Sofya deluxe

This month I’ve been invited to co-host the monthly Travel Link-Up, and we’re talking about home, which is you all know by now is something I’ve spoken about regularly given my constant moving around. I’ve frequently told you about my second home of Australia (even writing about Perth for a Travel Link-Up back in 2015), and so this time I wanted to tell you more about my home in England.

For most of my life that home was in the pretty market-town of Guildford in Surrey. We moved there when I was 2-years-old, and apart from my four years spent in Australia, my family didn’t move away from Guildford permanently until last year. These days, my family home is on the border of North Devon and Cornwall, and although I spend most of the year at my home in London, I wanted to tell you all about our new family home and why I’ve fallen in love with it!

When our parents told us they were selling the family home, my brother and I were pretty devastated. Guildford was where we grew up and holds a pretty special place in our hearts. But when we started looking at houses in Devon with them it got us SO excited. They eventually found a beautiful Victorian farm on the border of Devon and Cornwall, and thanks to the lockdown I recently spent two months there until we were legally allowed to drive distances again and I could finally go home to London. So, here’s what I discovered about our new home while I was stuck there in lockdown…
Beautiful countryside everywhere
The new house is in a rural part of the country, my parents are literally in a tiny hamlet that doesn’t even have a shop or pub, and they’re surrounded by fields and countryside. I can’t even tell you how nice it was to go for a walk and see so much nature; the beautiful lanes with verges filled with huge prehistoric ferns and pretty wildflowers, great green trees towering over with their branches intertwining above you, and colourful birds and butterflies everywhere. As well as the local lanes and fields, there’s also numerous beauty spots and national parks nearby, including Bodmin Moor which is over the border in Cornwall, and Dartmoor and Exmoor in Devon.



The most incredible fresh seafood
Devon is famous for its local crab, and although we only had it once during lockdown because there was a shortage, it was glorious! As well as crab, the fisherman also catch lobster, and each week we would go to the fish shop at Widemouth Bay to buy fresh Pollack, Sea bream or Sea bass. The fish is brought in fresh that morning by the local fishermen, so you know it’s the best quality possible. I can’t even begin to tell you just how incredible the quality of the fish was!
Breathtaking sandy beaches
Britain is known for it’s pebble beaches. When I lived in Australia, EVERYONE would ask about the pebble beaches! But actually we’re pretty lucky to have some really beautiful golden sandy beaches around our little island. North Devon and Cornwall has some of the best in the country. I adored weekly walks along nearby Summerleaze and Crooklets beach in Bude, and Widemouth is also a family favourite. Further north within Devon is Woolacombe, Instow, and the little hidden beach of Broad Sands, and further south into Cornwall is the hidden beach of Port Gaverne near Port Isaac, and of course Mawgan Porth.



Friendly and welcoming locals
Oh my gosh, everyone is SO friendly! I feel as though Devon and Cornwall’s residents are similar to people from ‘Up North’ – everyone chats to you and starts a conversation. It’s so different to London and the home counties and so refreshing! Also I’m obsessed with the accents – but maybe that’s just my ancestry coming out (our family are originally from Devon and the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall).
North Devon is also very dog-friendly, with plenty of dog-friendly beaches and dog-friendly attractions so you don’t have to leave your dog in the car or in your home/accommodation while you go out and have all the fun!
Everyone supports small local businesses
They don’t have a huge amount of chain places in Devon and Cornwall. The bigger towns and cities have chains, but all of the smaller towns definitely don’t. Even in Bude, the only chains there was a Holland & Barrett, and a Costa Coffee. But even their department store is independent, and all of the restaurants are independent. I noticed there’s just this huge amount of love and support for small local businesses, which is so lovely to see, rather than the boring samey chains that have taken over London and the home counties areas.
I absolutely loved spending two months down at our new family home in Devon, and if you fancy visiting too, check out their beautiful dog-friendly holiday barn which is across from our house and set within 20 acres of fields, wildflower meadows, and woodland 🙂 I used it as an office while I was working from home down there, but it has three bedrooms, is just 15-minutes from the beach and is perfect for a UK staycation!

