Atrium Platinum Luxury Resort Hotel and Spa

Posted on Sunday, 3 July 2016, 20:40 by Alexandra

This post used to contain pictures, but due to new storage limitations from WordPress, I had to fix the problem and decided to create a new blog that works as an archive for all the posts from my travels. This full post can be found here.

Our first day on Rhodes is over and even though we didn’t do anything special, it was a really good day. It has been long and we have only slept for about 2 hours since we woke up yesterday, and that was on the plane, so it doesn’t really count. We landed around 10am and everything went so smooth at the airport and with the transfer that we were at our hotel just an hour later. We are staying at Atrium Platinum, and it was the second hotel to be dropped off from the shuttle bus and I think a majority of the people on the bus were jealous when Jesper and I were the only ones who got off. It is a 5 star hotel just south of Rhodes city in Ixia. It is very windy here on the west coast, and that’s why we decided to rent a car for 6 days so we can drive to the east coast. Today we spent the whole day at the pool, which is pretty glamorous so it was a pretty okay day. Since we arrived so early, our room wasn’t ready. We had booked a Junior Suite with ocean view since that was the only room available. But when we went to the reception at 2pm they said we had been upgraded to the Executive Suite. It is the best room on this floor and is so incredible both Jesper and I had a hard time understanding how this was even possible. It is 80 square meters, it has a curved wall in the living room with windows from floor to ceiling outlooking the ocean. The bathroom is incredible with a big shower and a jacuzzi tub. We were too tired to try the jazuzzi tub today, but tomorrow we will try it.

We went down to the pool again and got the best seats because people were leaving just when we arrived. It has been so warm, but with wind, it’s been awesome! I didn’t burn, Jesper got a little. Tomorrow at 10am we will pick up the car and drive down to Tsambika for some relaxing on a sand beach. Jesper is really excited to go snorkeling for the first time in his life.

We had dinner at the first best restaurant here in Ixia tonight, were both super tired, felt the ocean a little bit, and now we are sitting on the balcony and watching the sunset. It is incredible!

We filled up the box with food yesterday, Ramses thought he was in heaven! Ramses was curious about Jesper’s new outfit he tried on yesterday before we left. I think both of them wanted to come with us. It kinda felt like they knew that we were leaving. Cleo washing Ramses. Sure they figt a lot, but they also do this every now and then. This was the view we first encountered when we walked through the door. That whole wall is a big window and the ocean is right there. Amazing! There is a cow out there too, he makes sounds every now and then. The bathroom taken with panorama so it lookes a bit crooked. So pretty! And this is the bedroom. It is ridiculous! The view from the balcony over both the pool area but also the ocean. The center of Ixia/Ialyssos. Not much. Pebblestone/sand beach right beneath the hotel. Not worth it.Pictures aren’t really fair, it was all pink in reality.

Spontanious 1-year anniversary

Posted on Wednesday, 29 June 2016, 23:26 by Alexandra

I can’t believe it has already been a full whole year with Jesper. It has been the best year ever, full of adventures and love. I am a little bit sad that we couldn’t really celebrate yesterday. He was working 8-17 and I was working 16-23:30 so we didn’t see each other at all yesterday except when going to bed. But, we have decided to celebrate in a big way next week instead. So yesterday we spontaneously booked a last minute trip to Rhodes, Greece. I have been there many times when I was younger and I am so excited to go back there with the love of my life! And we are not just gonna stay at a normal hotel, it is a five star hotel and we are staying in a suite which is as big as our apartment, it has an ocean view and a Jacuzzi hot tub. It is located in Ixia on the west coast which is not preferably, but with a car it will be easy to reach the amazing beaches on the east coast.

There is one problem though, and that is that I left work early today because I feel sick. I have gotten a really nasty cold. I will stay at home tomorrow as well and hope that I will get better, no fun going on a trip with a cold. My colds usually don’t last long, so I am sure it will be fine.

Work is going really well, I feel really comfortable being the head operator at Helix. It is also very nice to sit down and rest my legs and feet for a bit. It is so nice to have something new to do, work is fun again.

