Cheryl and I had a very lazy day in Athens, while staying at the Sofitel at the airport. We initially checked in, then went down to the bar to have a few drinks and a light snack. The Hotel is very nice, and I am glad we made the decision to stay overnight. After catching up on some sleep, we decided to go to the rooftop restaurant for tea. The meal was good, service excellent, and great views.
The following morning we were able to sleep in, as we arranged a 1.00 pm check out. We finally ventured downstairs to have a very nice breakfast. After breakfast we walked across to the airport to see if we could get some magazines for the flight to Dubai. Eventually we made it back to the hotel to wrestle our bags closed once again. We checked out and headed for the airport. We still had to wait a further 3 hours for our flight.
The flight to Dubai, was very uneventful, and we arrived on time at 10.10pm. What did surprise me was the man waiting for us at the airport. As far as I knew I was booking a taxi to the hotel, but it seems the trip I had organised through the travel agent included airport transfers. Bonus. So we slummed it in the back of an Audi to our hotel.
We settled into our room and caught up on some sleep. Next morning we decided to make a reasonable start, though we couldn't start too early as the shops did not crank up to 10.30am. The Emirates mall is just over from the hotel. Cheryls main goal was to visit the ski park as it really intrigued her. The mall is huge. But nowhere near as big as the Dubai mall we were to see later in the day. It is impossible to see the whole mall. It is simply huge. Has every shop known to mankind. A woman's dream. If you were here for a week, you could put a real dent in the credit card. We both decided to go to the top of the highest building (in the world) the Bajat Khal. It really is an amazing site from the outside, but even better when you are 120 storeys up. It has 140 in total. The lift takes 1 min and 11 secs to go from ground
d to 120 floors. The only thing you feel is you ears popping. From the top the views are sensational, and you appreciate the design work that has gone into Dubai. It really is amazing. The distance view was disappointing because of the dust created by the desert sands. We had lunch, had another look around, then returned to the hotel to get ready for our river cruise. Cheryl was looking forward to this. We were ready at 4.30pm but ..... er hm I did not read the itinery properly. We are going on a Desert drive. (I can see Trevor Rose going, you should read the paperwork!).