With the Coronavirus outbreak forcing us all indoors, I’ve been doing very life-adminy tasks in my spare time. One of these has been sorting out my multitude of external hard drives containing precious photos and videos from the past almost fifteen years of my life (yep, some of the files I’ve kept since I was 14 years old). Anyway, I was sorting through a folder the other day and stumbled across a word doc simply titled ‘article’. I clicked open wondering what it was, and was shocked to find ‘Perth: The best places to shop, eat, surf, beach, swim etc’, that I had written on 3rd October 2007 – a month after I started high school there.

Me in the Australian bush in 2007
As a teenager I used to write random stories and articles all the time just for fun with no intention of ever publishing them anywhere, and as I had moved to Perth mere weeks before it was written, I guess I thought I would write a guide to Perth, that then stayed hidden away and forgotten about for 13 years. Well, it’s hidden away no more! I’ve decided to make 16-year-old me very happy, and publish it here on my travel blog (as a 16-year-old I NEVER thought I would have a travel blog someday, let alone write pieces about Perth for big publications like Red Magazine!).

The grammar isn’t perfect, the spelling isn’t perfect. But I really wanted to publish it without editing it, so please excuse the errors. It made me laugh reading it and seeing what was popular back in 2007 (Uggs for example). I also clearly only had one thing on my mind: Australian men, haha! Also, I was clearly always destined to go into a career in writing and SEO (how funny that I managed Tourism Australia’s Global SEO account for 18 months), because the entire article is SEO optimised with clear headings and subheadings!

