband Jim is simply the best house guest in the world.  He loves everything, appreciates everything, experiences everything, eats everything.  Invite him places - he's worth it.  And of course the Biscuit - otherwise known as E-Bear - grows only more beautiful, adorable, and hilarious with age.  The girls were delirious with joy to see her!  The only way to do this trip justice is with pictures - so here they are. 

THE McCOYS IN DUBAI! 

First stop: The Dubai World Cup (Horse Racing)

AKA: Good Excuse for a Fancy Hat Outing

A visit to the Dubai Mall - the largest mall in the world.  The girls insisted we tell people they were triplets.  I guess we only decided to feed the tall one:



Holding up the Burj Khalifa:



And a trip to Kidzania.  It is a "kids world" where they perform adult jobs, get paid for them (who knew you could get paid for performing surgery using a spatula?), open bank accounts, and learn important trades like brick-layer and grocery store cashier.  Here are our budding surgeons:

Our very talented Air Hostesses:

And of course - every parent's dream - Nightclub Singers:



After all the excitement, the adults decided to reward ourselves with dinner at Nobu at the Atlantis.  Luckily, the two signature suites were empty, so we got a grand tour!  Here is the Neptune Suite - which has the giant fish tank as walls!

And the Bridge Suite - a 6,000 square foot mini-palace.  "Hello - We live here!"

A perfect day to head to the top of the Burj Khalifa! 

Amazing view from the deck:

And a view of "The World".  By the same people who brought you "The Palm" - a development of islands that when seen from above actually look like a map of the world. 

And of course, what vacation would be complete without....ROAD TRIP! 

We ventured into the Empty Quarter of Abu Dhabi.  Aptly named because it is quite literally empty - only miles and miles of beautiful rolling dunes.  Our resort was smack in the middle of the Empty:

A Pool with a View:

And a tranquil camel ride with some of the most loving, amazing camels ever (usually camels = not so nice):

The kids playing on the dunes - it gives you perspective on just how HUGE these things are!

And I did my best to give my friend her "Sex in the City" moment with a dinner in the Arabian desert:

And of course - what visit to Dubai would be complete without - say it with me - BRUNCH!

It was with much sadness that we closed out the week with Dolphins and Aquaventure.  It was much, much too short.  We can't wait for the next adventure!  Goodbye McCoys!  We miss you - and so do the dolphins!





COUSINS!

There is nothing quite as exciting in our house as a visit from the cousins!  Their arrival - be it three days or three months since the last visit - is always greeted with war cries of "COOOUUUSSSINNNNNNSSSSSS!"  For those of you who have not met the characters in question - our visitors were Augusto's middle brother Marcos, his wife Amanda, and their kids Molly (6 1/2) and Matt (just turned 4).  And of course you have all met Francis - Augusto's youngest brother and our resident "manny" (that would be a man-nanny, if you need translation).

We are so thrilled that they braved the 17 hour plane flight to come visit!  We had a week packed full of desert adventures! Check out some of the highlights:

A desert safari, inluding "Dune Bashing" (a nausea inducing 4X4 ride over the desert dunes), camel riding, belly dancers and Arabic food:

Here I am in the bashing vehichle.  And yes.  I am concentrating on not barfing:

Obligatory Camel Shot:

Matty working it out with the Belly Dancer:

 

And making friends with a Falcon:

 

 

A trip to Old Dubai to visit the fish market, spice souk, textile souk, gold souk and to ride the Abra (water taxi) across the creek:

We got a tinsy bit lost, but that was OK because Francis cleverly pointed out the "You are Here" red dot on the map - which was written entirely in Arabic.

 

Some good times at Aquaventure - the water park at the Atlantis:

A dinner with the full crew - Bryant kids make 8 (Lilly stayed dry)

Lots of beach time collecting critters:

Some relaxing (and my niece knows how to work it!)

Lots of great food, and even some Shisha (the giant bong/pipe thing).  Marc and Frany tried this at a restaurant with the kids and were entertaining them endlessly with smoke rings and other tricks.  Seemed like a good idea until they all wanted to try it and one even said "That is so cool".  Oops. 

A trip to the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi - the largest mosque outside of Mecca.  It is REQUIRED that the women go in FULL burka.  And when I mean full - that means not one scrap of hair showing.  I almost caused an international incident when my head wrap slipped back on my head, revealing my hair.  The blonde hair against the black burka acted like a beacon to security, who came racing over to beg me to cover my head.  Oops again.  Looking good, Auntie Amanda!

And yes, that is me holding hands with the kids.  And that is as close to seeing me in full burka as you are going to get, because it is not pretty.

It was a fantastic week, and the girls miss their cousins dearly.  In closing, I'll let Frany and Amanda show you their feelings about Dubai:



We will miss you Auntie, Uncle and Cousins!  Can't wait to see you at home!

THE NEWS

We have NEWS!!!

First things first - we are really looking forward to coming home for the summer, and we will be arriving around June 25th.  Get ready for poolside fun!  And now the other news:

And no!  We are not pregnant.  Get your mind out of that gutter and wash your brains out with soap, people!

Want clues???

We will be drinking this:

And wearing a lot of this:

And living with a LOT of this:

And getting around in THIS:

Got it???? If not, you CLEARLY have not been paying enough attention to the event to end all events (the Royal Wedding, of course - I have my William and Kate needlepointed pillow - do you?)!

We are moving to LONDON!!!!!!!

Yes - that's right, we're trading in our dishdashas and burkas for Burberry and wellies.  We will give up our Falafels in exchange for Bangors and Mash.  We will learn to queue for the lift, and I will ring you to chat. 

I know - we said we were only going to be expats for a year, and we do miss everyone dearly!  But frankly, we are having such a great time that we really don't want it to end!  Also, Augusto will still be heading up the Middle East office for Moelis, and London is really a much better time zone for him to work out of than Los Angeles.  So - it's off to our next adventure!

We are going to be living outside of London in the country - still looking for a house, but we have chosen to send the girls to TASIS England - which just so happens to be the very same school the Walker family is attending!  Taylor and Georgia will be reunited, and we are happy to already have some great friends in the neighborhood! 

Of course, the downside is that we will miss everyone from home!  We hope that London provides perhaps a less challenging geographical hurdle for you, and that you pay us a visit!  We will be home all summer, and the big move will be in the second week of August. 

Of course...I guess I have to rename the blog....

Any ideas?