Now I am almost delirious, so I will go to bed now and continue to read the latest and last book in the “I am Number Four” series. 15 companion books and 7 full books to an end. I always get a little bit sad when a series is over. I am also almost done with the whole “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. 13 books is a lot, but it is really really good, especially the last ones. I have finished 9 so far.

This is me when driving trains! 😀 Lately, Cleo has been taken every opportunity to jump up on my back, which results in lots and lots of scratch marks on my neck and shoulders and back.Cleo was the cuddliest cat ever today, and he LOVES tummy rubs. He never starts biting when he gets it.

Promotion, surgery, and lots of other things

Posted on Friday, 10 June 2016, 0:03 by Alexandra

I honestly want to write more often, but I have been so busy. My first year as a master student at Chalmers is done, and I think I passed everything. The last two grades haven’t been registered yet, but I have a good feeling about it. The last assignment we did in International Projects was really interesting. We acted as consultants for a company who wanted to build a pharmaceutical plant in Uganda, so we did a full analysis of the process and I would love to do that as a living in the future if I am lucky enough.

And speaking of school, I have decided to stay at home in Sweden this fall. I have done the whole studying abroad thing, and I really feel like being home this fall will be nice and easier. It just feels more right to stay at home.

Another big thing that happened was that I got promoted at work. A few weeks ago I got the surprising news that I will be an operator at Helix, which means that I won’t just check the restraints, I will actually be the one in charge of the whole attraction. Lots of responsibility, but I am so excited! The training for the position will start on Monday and I will be done on Midsummer Eve. This does not only mean that I will get a much higher salary, but I will be stuck on the Mountain and not be in the pool anymore. I won’t be at the Balderado area where I am stuck with two attractions. This whole spring I have been mostly there and have actually gotten pretty badly injured because of the monotone work I did there. My hip and knee is all broken. According to my new schedule I will be in the pool this fall again, but hopefully they will fix it so I am only on the Mountain then too.

The only other Liseberg-related thing I can think about, is that one day last week when I was heading down to lunch, a pigeon flew into my face, that was kind of weird.

And speaking of other jobs, today I got two more! First today I tried to work in an Yves Rocher store downtown. They thought I did a good job and I will start working there as soon as I have time and they need me, yay! Right after that I was at an interview for a company where students act as substitutes in schools on different levels. I got that job directly after the interview was done. That will be so exciting! But since school is done for this academic year, I will start in August with that.

Hmm, anything else? Oh right! I recently did a new PAP-test, which I do every three months since the cell changes won’t go away. And they still haven’t. So now they have decided that it has taken long enough time that it is time to remove it. I got an appointment for surgery next Friday. I am a little nervous, but not too much, I am sure it will be fine. I am glad they are finally going to do something about it and hope it will go away for good.

Everything is also fine with Cleo and Ramses. We made some big changes around here about three weeks ago and Cleo seems to be feeling a lot better now and hasn’t peed in the bed since then. Every morning, Ramses is so cuddly and sleeps by our faces, and some mornings Cleo does it too. He is still scared and doesn’t like to be hold when he doesn’t want to. But I love them both.

Now I should probably go to bed, I have a 10 hour day at Liseberg tomorrow. Here are some random pictures from the last month:

Ramses got neutered but couldn’t stop licking himself, so he had this cone on for a few days. It was not super nice waking up early in the morning when he wanted to cuddle and we got that big thing up in our faces, haha. I played a tournament in the beginning of May with Miriam, and we actually came in third in the B-finals. Not bad at all 😀 My oldest cousin graduated high school last week and in two weeks she is moving to USA to be an au pair. She will have an awesome year. Västtrafik has out in new signs in the trams to thank everyone from different backgrounds that go together on the public transit, and this sign shows a man holding his phone. I thought it was funny. Cleo wanted to come with me to school. Ramses as well. This is Cleo every time I take a shower. He literally uses his paw to withdraw the curtain to make sure that I am still alive, haha!

Northumbria or Chalmers?