Me at the top of our road in 2007


So without further ado, here is a Guide to Perth, written by 16-year-old me in October 2007…
Perth: The best places to shop, eat, surf, beach, swim etc.
I started coming to Australia when I was 7 years old, nearly 10 years ago now. I don’t remember much from that first experience, and what I do remember is now unimportant as the country has changed so much. Lets just say, it has grown and adapted to the modern world! I’ve never actually been outside Western Australia, but have been all up and down the west coast. I moved to Perth, WA, 5 weeks ago, and have settled in with the way of life nicely! The people are great, the beaches are great, the guys are hot and the weather is fantastic. Last Saturday it reached up to a high of 30 degrees C, and it’s only the beginning of spring here.
We had the chance to move here a few years ago, when I was 13, but at that age I wasn’t ready, I was only just finding my feet in Secondary school and had all the usual questions running through my head, ‘What if we don’t come back!’ ‘What if everyone forgets me’ ‘What if no one in Australia likes me!’ So we didn’t. But last year, I felt I was finally ready for something new. A new way of life, new people, new friendships, a new experience. The type of experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life, and hopefully never regret!
We visited Aussie land in Easter 07 to look for schools. I didn’t like the idea of going to an all girls school (what on earth is the point of moving to Australia, if you’re not going to meet Aussie guys!?) so eventually we decided on the Catholic co-ed one at Mt Claremont, it was my perfect school! It felt right, I felt the warm vibes you feel when you’re looking at houses and you know you’ve found the right one, I felt at ease, comfortable, as if it was meant to be.
As we said goodbye to family and friends and boarded the plane, I was unsure if we were doing the right thing. But in my heart I knew we were, after all it was only for 2 years, it wasn’t forever. When we touched down at Perth airport, I could feel my heart warm with excitement, and couldn’t wait to find our own house and start school, yes that’s right; I couldn’t wait to start school!! I actually WANTED to start school!
On my first day I met some of the kindest and most welcoming people I have ever met, everyone was fascinated by me, and for some reason they all loved my accent and kept asking me to say Scone, because I say it Scone where as they say it as if it were spelt, Scon, if you get what I mean! I felt settled after the first couple of days, and loved every minute of meeting new people and learning about their way of life. They taught me about the best places to shop, eat, surf, beach, swim etc etc.
Shopping
The town of Subiaco (north of the river) and ‘Garden City’ in Booragoon (south of the river) are the best places to shop, with the little boutique shops in Subi, and the department stores housing the usual designer gear in Garden City (note to self; must buy those ultra cool ‘Bonds’ fashion underwear in Myer and David Jones).
Eating
Subiaco and Fremantle are the best places to eat, with their little cafes and smart restaurants. Fremantle has a really good brewery restaurant called ‘Little Creatures’ where all the gap year students tend to eat, drink and work. I also found two incredible little cafes, one on Floreat beach and one on City Beach, both overlooking the crystal clear ocean and golden sands. If you ever get the chance to go to City Beach café, I advise the giant Silk Chocolate Truffles, heaven!
Surfing
Trigg beach and Scarborough beach are the best places to surf! Before you jump to conclusions, don’t panic! Scarborough beach is nothing like the English Scarborough beach, this Scarborough beach is pure heaven, complete with the perfect beach lifestyle and hot surfers to go with it!
Places to go
Rottnest Island is a must see, even if it’s just a day trip! The best beach there is Fays bay, but watch out for sand flies around midday, they can give some pretty nasty bites! On Rotto they have Quokkas, which are little marsupial animals that come out in mass at night and are very tame so you can easily go up (if you’re gentle and quiet) and pet them. If you go up by the lighthouse at night you can see the Milky Way, which is pretty spectacular, make sure to use a very slow shutter speed on your camera though, and make sure to take a small tripod if you want a good photo of this rare view.
Along the West coast, are Karri Valley (where the Gloucester tree is) , Albany (both down south) and Coral Bay (up north). Driving across Australia is fascinating, whether it’s counting dead Kangaroos along the side of the road, stopping off in a little old colonial town that seems like a horror movie when you step back in time, or driving through bush fires. It’s the little things like that that you remember and treasure.
Coral Bay is incredible, you can walk out to the coral, and all you need is a snorkel and mask on you head and you’ll be swimming with the fish in no time! Just watch out for the snapper’s though, they tend to go for your fingers and toes! Various people I know have actually said that they prefer Coral Bay to the Great Barrier Reef, because of the difference between how long it takes to actually get out to the coral reef.
Now, Karri Valley and Albany are way down south, and on the way to these places, if you drive through the red dirt tracks and through the farms and homestead then you can easily pick up a pair of REAL UGGS, for less than $150 AUD (around £65)!! Everyone say YAY!! Uggs actually originate from WA, and so therefore the only real ones available in the world, are the ones actually from WA. So basically the ones you buy off the sheep farms.
In Karri Valley you have the Gloucester tree, which is the tallest tree in WA, I think…! You can climb up it, and when you reach the top you get a certificate (you may now be saying ‘oooo a certificate, yippee’ but every certificate helps in life ya know!). Also at dusk you can drive around and see Kangaroos ‘boxing’ in the fields.
Albany is breathtaking, literally! It’s fairly small, but it’s beautiful! One of the best beaches there is Goode Beach, white sand and turquoise ocean. There are also various vineyards you can visit and take tours and go wine tasting.
Lingo
Don’t make a fool out of yourself by thinking Woopwoop is a real place!! It is not! It is a word they use for ‘In the middle of nowhere’! Also out here they call flip-flops, ‘thongs’ so if you see, ‘no thongs’ on the outside of a café/restaurant it means, no flip-flops!
Travelling, Sport, Helpful tips and Wildlife
If you’re travelling round Australia you might find Route 1 useful! It goes all the way round (just cutting off a little bit somewhere)…and back again! Also don’t be afraid of the wildlife, I have never seen any snakes or sharks, and the spiders are fine as long as you don’t touch them or disturb them!
If you like sea life, you can swim with wild dolphins at Rockingham and also go diving etc at Coral Bay and round Rottnest. Go to Trigg beach for surf lessons and DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT leave your shoes outside at night (unless they’re flip-flops)!! If you do something very nasty and dangerous will crawl into it and in the morning you will get a nasty surprise when you put your foot into the shoe! Food and drink are generally cheaper out here, and so are some items of clothing depending where you go. Trips and activities are also much cheaper than what they would be in the UK.
Most of all HAVE FUN, and don’t worry about dangers the whole time, coz it’ll ruin your trip, just be sensible when it comes to the wildlife. Perth city is only worth a day’s visit, it’s only really one street and just has a Myer (department store) and souvenir shops. Kings park is a great place to go for picnics and a BBQ on the beach is compulsory for all visitors out here, big lol! Also you can visit the football (Aussie Rules) stadium in Subiaco, which is home to the AFL 2006 premieres team, West Coast Eagles.

