...Australia, South Africa, England and even the Middle East.
Once upon a time, there was a little pink pig with a bright red sign. This little pink pig brought joy to all those he encountered, sharing with them a happy message that was painted on his bright red sign. The little pink pig had some very special friends, who he would visit in special months of the year, where he would move from house to house, sharing his happy message on his bright red sign. After a few years had passed, the little pig's journeys became far and wide, as he travelled all over the world to continue to spread his happy message to all his special friends. Now like his special friends, the little pink pig is getting quite old and grey (and a little bit tatty), but shall continue spreading his happy message 'HAPPY 'PIGGIN' BIRTHDAY' along his way...
So my birthday has come and gone again this year...but not without being completely spoilt as always! My day started off with Mark making me a delicious continental breakfast and giving me a lovely gift, a beautiful necklace with a diamond pendant (and the spoiling began).
I also received a pressie from a very special friend, which happened to have the little pink pig inside, who had travelled form London this time for his first visit to Dubai to share his happy message! :)
With it being Ramadan here, not too much is open during the day, but I did get to leave work early because of the Ramadan hours. Carol came round a bit later with gifts and nibbles which she had collected along her travels. We spent a couple of hours catching up, whilst Mark was still at work (not all are lucky enough to work the Ramadan hours). Once Mark was finally home, we headed to the Lakes Clubhouse, where Carol departed and left Mark and I to make use of the free 2 course meal you receive on your birhday if you a clubhouse member (it's all about vouchers and freebies here!), where I of course ordered the most expensive thing on the menu...steak! :)
Then as if that wasn't enough already, Mark surprised me on the weekend by having booked us into the Atlantis Hotel for the night. After checking in at the buzzing hotel, we made our way up to our room which confirmed what we had thought we heard at check-in, but weren't quite sure...we had been upgraded to a suite! :)
Not quite wanting to leave the room, our hunger made the decision for us and we eventually set off in search of some lunch. We landed up having 'afternoon tea' (which is like High Tea), where you get a variety of sandwiches, pastries and other yummy decadent treats and of course some lovely teas to choose from too.
From there we made our way to AquaVenture to make use of the water park (Mark's first time here) and to hopefully burn off some of the calories we had just consumed and where we spent the rest of the day getting our adrenaline fix...although still not quite having enough courage to try 'The Leap of Faith'.
After a couple of hours of fun, we headed off from some chill time in our mansion suite, before heading out for pre-dinner drinks. Mark surprised me yet again for dinner, he had kept the restaurant a secret, although accidentally letting slip the 'wrong' name at one point, so you can imagine my surprsie when we arrived at Nobu. Everything was absolutely delicious and we tried all things different both hot and cold, from signature dishes like the Yellow Tail Sashimi with Jalapenos, to the New Stayle Salmon Sashimi, Sushi rols, scallops with spicy garlic...you name it! And as if that wasn't enough, they also brought us a lovely complimentary birthday cheesecake.
The next morning, we had a nice lazy lie in (which with Mark doesn't happen very often), before heading out for brunch, a wonder around the Lost Chambers Aquarium, which was followed by yet another lovely gift...a '2 hours couples massage' at the ShiuQi spa! So so very spoilt indeed! Then as it goes, all good things need to come to an end and it was time to head back home to reality... But what an amazing weekend (considering I was quite content at not doing very much for my birthday this year) and definitely one that will not be forgotten in a hurry.
Also after much deliberation this month, as to where to go on our hols to mark the end of Ramadan and use the 2 days public holidays we get, which are generally few and far between....Mark and I finally decided to head back to London Town where we are looking forward to seeing some familiar faces (and some new additions) and of course our little Molly Mouse! So yet more excitement and adventures to come!
