Dubai 3

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

We started the morning off in style with a Maccies breakfast 😍 and managed to follow a map this time as we got to where we wanted to be in good time.

We were having a lovely walk around the historical district when we were approached by a radio crew asking if we would give an interview on our thoughts of Pope Francis being here… we didn’t even know he was! Thank God for a bit of on the spot bullshitting!

We had read a lot about how amazing the souks are so decided to check them out. Note to self – when in India in October wear a wig. The selfie requests were back out in force. It was also lookie lookie to the extreme; apparently throwing a cashmere scarf over someone’s face and neck is an acceptable way to entice you into a shop. Bitch please… To top if off, I was dragged into another shop where a man insisted on doing the poppers up on the traditional dress he made me wear where he decided it would be polite to have a cheeky grope. I didn’t buy the dress.

Back on safe ground and we headed for Dubai Frame, a 150m high structure opened in 2018 for views of both old and new Dubai. Momma was very brave as I dragged her onto the glass floor, but it’s got to be done.

Tea tonight was Subway. Standard.

Dubai 2

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

Today started out with another journey that should have taken 20 minutes but took over an hour due to our terrible navigation skills. We took the monorail up to Atlantis to see what all the fuss was about; however as we were now short on time we couldn’t spend very long there 😔 there was an incredibly rude group of people that think pushing in was acceptable when boarding the monorail that we were at the front of the queue for.. oops did I tread on your dress? Silly me.

As you all know we love an afternoon tea and the one we had today at Jumeriah Al Qasr has definitely made the top 5. Everything was so so tasty. They even invited you up to the pastry table where you could help yourself to whatever you wanted.. hello gold leaf covered salted caramel chocolate lollipop!! We had a gorgeous view overlooking Burj Al Arab – what more could you want. Poo knife will definitely be needed.

Next we headed for the Burj Khalifa; the worlds tallest building and again had to encounter pusher in-ers. Some people just have no concept of a good old British queue. The view was amazing and we were lucky enough to watch the sun go down.

We got back on ground level to watch the fountains which was a fabulous display and decided our little trotters needed a rest. However the Dubai Mall, known as ‘the mother of all malls’ lived up to its name and to get through this to the metro station was at least a 2 mile walk. I don’t think I’ve ever been so pleased to get back to a hotel room!

Dubai 1

gingertravellerblog2 Comments

We flew with Emirates for the first time today; plenty of leg room, proper cutlery, wine, gin, curry and a film. What more could you ask for! I still haven’t mastered Tilly’s epic sleeping skills so was awake for the whole flight.

As you all know by now I have a habit of taking the rain with me everywhere I go, and Dubai didn’t disappoint. The poncho and wanker hat were out for another airing.

Finding our hotel was an absolute joy… Momma decided asking at least 100 people for directions was better than using Google maps. We were even personally escorted to a hotel that wasn’t ours. After an hour of trying we did eventually find it; thank the lord.

As the weather was rubbish today we decided to hit the Mall of the Emirates, and as I’m not skiing this year 😭😭 I had a cheeky go on the slopes in Ski Dubai. Note to self – do not ski in trainer socks.

We couldn’t be arsed to find anywhere posh for food (can we ever) so decided to continue our McDs World Tour where I discovered the Chicken Mac. Taste sensation!

NYC 5

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

Sat at the airport writing this one as another trip has come to an end 😭 and guess what.. we arrived 5 hours early just for a change..! Thank God I’ve got my joggers on as I have literally not stopped eating this whole trip and am currently one chunky monkey.

This morning I was dragged around the UN building. Thanks to Santa’s hip it nearly took up half the day getting through security. Me and momma had another telling off for loitering whilst they were trying to work out why Santa kept beeping.

We decided to do touristy things today; Chrysler Building, Empire State, Grand Central and buying all the shite with I ❤ NY.

I couldn’t leave NY without having a cheesecake. Luckily Juniors cheesecake was the size of my head so I was more than satisfied. Even I couldn’t eat it all!

I’ve sniffed out the Dunkin Donuts at the airport so that will keep me going for the next few hours. We will of course be finding a trust to visit on the way home from the airport.

So that’s it for our 3 visit to The Big Apple. We will definately be returning in a few years but perhaps in the summer so I can top up my tan on Brighton Beach.

 

NYC 4

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

Another big steppage day of 32000 and a day of pissed off New Yorkers. I nearly got battered by a group of twitchers and Santa nearly got attacked by a man with a CD. But more from that later!

