Oh Dubai how I love thee!!

So, I have SO much to share, I think I am going to try and take it day by day...that way I can hopefully not leave anything out. :) Dubai was awesome. It was definitely a break I needed from Erlangen. It was so refreshing to be in a town where you could read signs and communicate! I almost missed my flight in Amsterdam because we were late from Nuremberg...so I hauled butt through the airport knocking people over to make sure I got a seat on that flight. I can't imagine that flights from Nuremberg to Dubai are too common so I was afraid if I missed it I wouldn't get on one until the next day. The flight was packed. I was flying on a 747, definitely the biggest plane I have ever been on. the flight was good, pretty uneventful. I watched a couple of movies. Once I got to Dubai and got my bag, I went through customs. They were not too thrilled with me that I didn't know where I was staying and I didn't have a contact number in Dubai. :) But they let me through...I told them that Tom was waiting for me outside! Tom Wilson, the managing partner in the Kilpatrick Stockton Dubai office offered for Tyler and I to stay at his house. His wife and kids have gone back to the US for the summer, so there was plenty of room. We were so grateful to him for letting us stay...and to Drew Baiter (another associate)for spending his weekend showing us around! So, I walked outside and Tom was waiting for me. We had to get in his car and drive around to the other side of the aiport to wait on Tyler. His flight was delayed about an hour, so Tom and I sat for about 2 hours and talked. He knows so much about the Muslim religion and just the culture in general and it was interesting to learn. I was still in such shock at that point. I had this grin on my face like "I can't believe I am in Dubai!!" By the time Tyler got there, went through customs and got his bag and we got back to Tom's house, it was late. We were super tired, so we called it a night. Tom's house is great! Right on the beach...and he has 2 dogs, so I was in heaven playing with them! Here is a picture I took from the beach. It is a little blurry because my camera lens was still fogged up. The heat wasn't what I expected. It definitely hits you in the face when you walk outside, but you really do adjust. The hardest part for me was getting used to my glasses completely fogging over everytime I walked out! Thursday morning Tom had some workers coming to the house to work on internet so they didn't have to go into the office first thing. Tyler and I decided to walk over to the beach and put our feet in the water. Tom had told us that because Arabian Gulf (they don't call it the Persian Gulf in the UAE) is so shallow, the water stays really warm in the summer, so we wanted to check it out!! We could see the Burj al Arab Hotel from Tom's house! We really wanted to go and see the inside, but you have to have a reservation for dinner, drinks, etc. in order to do so and even going for afternoon tea is just under $100 per person. So, we decided we would just admire from afar! You can really tell how hazey it is in this picture. You can see the hotel from most of the city, but it is difficult sometimes with the haze. In the background you can see the cranes where they are refurbishing an old fishing marina. Most construction in Dubai has halted, but there are still some projects that are being completed. Well, our coffee shop is closing shortly, so I need to wrap up. I will continue tomorrow!! I will add another post with a few more pics, I took a ton!