Summer Break Part 2

I would've liked to have posted part two of my summer vacation sooner, but I had to make some edits to my video.  One, I just had a ton of pictures from Greece and two, because YouTube has these silly copyright laws with some of my music choices.  But I've gotten it all worked out and finished.  Hope you enjoy my short video (more like short film because I couldn't resist with some of these pictures) just as much as I did.

For part two of my vacation I visited Greece.  I had never taken so many pictures on a trip in my life!  I loved Greece!  From Barcelona we flew into Athens, Greece.  We purposefully planned a long layover in Athens so we could take a quick trip to the Parthenon.  When we landed we checked our bags at the luggage center, caught a taxi, and twenty minutes later we were at the bottom of the Acropolis Hill.  Hill seems like an understatement after we made our way up the "hill" with the sun beaming on us with every step we took.  Once we made it to the top I couldn't stop looking at this monument that has been around since 447 B.C. (of course with some renovations).  It just amazes me that something like this could be created in a time where things were only created by hand.  As a bonus we also got to see all of Athens from the top of the Acropolis.  Before we knew it, our layover was just about over and we had to head back to the airport.

After our thirty minute flight we landed at our next destination - Santorini, Greece.  Santorini is currently holds the number one spot on my list of best places I've visited.  I recommend anyone and everyone to take a trip there.  I will definitely try to make it out there again.  The food was great, the people were nice, and the island is beautiful!  Santorini also has the best sunset in the world, according to the locals.  I must say it is pretty awesome.  Everything about this place is picturesque.

Our first day on the island we took a half day boat tour.  We did a semi-private tour which means we were on a yacht with a few more tourist.  This was the absolute best.  The tour included food, information about the island, and we got to hang out in the Mediterranean Sea.  The water is so beautiful but was a bit chilly especially with it being July.  Once we were back on land we rented ATV's as our transportation.  We were able to rent the ATV's for twenty-four hours for $45.  Can't beat that!  Getting around the island was so easy.  The island has two main areas.  The lower area is Fira and the upper area is Oia.  We hung out in Fira for the remainder of our first day.  Most people head to Oia to catch the sunset but we caught it in Fira and enjoyed it without having to deal with the crowds of people.  At the end of our first night we were taken care of at a local restaurant our ATV guy recommended.  Everyone we encountered really wanted to make sure we were having a good time and enjoying everything Santorini had to offer.

On our second day we took our ATV's and headed to Oia.  We walked to the highest point of the island and took a thousand pictures.  What you see in the pictures and on postcards looks even better in person.  We enjoyed a nice lunch looking over the Mediterranean Sea and later took a little side adventure to find a hidden gem (a beach with a cliff that my friend Asha and other crazy tourist jumped off of).

Okay, I've typed way too much!  It's just that this place is awesome, but I'll let you see for yourself.  This part of my trip we added one more traveler - Lindsay (another best friend from home).  If you never wanted to go to Santorini before, I think some of these pictures will change your mind.

Summer Break Part 1

I know, I know!  I haven's posted in forever...well forever is a bit extreme, but yes it has been a long time.  Well that's because I was on my summer vacation which meant a lot of traveling for me!  I couldn't wait to get my summer vacation going this year.  I was ready to see new places and get back home to see my friends and family.  This summer I took a total of 18 flights!  Word of advice, sometimes it's worth paying more to not have to deal with layovers and cheap airline rules and restrictions.  But with that being said, I had great trips and a great time this summer.

My first stop (after the layover) was to Barcelona, Spain.  I loved Barcelona!  I could definitely see myself living there.  You have the city and the beach all in one.  Who could ask for more?  I also appreciated the fact that Barcelona is a major city, but didn't feel like a major city.  There was no hustle and bustle or lack of courtesy due to the limited space a major city usually comes with.  Barcelona took on the beach water personality being smooth flowing and laid back.  There is one thing you must be aware of while in Barcelona (or any other place in Europe from what I hear) - pickpocketing.  Many of the locals will warn you to make sure you don't put your bags down on the ground and to keep your wallet and phone somewhere else besides your pockets because they will come up missing.  Luckily we didn't have any victims on my trip.