This morning started NYC style with a big fat cream cheese filled bagel. I would highly recommend ‘best bagel and coffee’ – the name says it all. Freshly made daily and a stupid amount of cheesey fillings. You know it’s good when the locals queue out rhe door.

We headed to central park for a morning stroll and walked past a group of people with their big posh cameras. Intrigued we went over to find out what was so interesting; a small owl ripping a red cardinal apart! Unfortunately as I don’t have a camera with a 1000000x lense I had to move slightly closer to the tree to get a good photo (about 2 steps closer than everyone else). Turns out doing this was the complete wrong thing to do as it caused the owl to stop eating and this meant absolute uproar! I was told off on 3 separate occasions including one about 5 minutes after it had happened – how dare I disrespect owls and make it stop eating. Now they were going to have to wait for it to start again! At least it didn’t fly off as that would have been major awks. I could hear them all moaning saying “it was that girl there”.. bitch please, I am all woman!!

As we all know Santa likes a beer so after my bollocking we went to the oldest Irish tavern in NYC. Sawdust all over the floor added to the ambiance and Santa enjoyed quality controlling the dark and light beers.

I have always wanted to try a cronut so I marched the rents to a bakery famous for them; and it didn’t dissapoint. The VALRHONA DULCEY CHOCOLATE GINGERSNAP cronut was delicious and definately worth all the calories! Check out Dominique Ansel bakery for this tasty treat.

As the weather was so much better than Sunday we headed back to the DUMBO area to get a better look at the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge as well as the skyline. This is the perfect place to capture sunsets over the city as well as the famous view of Manhattan Bridge framed by buildings either side. Momma was able to use her new toy (it’s a camera you filthy animals) and got lots of amazing photos.

We had a chilly walk back across the Brooklyn bridge into Manhattan, back to the room for a cheeky charge before heading to a brewery for tonight’s food and a final stop in Times Square. Santa was offered a CD by somebody in the street but unfortunately didn’t seem to understand the etiquette and didn’t realise this CD wasn’t free. Marching off with said CD and he was chased by a very angry man who was not the sort to mess with!

Bags are now all packed ready for the last day tomorrow 😭

NYC 3

gingertravellerblog1 Comment

32000 steps today and finally in bed ☺ Thank God for the epic breakfast this morning as recommended by Biff! Diet definately starts tomorrow…..

This morning we borough-hopped over to Queens to get a view of the Manhattan skyline. The parks around the here are full of ‘body goals’. They definately don’t start their day with a large portion French toast….. We also visited Flushing Meadows Corona Park; home to Queens Zoo. We didn’t have a visit but were able to catch a cheeky glimpse of a bear through the fence. It’s also home to the Unisphere; one of the borough’s most iconic symbols.

One of the bridges we haven’t really seen on our previous visits is the Queensboro Bridge (although today I have seen it from every angle possible) So we decided to walk across it then get the Roosevelt Island Tramline to Roosevelt Island. Here you get great views of Manhattan and Queens so it’s definately somewhere to add to your itinerary.

This evening (after yet another Maccies) I took the rents to the arse end of Brooklyn to enjoy some Christmas lights. Residents of Dyker Heights go all out decorating their properties to get you into the festive spirit. It’s a bit of a trek from the subway and I was beginning to think they couldn’t be arsed this year as we walked past bare houses. Luckily we found them and enjoyed a good hour of inflatable snowmen and fabulous lights.

NYC 2

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

26000 steps later and another day done in The Big Apple. As with tradition we started the day off by getting our faces on a billboard in Times Square.

This morning was all about district hopping. Starting at Flatiron and moving through Greenwich, Meatpacking, High Line and down to the Financial district. Unfortunately it was Soggy Sunday so most of it was spent umbrella dodging. These areas are a lot quieter to what you’d find around places like Times Square so is nice to escape the hustle and bustle. We managed to stumble across the Magnolia Bakery and as the queue wasn’t out the door, we had to quality control the cakes. Lovely cake but even for me there was slightly too much buttercream!

Santa has found a new love for photography; I didn’t think it was possible to take so many angles of the Flatiron building.

This afternoon we headed over to Brooklyn and the DUMBO area to check out the Manhattan Bridge. Again Mother Nature was in a strop and decided to add a thick layer of fog across the East River. It did however create a very eerie atmosphere which made for some great photos.

