The (temporary) Dubai) tourist

I just got back from dropping my mum at the airport after a three-week visit. Usually, at this point, I’m feeling quite wobbly as I go back to the house-with-the-mum-shaped-gap.

But today it hasn’t been so bad.

For a start, I learned a lesson from last year’s disastrous airport run and took DS straight from the airport to Carluccio’s for a slap-up lunch. That distracted both of us for a little while.

And, when we went home, I didn’t feel as bad as usual. We packed so much into this trip that it ended with no regrets. No “wish we’d done this”, “wish we’d had time to do that”. In the space of three weeks, we managed to:

-          Host a dinner party for 20

Madam, your helicopter awaits...

-          Throw a birthday party for DS

-          Throw a birthday party for DD

-          Have afternoon tea on Dubai Creek

-          Do an aerial tour of Dubai by helicopter

-          Take the kids to Kidzania

-          Ride the trolleybus around Dubai Mall

-          Ride the monorail up Palm Jumeirah

-          Visit the Lost Chambers at Atlantis

-          Have manicures and pedicures together at a beauty salon

-          See “Oliver” at the theatre

-          Have an Easter egg hunt in the garden

-          Spend an afternoon at the beach

-          Spend time with friends

-          Watch the camel polo

-          Eat lunch in a different place every day

It was great being a tourist for three weeks. But I do feel sorry for my mum’s friends back home: They’ve got to look at the photos.

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