One of the best parts of my Barcelona trip was the bike tour.  We ended up having the guide to ourselves which was great.  We were able to see so much of the city and learn a lot about the history of Spain.  I try to find bike tours wherever I visit because it gives you an opportunity to visit little nooks and crannies the normal tourist wouldn't have the opportunity to see.  Try it on your next trip.

My next stop was Ibiza.  This is Miami, Florida Spring Break on steroids!  If I would have come here in my early 20's I really could have taken advantage of all it had to offer, but we took it easy especially since we were only there for one day (one day was all we really needed in this environment).  Unfortunately my carry on bag had to be checked at the gate when leaving Barcelona and that was the last time I saw it.  Yes, I was extremely bummed and upset about it (still get angry when I think about some of the items that were in the bag) but I still had a trip to continue and places to see.  We spent our one day at the beach where I literally baked in the sun all day.  Later we had to check out the party scene because that's what you do in Ibiza.  We ended our night a little early around 4 or 5am because we had an early flight to catch.  On our way to the airport around 6:30am the clubs were still going (they close around 7am).

Next, I went back to spend one more day in Barcelona where I had the opportunity to check out some of the must sees in the city - a flamenco show and the Picasso museum.  If you have the opportunity to visit the city make sure you check out some of the performing and visual arts the city has to offer.

That's the first part of my European trip in a very small nutshell.  Check out my video below to see more.  By the way the "we" I have been mentioning included James (my friend from Abu Dhabi), Asha (my best friend from home), Brandy (my fitness instructor and friend from Abu Dhabi), and Ashley (my friend from Abu Dhabi).

Milan

One of the perks of living on this side of the world is that you are closer to a lot more countries also known as places I want to visit.  So when my sister says that she's going to be in Milan for business, I start to look into plane tickets for a weekend trip.  Yup, I said it! Milan for the weekend!

A few weeks ago, I met my sister in Milan.  It was my first trip to Europe, so I was very excited.  During this trip we went shopping, checked out the World Expo, saw a show during Men's Fashion Week, and went to a party at the house where Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper.

Day One:  We went shopping at a vintage store that had a lot of great finds.  It is Milan after all.  After shopping we wanted a quick snack, but a lot of restaurants close around two and then reopen at seven.  We ended up going to dinner later at a restaurant that gave us the real Italian experience.  If you didn't know Italian, then you didn't know what to order because the menu was only in Italian.  Our server had to explain a few things off of the menu for us tourist.  The food was good, the wine was good, and the conversation was...interesting.

Day Two:  Work and then play.  I tagged along with my sister to a photo shoot (work) and then we later attended the 2015 World Expo (play).  Don't know what the World Expo is?  I didn't either.  Here's the link to learn more about it:  http://www.expo2015.org/en/learn-more/the-history- .  Before heading to the Expo, we needed a bite to eat.  Of course we had to stop and try some authentic Italian pizza.  The pizza was good, but similar to something I had tasted before.  I'll have to compare the taste to the next pizza I try on my next visit to Italy.  We then headed to the Expo where we attended the Cirque Du Soleil show, Allavita.  I love Cirque shows and this one actually allowed pictures and video to be taken and shared.  Check out the footage I got from the show below.  If you haven't been to a Cirque show you need to go. After the show we had a little time before the park closed to check out some of the exhibits.  We found out that Slovenia knows how to party.  You'll see how they get down in my video.

Day Three:  We started the day off by going to the Zegna fashion show.  It's amazing how excited people can get over clothes.  It's crazy to think about how much goes into a fashion show for it to last about 10 minutes.

Next my sister and I headed back to the World Expo to check out more exhibits, but going during the day wasn't the same experience we had the night before.  This time it was like we were at an amusement park.  To get into some country's exhibits there was an hour and a half wait.  We decided to check out some of the smaller countries and purchased some really good Ethiopian food.

To end our trip we attended a GQ party.  The party was held where Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper.  We tried to go see The Last Supper several times, but it was sold out every day.  So being in the house where the magic happened would have to do.  The house was beautiful (especially for how old it was), the party was great, and we even got a special (and I mean special) performance from Miguel.

I'm so glad I got to visit Milan and explore with my sister.  I'll be back in Europe soon, so keep an eye out for my next post!

Check out my videos to see more from my trip to Milan.

