Dinner Out

We met some friends for dinner. They picked a restaurant in the Madinat Jumeirah called the Al Hambra. It's a Spanish themed Tapas restaurant.

The first fun option was riding the abra, a water taxi, to the hotel from the shopping center. We just had to show our reservation number to the abra skipper and he motored us right to the door. The waterway between the shopping areas and the hotels along this canal is lit up with fairy lights and lanterns. I am quite taken with the light wrapped palm trees.

The Madinat Jumeirah is designed to look like an authentic middle eastern dwelling. It's really impressive. Especially at night. Lights cast up the adobe walls and showcase the height and breadth of the edifice. After the quick trip from the shopping center over to the hotel, we navigated our way through the swanky hotel. It was quite a schlep to find the Al Hambra.

On the way, I enjoyed the amazing sights inside the hotel and it's environs. DH had a couple of meetings in this hotel and he wanted me to see the 'biggest chandelier ever'. It was super big. You get no idea of the scale on this picture, but it hangs in a three story atrium. It's gorgeous.

There is a big sweetheart staircase that descends down into a huge ballroom/dining area. In the center of the twining stairs is a giant fountain cascading down. It's a lovely sound. In the desert, fountains take on a whole new importance. Most major buildings have at least one. Many have multiple water features. It's very restful. Another thing that comes in abundant variety in the glamorous digs are flowers.

Lots and lots of colorful flowers.
Large scale flower sculpture and centerpieces fill the common areas. I had DH stand next to one so you could see that it's way taller than six feet. There were several of these lining the lobby area of the Madinat Jumeirah.

The lobby had glorious marble floors and columns. The colors were vibrant and eye catching. Over the top. I think in the middle east, they invented over the top design.

Oh, and dinner was really good too! The Spanish restaurant was nice. We had tapas and paella. There was hard cheese marinated in olive oil and rosemary served with crusty bread. Rustic and really tasty. All in all, it was a delightful evening with a really nice, welcoming couple. I can't wait to try some of the other restaurants in that area. Lots more to explore.

--Sandee Wagner