Posted on Thursday, 21 April 2016, 0:14 by Alexandra

When I applied for this master program late last summer I didn’t expect to get in, the name of the program sounded interesting, it could be a good back-up plan if I didn’t get a job, which I didn’t. So it turned out great. I had no idea what it meant to pursue an MSc degree, and even less what International Project Management meant. It basically means that I prolonged getting a job with two years and being part of a class of around 40 people where a big majority of them are foreigners. It also means that, to get international experience, one semester abroad at another university is an option. That semester is coming up and I have no idea what to do. I know from experience that writing it down can help, and also some help from my few readers perhaps? The university abroad is called Northumbria and is located in Newcastle, England and I would spend 3 months there (mid-September to mid-December).

Here are the pros and cons I can think of at this moment.

NORTHUMBRIA
+ If I go and then do my master thesis on my own I will get 2 MSc degrees.
+ I will get more experience
+ It will hopefully be fun (I have heard that there are lots of drinking going on there and since I don’t drink I am afraid that I will feel left out).
+ It is only 3 months away from home.
+ Jesper and I can scratch more countries on our Scratch Map if he comes and visit me (England is close to Sweden and it is rather cheap to fly there).
– I have signed a contract for Liseberg until mid-October.
– It will be expensive and I would have to take extra student loans.
– I will be away from Jesper for 3 months.
– I will be away from Cleo for 3 months (I am pretty much the only one he really likes).
– I won’t be able to play any beach volleyball (and just as I was getting started with it again…).
– The courses don’t seem too interesting and I can’t change them:
Research skills and methods of inquiry
Project, Programme and Portfolio Management
Risk and Value Management
Project Sustainability

CHALMERS
+ I can transfer the German credits I got at Cal Poly so I can study 50%, work more and make more money.
+ I can choose whatever classes I want to. And I can choose to take either 2 or 4 depending on if I want to transfer the German credits:
Urban Metabolism
Managing Stakeholders for Sustainable Development
Project, Simulation and Modeling in Urban Planning
Quality Management
Environmental Impact Assessment
+ I can start early on my master thesis if I want to.
+ I can save money.
+ I don’t have to quit my job at Liseberg.
+ I don’t have to be away from Jesper nor Cleo.
+ I can play lots of beach volleyball.
– I will only get 1 MSc degree.
– No abroad experience.

I have already figured out where I want to live if I go, so that’s not a stress element. I made a brief budget and with the extra student loan, after both rent back home and in Newcastle, I will have about 6500 SEK per month to spend on food, cell phone and stuff. And that is without the money I will be able to save after working at Liseberg all summer.

It would be so nice to continue my good life here at home and only study 50% this fall and take it a little chill. But at the same time, 2 master degrees and a semester abroad sounds like fun. I don’t know what to do. Last day I have to decide is June 1^st, so I have a little more time. But before May 10^th, I have to pick classes for Chalmers for the fall and I have to apply for university housing in Newcastle as soon as possible… Decisions.

And here are some random pictures:

Jesper’s new baby sister Joeli. Such a cutie! She didn’t make a sound during the whole time we visited. And Benji, the proud big brother couldn’t let go of Youtube. Family birthday party, Ramses is of course in the middle of it all. Having two cats means always being observed. Cleo and Ramses had a party when Jesper accidently spilled food. Ramses sleeping in the sink. My new background on my phone.

A quarter century!

Posted on Monday, 11 April 2016, 22:59 by Alexandra

So, 25 years ago I was born. Twenty-five years! It is a big number and definitely a milestone. It’s crazy, but I can’t do anything about it than thank everyone for their happy-birthday-wishes today. I had a wonderful day, it was the most beautiful spring day ever! Not a single cloud anywhere to be seen and it was warm in the sun. Sure, I guess it could have been any other day than a Monday and a school day, but it was still okay. I didn’t do much, went to class, went grocery shopping, cleaned the apartment, played a little on my new Wii U (that Jesper gave me yesterday) and waited for Jesper to come home from work. Soon after that mom came over and we made dinner; tacos. And for dessert; princess cake! Doesn’t matter how old I am, there should always be a princess cake, haha!

It’s been a long time ago since I updated, and not because not many fun things have happened, I just kinda lost my will to write. So here comes a bunch of photos from the last three months instead (sorry, but many of them are of the cats).