As darkness fell we headed back into Manhattan to finally see the Rockerfeller Tree which was still being decorated when we were last here. The area is so so busy but it’s easy to see why. The tree is fabulously festive and the Saks light show was beautiful. There was even a proposal on the ice rink – the 3rd we’ve seen today!

Dinner tonight was something I have wanted to do for ages; Ellen Stardust Diner. The 40 minute queue was so worth it as were treated to the most fabulously camp show full of Broadway and Disney. To top it off I had an enormous burger and brownie. Bring on the poo knife!

New York New York

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

This morning as per tradition we arrived at the airport 4 hours early. Santa was getting hangry so we headed straight for the breakfast. Momma couldn’t finish all hers so Santa of course offered to help. Unfortunately he got a bit too excited and the sausage ended up on the floor. Santa’s pal Martin just happened to be in T5 at the same time; what are the chances! So was lovely to have a catch up.

The flight over was pleasant. One day I will do enough bank to have a bed at the front with White Company bedding, posh cutlery and gormet cuisine. Instead we settled for chicken with a herby roll. I decided to watch the only film suitable for a Christmas break in The Big Apple – Home Alone 2. This cheered me up after I had a recliner in front and a kicker behind.

A pissy subway ride later and we arrived in Times Square. We decided to visit the 9/11 museum this evening as we haven’t been able to do it the past 2 times and I would definately recommend that you do this. They say you will never forget where you were the day it happened. I know we won’t as it was the day before Mommas 40th. The museum is huge and full of stuff donated from families and recovered items from the site. Its so quiet walking round; you can only hear our footsteps and the recordings of family members as they recall what happened. I could have easily spent so much longer in there.

Dinner tonight was the always inventive Mcdonalds. After being up for over 24hrs it was definately worth the beyond ridic price for it.

Last day of another incredible adventure

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

Today I had planned a lie in, but the noise of the local traffic had other ideas. I didn’t mind too much, today was all about being lazy.

Yesterday I bought a ‘lucky moonstone ring’ but at the price I paid, I’m 99.9% it’s not real. It didn’t however bring me any luck today as I fell over in the sea and cut my knee, got very badly sunburnt, walked into the sunbed and bruised my shin and got bitten on the arse cheek by a mosquito. Thank God for aloe as I am currently very much on fire.

Decided to treat myself to a full body massage as well. No whale music here, just the sound of all the local tuktuk. It was so relaxing until she turned me onto my back, took the towel off and started massaging my stomach. She was edging ever so close to the boobies.. I think she saw my shocked ‘please don’t touch the nips’ face and decided to move onto the shoulders instead.

During our walk along the beach we were joined by some more local wildlife; the cows! It was nice to see some well kept animals rather than the scabby dogs.

Santa has enjoyed plenty of beer and wine today as he took full advantage of happy hour. We sat and watched the last sunset, enjoyed another varied buffet dinner, quality controlled the whole of desert corner and got the cases packed ready for an early start and long long day of travelling tomorrow.

Nilwala & Galle Fort

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

This morning Santa was left in bed whilst we went on a boat! Again we were treated to an array of wildlife as we cruised down the Madu River, including Kingfishers, fruit bats and water monitors. We were taken to cinnamon island where we watched them prepare… you’ve guessed it… cinnamon sticks and oil. I will never look at a cinnamon stick in the same way again due to amount of work that actually goes into it!

After the boat safari we headed to a turtle hatchery and conservation site and were able to see babies that had been born this morning 😍 we were able to hold some that were three days old, as well as seeing the work the project does with turtles who have been injured. They even had albino turtles which unfortunately could never survive in the wild. It was great to see their work and how passionate they were about the turtles.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at two of the monuments Sri Lanka has in memory of the 2004 Tsunami. I hadn’t really thought about Sri Lanka being affected by it, but 30,196 lost their lives here alone. Passing through the village where the monuments stand and you see empty houses where whole families lost their lives and they have been left untouched since that day.

We got back to the hotel and found Santa who had been sunning his rhino skin by the pool and beach. We grabbed a tuktuk and headed back to Galle Fort to do some shopping. A few ice creams and fridge magnets later and we hopped back into a tuktuk to tackle the rush hour traffic. I think I might invest, they manage to dodge everything!

This evening alcohol was back on the menu so we enjoyed cocktails and beer whilst watching the sun go down over the ocean. It doesn’t get much better than that!