Mrs Jack Of All Trades: Dubai

Today, marks the first day of Ramadhan, the 9th month in the Islamic calender where Muslims all over the world spend their days fasting from sunrise to sunset - abstain from food, drink and refocus their attention to God. It is more than just refraining from food and drinks but also from evil action, thoughts and words. It is the month of giving and strengthening ties between family and friends.
During this month in Dubai, the restaurants and cafes will be closed during the day and eating, drinking or smoking in public is prohibited. So, things will slow down a bit. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the Muslim readers and friends all around the world 'Ramadhan Kareem' and may this month brings peace, wisdom and the world together.

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The Palm Jumeirah
If there is one thing that Dubai is proud of apart from its Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world; it has to be The Palm Jumeirah. For some of you who are not aware of this, let me give you a short '101' on it. The Palm Jumeirah is a man made island in the shape of a palm tree that was built and developed somewhere in the mid 2001. It consists of a trunk, 17 fronds and a crescent. The trunk housed some high-end apartments and hotels, the fronds are dotted with exclusive villas that are owned by some rich and famous (The Beckhams, Brangelina, Indian film star Shah Rukh Khan and a string of football stars are among the owners) and the crescent has among the best hotels and restaurants in the world. Well, the island was opened somewhere in 2006 but (wait for it..) even if I have been living here since before that, (here comes..) I HAVE NEVER BEEN ON IT except on the trunk (I dined at some of the restaurants on the trunks before, and that's it)
Seriously I don't know why.. maybe because I was not taken by it (how can I not, right?), or again maybe because I had no reason to go until recently when Captain wanted to try out an Italian restaurant in one of the hotels on the crescent. Honestly, it was worth the time.. the view was breathtaking and it was breezy and fabulous so much so that we forgot it was on a late afternoon in May! We took a drive on the trunk, passed by the fronds (the fronds themselves are private, so no access to them) and took the underwater tunnel to the crescent. We then drove on the crescent from one end to another stopping by once in a while to bask in all the glory and sight of this man creation. We passed by The Atlantis Hotel (right in the middle of the crescent) and I was disappointed as it did not look as grand as I expected it to be in that late sunlight but wait until you see the sight of it at night time.. spectacular!
So the sun set and off we head to the restaurant..., great food, fabulous setting and all in all I am glad that Captain made the booking. Not only for the food but for the chance to experience The Palm, finally.