Ramses There was a period when the cats pooped shapes, here was a cat! Cleo is sit-sleeping. You can’t go to the bathroom alone. They removed the soles from my shoes not once, but twice!! They got a new active toy which they love, blinking balls on a rollercoaster. This is the cutest picture ever. I did not put them like this,they fell asleep like it! They always sleep along my legs or on them when I am sitting on the couch! Never alone. Even if they fight a lot, they still seem to like each other. Ramses is very chill! We had some very pretty sunset the past months. Semla mudpie Ramses the chill. St. Patricks Day. IMG_20160401_192251 Jesper and I went up to my cousins in Nynäshamn a week ago. We had a great time up there, played a lot of cards, walked around in the harbor, enjoyed their new hot tub with an ocean view and just hung out. IMG_20160403_112435 I got new toys for the cats, and it did not take long before one of them was in its natural habitat. Now it is completely gone! Cleo is such a beautiful cat! Rachel (for those who don’t know, to the right, and my former roommate in California) came here with her friend Elyse to visit for a few days. We went out to the archipelago and enjoyed the amazing Swedish spring on the west coast.

Here is a link to google maps where I uploaded a sphere picture taken at Öckerö after my 17-year old cousin told me about it, haha! (I am getting old):

Other than what I have taken pictures of, I am doing well in school. I am almost done with my first year in grad school, one more to go. Last quarter I took a class called Leadership & Communication and the home exam I wrote with another girl was super interesting: Why do people follow destructive leaders? We brought up Hitler and Trump as examples and it was the easiest finals week ever. I haven’t gotten the grade for it yet, but it should arrive very soon.Then we had three days in school and then two weeks off. I needed it, just relax for a bit. Today was the first day back after the break and on Wednesday we have a presentation. A few more weeks and then the summer is here and lots of work at Liseberg (where I actually start in two weeks already, but not full time until the last week of May).

I have also been reading, but haven’t finished anything new in a while since I am reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and it is long. The new ereader (Kobo GLO) is working perfectly!

I have also played a lot of beach volleyball and have already have many ups and downs. I hope I will have time to play this summer as well, even with lots of work at Liseberg (or maybe SKANSKA if they will contact me about my application I sent in a month ago).

I should probably go to bed now, I am not as young as I was yesterday and I have a lecture tomorrow at 9am. I can’t make any promises about more frequent posts, but I can almost say that the next one won’t take three months.

Desert Safari and kitten

Posted on Sunday, 24 January 2016, 2:15 by Alexandra

Our last day in Dubai was amazing and was over so fast. We started the day at Kite Beach. It was a beautiful and warm day, we spent some time in the water and it was just awesome! We got back to the hotel at 1pm and we actually had time to take a taxi to Deira City Center and crossed our fingers that that Max hadn’t closed down as well. And it hadn’t. We ordered a normal Frisco meal with fries. They said they had Crispy Fries but it was not the same as in Sweden. The Burger wasn’t the same either. But it was still worth it.

We got back to the hotel and had time to pack everything before we got picked up for the desert safari. A humongous Toyota Land Cruiser. It was the two of us and another Indian family of four. The first stop was at a Dune Buggy place, it wasn’t included in the package and none of us went. Then we went straight out in the desert, the road just ended and there were so many cars! We all went in a long line and it was a bumpy ride. I guess I should have known, but I was surprised at how bumpy it was, I felt sick. We then stopped for some pictures in the desert, the sun was setting and it was beautiful. It was windy and we had sand everywhere, but it was nice. We then took normal roads (and at the end in the dunes) to reach a camp that was set up in the desert. It looked like a small small circular city where there were small stalls where we could pick up starters, coffe, tea, sodas and then later a buffet table. The food was okay and I guess the closest to the Arabian culture. We sat on pillows on the ground and in the middle of the whole camp was a stage where people danced. Right outside of the camp there were two camels that we could ride as well. That was scary, especially when it rose and lied down.

