Our NEW look vestibule!

As promised, Adrian and I got more ants in our pants, and got our DIY outfits on, raced down to the Hardware Hypermart (why do Stores, when you can do Hypermarts?) and chose this months selection of paint. In fact, we have become known down at Ace Hardware - not that we receive special treatment... but the kind Lebanese Paint Mixer Lady gave us her speediest of attention and allowed us to collect our tinted paint in just 10mins as opposed to her standard turnaround time of 15. So swift!

On our recent jaunt to New Zealand, we were inspired by the kiwiana of the place, and decided to bring a little bit of Aotearoa home with us and jazzed up our entrance-way.

Jandals, Seaside Tiles, and Greenstone-Wearing-Mosiac-Busts, we now have a lovely looking vestibule. Any time you need the Kiwi Boys to don a Builders Crack and paint your place, let us know! We don't come cheap, but we certainly are cheerful!

On a different note, we gave ourselves special festive dispensation, and decided that because we are away for half the month, we were allowed to put our Christmas Tree up for twice as long - SO, out she came, and this year we decided for a slightly different twist on last year's theme of Blue and Silver: we added a touch of Lime! Ho Ho Ho...

Ahhhh, Vienna....

This month has brought with it much joy and excitement, and also a redefinition of my favourite place in Europe: Vienna, Austria. Nestled in the Eastern outskirts of Western Europe, I was fortunate to, this month, travel to the home of the Wiener Schnitzel, Ludwig Van Beethoven and the world's best dressed winter-folk!

Two hours late, after I discovered an elderly man having a heart attack outside one of the toilets before departure from Dubai, we finally set off and 5hr55m later, we landed in Winter Wonderland. Just two days earlier I was sunning myself in Auckland, on Annual Leave, dreading having to go back to work - but to be fair, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect destination to launch myself back into being the Sky Slave that I am. Here I was, rugged up to the eyeballs, in scarves, coats, and any item I could find in my sturdy Samsonite, and taking on the -1deg chills of Austria!

Covered in a blanket of at least 3 inches of snow (not sure why I have suddenly become a user of the imperial measurements, but alas, I have), four of my crew went exploring around Vienna and had every last breath stolen from us by the fairy-tale perfect scenary. Of course being so close to the festive season, the entire city was decorated, and I felt that this was the closest I'll probably come to a real White Christmas!

Once frostbite had set in, and I could no longer feel my lips, limbs, nor little toes - we strolled across the icy cobbled streets and found a street-vendor selling Mulled Wine. Of course, what best to do, but to sample what was the most delicious mid-winter spicy treat. If only it wasnt alcoholic, as swigging on a glass or two on a cold morning would certainly set you up for a great day ahead.

Guten Tag, Herzlich wilkommen in Austria. Ja, das ist gut, ja?

Only in Dubai...

Strange things are in the air in Ye Olde Middle Easte... Winter has finally arrived with the first fall of rain since January. I say rain, perhaps light precipitation was more appropriate, but it was enough to send the locals into a frenzy. Men in Dish Dashes were beginning to resemble somewhat of a Wet T-Shirt competition - which I can assure you, is not a pretty sight.

Adrian and I were walking around Carrefour yesterday, Friday, and upon examining our own better judgement for the future, we stumbled across the seed that planted this blog into my mind.

Here we have a typical example of Dubai at its best. Set inside Carrefour at Mall of the Emirates, which can only be discribed as a zoo of uncaged animals on a Friday Afternoon. A 24 carat Gold Barbeque, worth US$204,000. Every villa this side of Sheikh Zayed Road should have one of these affordable appliances... yet for some reason we don't. We have the very people at Carrefour selling these to over-wealthy arab's, who themselves are living in a 6-to-a-bedroom non-air-conditioned bungalow somewhere in the Dubai Desert.

Dubai: the city of extremes.

There is a group on Facebook called "You've Been in the Middle East too long when...", so I joined, and let me share some nuggets with you:

...You are not surprised to see a goat in the passenger seat

...You think the uncut version of "Little House on the Prairie" is provocative

...You expect the confirmation on your airline ticket to read "insha'allah" (God Willing)

...You do not expect to eat dinner before 10:30 pm

...You understand that the true definition of a nanosecond is the time interval between the light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn

...You can receive ever TV station crystal clear except the local one

...You get used to using the cold tap to get hot water during the summer