Milan

Cirque Du Soleil

Dubai Miracle and Butterfly Garden

While my line sisters, LaTia and Makuyo were in town in April we went to check out the Miracle and Butterfly Garden in Dubai.  Note to self and those who are reading this, don't visit the gardens when it's hot outside...duh.  It's actually closed now until the winter season because it's just too hot here to visit.  Luckily the butterfly section had air conditioning and this part of the park is open year round.  

The Miracle Garden (not sure why they call it that) is a garden full of structures covered in flowers.  In my head I had pictured a lot more exotic plant and flowers, but I think due to the weather elements here they can only use so many kinds of plants.  Most of the plants seemed like the plants you choose at Home Depot that can handle themselves even if you don't tend to them (those are the type of plants I usually buy). 

The Buttrerfly Garden (which we thought was just another part of the park, but found out we had to pay for separately) has two sections.  The first section consist of art pieces where pictures were created using actual butterflies.  I really enjoyed the art pieces, but then wondered if they waited for these butterflies to die or did they hunt them down to complete these pieces?  I'm not sure but in the end the colors from the butterflies wings were really pleasing to the eye.  The next section was a series of domes filled with plants and butterflies flying all around you.  That took some getting used to and I needed to watch my step so I didn't accidentally take a butterfly's life.  It ended up being a nice experience once we got used to all the butterflies (I don't think Makuyo ever got used to the butterflies though).  Take a look at our day in the gardens!

Welcome to the Miracle Garden

The Peacoks

Here in Al Ain we have a clock like this in town center.  They call it the clock tower, even though it's not really a tower.

I think this is supposed to be Mother Nature

Dhow Boat

Knock Knock

Does this font look familiar to you?

Can you guess what garden we were about to enter?

Butterfly Art

Sheikh Khalifa - The current President of The UAE

Sheikh Maktoum - Current Vice President of The UAE

Love the butterfly design and symmetry

LaTia getting up close and personal with a butterfly friend

The butterfly getting up close and personal with Makuyo.  She wasn't a fan.

These butterflies were getting up close and personal with each other!

Inside the domes were areas where you could put nectar on your hand and have the butterflies land on you.  It took some time for me to get used to so many butterflies in such a small space.

The butterflies liked LaTia's hair

 I got one!

We look good together!

My attempt to pass my butterfly on to Makuyo.  She still wasn't feeling it.

On our way out of the gardens

A couple more pictures before we leave

Guess Who Came to Town?!

During the months of March, April, and May I have had visitors come to the UAE to visit (if you haven't checked out the Sister Visit post make sure you take a look).  Every time a different visitor came it felt like I was on vacation.  I was exploring new places right along with them.  I knew I would have people coming to visit me so I made sure I didn't do or see certain things until I had visitors come to town.  I'm so happy some of my friends and family had the opportunity to get a glimpse of my life abroad and experience a new culture.

Here are a few pictures from my visitors that came in April and May.  Maybe these pictures will convince some of you to visit the UAE next!

Dj, Z, and I at the Saffron Brunch at the Atlantis Resort on Palm Island

A few of specialty drinks included in our all you can eat and drink brunch!

One of the many ceilings at the Atlantis Resort in Dubai

More decor from Atlantis

  

The Atlantis Aquarium

It had big fish!

Pool time at the hotel

DJ went kandora shopping at Dubai Mall

Happy Birthday Salihah!

Elevator selfie!

Part of the decor at the JW Marriott Marquee in Dubai

Hanging out for Salihah's birthday.

So many people thought he was Rick Ross, I think he was starting to believe it himself.

The very next weekend my line sisters, LaTia and Makuyo came to visit.  

Beach time on Al Maya Island

Look what I found in Dubai!!! Back home I've only found Round Table Pizza in CA and Hawaii.  It's a Swann Family favorite!

 I was excited!  It was good!

Our visit to the Miracle Garden and Butterfly garden.  More pictures of that in my next post.

Last visitor was Jason.  We were getting ready for dune bashing.  I could do nothing but laugh through this experience.  My stomach was dropping constantly!

Jason with our crazy dune bashing driver.

Of course everyone has to see the Burj Khalifa!

Check out the video footage from our dune bashing experience and the Burj Khalifa water show.