We got back to the hotel at around 9:30 pm and the taxi came and picked us up at 11pm to go to the airport. The flight would take off at 2 am, but it was delayed and we didn’t take off until 3am. And also because of winds the plane had to take a detour over Poland and make a landing to refuel. And that meant that we lost a lot of time and therefore missed our connection flight in Stockholm. We landed when it took off at 8:30am. The next Norwegian flight that we didn’t have to pay anything for was at 5:45 pm. We could book with SAS, but that would have been expensive, so we stayed at the airport the whole day instead of being home with Cleo and chilling. In total we stayed up for 40 hours with a few hours of bad sleep in the plane from Dubai to Stockholm. It was brutal. I am still tired, even if I got a good amount of sleep last night. I guess it can also be because I spent two hours this morning playing beach volleyball. We were only 4 people there so it was a lot of practice time. I was dead afterward.

I am still not 100% recovered, but I have a full day of just doing nothing at home tomorrow which is good, but then on Monday, school starts again.

Today was a big day. After practice I met up with Jesper downtown and we picked up the scratch map we left for framing before we left, we then bought a frame for the pictures we bought in Dubai, and our last stop was Webhallen where I bought a new eReader. My old one was drenched when my water bottle leaked last Thursday on my way to practice. Too bad, that was a good eReader and they are not sold anymore. So instead of a Sony, I now have a Kobo Glo HD which has light in the screen which is a huge plus! It actually seems like a really cool eReader and much more complex than my old one. I think I will like it.

And then we made an even bigger purchase, we got Cleo a Friend! He looks almost exactly like her, but he is fluffier and a boy and 1.5 months younger. He is adorable, and didn’t complain at all when we drove him home. He was curious and then fell asleep. When we got home Cleo was super curious about this new little guy. But she is very rough with him, playing all the time, refusing to leave him alone and he is much smaller than she and can’t defend himself. I guess she is making sure that he knows that she is in charge here, but she is kinda overdoing it. I know that she is very playful, but I hope she will calm down and not be so rough with him, he is just a baby! But I guess in a month or so he will be as big and will be able to hit her back. They have slept together twice, but as soon as nap time is over they are fighting again. I really hope this will calm down soon and that Cleo won’t hate us because we brought a smaller cat here. All of last week she was with mom and her two cats and apparently she was all over them there. She would never leave the two oldies alone so we thought a friend for her at home would be nice too. But I don’t think she realizes that the cat she played with most at mom’s was 8kg, while she was only 1.7kg and this new one can’t be more than 1.2kg. We will let the small one sleep with us tonight with a closed door and Cleo on her climbing tree and hope she will behave better tomorrow.

We don’t have a name yet, so if you have any suggestions for a fluffy red boy, let me know.

It is so beautiful in Gothenburg right now! It is kinda sad that we missed this last week when it was this much snow. Unfortunately tomorrow it will be above freezing and therefore everything will melt… On our way to Orust through Winter Wonderland to get our new family member. And here he is! At first she followed him around like an extra tail. And then she started to get rough and play with him. One nap was okay and they were like siblings lying there. And then there was some more fighting… And another nap, closer this time! And then some more fighting.And lastly before they went their seperate ways to sleep in different locations, Cleo washed him. Cute! I think this will work out, we just have to give them time (especially for him to grow more).

Kite Beach and a bad taxi driver

Posted on Wednesday, 20 January 2016, 23:27 by Alexandra

Today was exactly yesterday, except that we stayed on the beach until sunset. It was warmer than yesterday, and not as windy. A really nice day. I also finished the 9th book in the Tales from Shadowhunter Academy series.

We then tried to find a cab, and the one we found turned out to be ridiculously expensive. We were going to Oasis Center because a few days ago it said that there was a Max Hamburger restaurant there, but when we got there it had closed down. Bummer. We spent 50 AED to go to a stupid shopping mall where they didn’t even have the thing we were looking for. So we bought some candy and donuts to have while watching a movie tonight. We got a taxi quickly at the mall, but that was a mistake. First of all, this guy was young, had an extreme lisp and we could not understand what he said with his accent. Then he didn’t know where we were going, had to put it in his phone GPS (no one here so far has used the GPS), and then he insulted me asking me if I was Jesper’s mom! And then he said it was a joke. Why would a taxi driver make a joke like that? And also I don’t think he was joking because later he asked if he had permission to speak something, and then said that he suggested me to dress in black to look younger. What an asshole!! Then he was in a car accident while we were in the car and had to stop right on the freeway. He drove into the car in front of us, nothing really happened but he told us he talked his way out of calling the police, and then he explained why. I think it was something about that he had to pay a huge fine because he was a taxi driver and also pay out of his own pocket if the car got damaged. He said we would get the ride for free because of this delay and that money wasn’t everything. After that he drove extremely recklessly, he was driving fast and very carelessly. He said he was 21 but his passport said 37 because you can’t be a taxi driver here unless you are 25. We left the taxi when we finally got to the hotel, he honked at us and asked us to pay. I was so angry at that point that I gave him a 20 instead of 30, and then borrowed the phone at the hotel to file a complaint. It took a while, but they took me seriously and I will learn what they did about it before January 31. Worst taxi experience ever.

Good thing we have another day tomorrow, I think I would hate this place if I left after tonight. Stupid fuckface!

Tomorrow anyway is our last day here and we are spending half the day at the beach and the other half on a desert safari. That will be fun. Too bad we won’t have time for Max before we leave. We might have time tomorrow between the beach and the safari, but we will have to see.

Kite Beach and Hard Rock Cafe #17

Posted on Tuesday, 19 January 2016, 20:41 by Alexandra

There is not much to say about today, we spent most of the day at the beach. Kite Beach was a big beach kinda close to our hotel. It was very few people, a big white beach, and there were real serious beach volleyball courts and a Jamba Juice. I feel proud every time I see one since the founder of it went to Cal Poly.

The water felt cold, but that could have been because the sun was burning today, even if it was a bit windy. We went in several times though, even if not all the way. It was just nice to stand in the blue water.

When it got a little too cold, we started looking for a taxi to get to Festival City Mall, which is mostly under development. IKEA is there and also Hard Rock Café. This was number 17, haha! We bought some more painkillers for Jesper. It is still pretty swollen, but I think it might be getting better, but it is hard for me to tell.

Tomorrow a similar day awaits us!

Festival City Mall. Dubai Skyline during sunset

Atlantis The Palm, Mall of the Emirates

Posted on Monday, 18 January 2016, 23:54 by Alexandra

Today was all about water. We spent most of the day at Atlantis The Palm Aquaventure park which is a water park out on the manbuilt palm in the water here in Dubai. We went several times on the lazy river which had waves coming with short intervals, we went on the rapids “lazy” river and then on several slides. There were two towers with slides, one that shot water on the floatie thing we had so we actually went uphill (we had a two-seat floatie all the time), that was scary. We also went on a slide without the floaties, it was a competition and he won by one second. That one was fun too! And then there were a couple of slides with big rafters or what to call it where you had to sit inside a circle-shaped thingy, up to six people. That was scary with the deep falls. We only did those one time each. We both decided to skip the single slide where you started standing up and then the platform beneath your feet just disappeared and it went straight down (almost). Nope, nope, just nope! Our favorite was either Torrent (the lazy river with waves) because it was so chill, or Shark Attack which was a two-seat floatie slide where you went around in Helixes in complete pitchdarkness and when there was light again you were under a water tank with fish, rays, and sharks in it. It was so cool! And also the water was warmer in that slide than the rest. It is not exactly cold here, but in the shadow it can get a little chilly when being wet. I think Atlantis would be much more enjoyable when it is burning hot in the sun, then the water and shadows would be a cooler.

We would have been allowed to bring a GoPro, but we thought this morning right before we left, that this culture probably wouldn’t appreciate people using cameras inside of a waterpark (and also in general, who would want to be photographed and filmed there?), so we left it at the hotel. But when we got there they asked us if we wanted to rent a GoPro for the day. Bummer. So no pictures from Aquaventure, but you could just google the place to see what it was all about.

Right after the water park we went to The Lost Chamber which is the aquarium at Atlantis. It was pretty big and really cool! I love water animals, they had cool rays and sharks and lots of other fish. Cool experience!

Our third and last stop of the day was the second biggest mall in Dubai, Mall of the Emirates which is the mall that is home to Ski Dubai, the ski slope inside. It was cool, but except for that, I only bought a pair of VS panties and Jesper bought anti-inflammatory pills for his wisdom tooth. I feel sorry for him, I know what it is like to be in pain because of those stupid and unnecessary teeth. I hope these pills will help him feel better soon. My home insurance will probably cover it, but why risk it. We also bought a new sunscreen at Carrefour (a huuuge store) in the mall, and also some snacks for tonight when we watched the move, Ant-Man. Surprisingly good!

We were to late to sign up for the free shuttle to the beach tomorrow, so we can sleep in a little bit tomorrow (the shuttle leaves at 9am). The woman in the reception saw our disappointed faces and said it was okay to sign up for the shuttle on Wednesday, even if it was two days in advance. So tomorrow will all be about sleeping on the beach, and in the evening, another shopping center where Hard Rock Café is.

Also, something I forgot to write about day one, was that we had a celebrity on the airplane to Dubai with us. “Tobbe Trollkarl”, most Swedish people probably know who he is. He was/is (?) a magician when I grew up. Pretty cool!

Atlantis resort.

Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa

Posted on Sunday, 17 January 2016, 23:50 by Alexandra

Ten hours at a mall, not sure if I want to do that again, but it was a fun day! We didn’t do too much shopping, but we bought a few things, a cork globe where we can pin where in the world we’ve been, a box of cool Arabic postcards, a shot glass from the top of Burj Khalifa, a thermos I can bring to school, a deck of cards all in gold, a fridge magnet, flip flops to Jesper, and a new shirt for me and I will get to why later.

We also got a couple of birthday presents for Jesper’s younger sister. We walked around for hours and hours, it is ridonculously big!! But I think we manage to at least go everywhere, even if we didn’t go into many stores. We had lunch in one of the food courts, Johnny Rockets, haha! When it comes to food, this trip is more American than Arabic.

At 6pm we had booked to go up to the top of Burj Khalifa. We got a briefing beforehand with tea and some snacks, went through security and then took the elevator up to the 125^th floor in only 60 seconds. That is pretty fast!! Then we took another elevator up to the highest floor people go to, 148, the floors up until 160 is only for telecommunication and maintenance and something. The whole tower is 828 meters high, but less at where we stood. I can honestly say that I didn’t feel any difference between the Eiffel Tower and Burj Khalifa, both are so high up that it feels unreal and that everything below is photoshoped. It was pretty cool up there though and we saw a little from the first fountain show of the day at 6pm (we got up to the top a little earlier than our reservation). We then saw the whole 6:30 show on the 125^th floor where we stopped for a bit.

After that we decided to watch the fountain from the ground so we watched the 7:30pm one after some restroom brakes and some of the shopping. We got a great spot, I filmed and took pictures and it was kinda exactly like the Bellagio Fountain in Las Vegas. I didn’t see it coming, but in the end of it, the water came right at us, there were no warning signs that we would get wet, so I wasn’t expecting it at all and was watching somewhere else when the shower hit me. Jesper saw it coming, backed away but didn’t tell me. I got soaked through! It was worse than SeaWorld… When we walked back to the mall I heard some Swedish people behind me say something about me being soaked, haha! We got the new shirt at Holister and then went to Cheesecake Factory to have dinner. It tasted kinda the same, but not really, or maybe my memory is piedestaling the food, or it’s different because this is Dubai, not California. I think I was too tired to eat as well, but we got the leftovers boxed up so we have dinner for another evening as well, yay. It was good!

Then we saw some really fancy pancy cars outside the mall, took a taxi and came back to the hotel at around 10pm. Tomorrow we have to get up a little bit earlier since we are going to Atlantis The Palm tomorrow and it opens at 10am and since we don’t want to waste spending time outside on the warmest day of the week (it will be around 27C tomorrow) and because we were inside all day today, we want to be there as early as possible.

This is Dubai Mall, crazy big!! In the lounge at the top we got served snacks and drinks. Level 125. A gold car. PANO_20160117_192719 IMG_20160117_203147 A Tesla!! A matte black Lamborghini.