When I returned to Dubai in October, I decided to tie-in my trip with another country nearby. I’d already visited Oman and Qatar, so next on the list was Bahrain! The Kingdom of Bahrain is a tiny island nation in the Persian Gulf, and is actually an archipelago. The capital city of Manama has seen a huge amount of construction work over the past few years, but has a lot to offer visitors and there are some beautiful and interesting sights in the surrounding area. I had the best time and absolutely loved my short time visiting Bahrain as a solo female traveller, so wanted to share how you too can have an incredible 24 hours in the city, whether you’re a solo traveller or not.

I didn’t have a whole lot of time in the Middle East this time due to work, so I only stayed in Bahrain for one night on my way back to London after spending five days in Dubai visiting friends. I timed my flights so I arrived just before lunchtime on a Sunday and left late Monday night. With very little time in the city I booked into the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain and also booked a half-day tour online with Visit Bahrain’s tourist board.
When I’m travelling in a new country by myself I like to book onto either a private or small group tour. Especially when there is no or very little public transport, I find it just helps me see as much as possible in a short amount of time. I’ve done this before in Oman (where I had a private tour guide from Arabica Orient) and Chiang Mai (where I did the Pamper a Pachyderm group day visit with Elephant Nature Park) and it worked really well!
Where to stay: Ritz-Carlton Bahrain
Day 1
I landed at Bahrain airport, and after getting through immigration, a Maserati Quattroporte whisked me to the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, which is located on the waterfront within the main city of Manama. I checked into my stunning Club Room which overlooked their private beach and lagoon, dropped my bags and freshened up in the luxurious marble bathroom, and then headed back downstairs to the lobby where Visit Bahrain were due to collect me for the half-day desert tour.



The country’s tourist board offer both full-day and half-day tours, and they pick you up and drop you back off at your hotel, so I booked the half-day Desert Tour online a month in advance. I was in Bahrain for such a short amount of time that I didn’t want to miss out on seeing the things I was most interested to see, and thought it was well-priced, costing around £50 for the half-day tour! When the little red minibus arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were just two other people on my tour. Bonus!
Camel Farm
Our first stop was the Camel Farm, and even though camels aren’t native to Bahrain due to it being an island, you can’t visit the Middle East and not see a camel! We were able to get up close to the camels and give them a stroke and the little one decided to nuzzle his nose into my hair haha – you can see below how shocked I was! They were very friendly and it was magical being able to be so close to them, and most of them were laying lazily in the sunshine with the most comical looks on their faces.



Bahrain International Circuit
I was sad to leave the camels behind, but the next stop on our little tour was the International Circuit, where the Bahrain Grand Prix is held. Our tour guide was super informative and provided us with loads of fascinating titbits and facts. For example, the first corner of the circuit is notorious for being incredibly difficult and it’s where the majority of crashes happen!
The circuit also posed a very unique problem – due to the circuit being positioned in the middle of a desert, there were initially issues with the sand blowing onto the circuit. Thankfully however, the organisers were able to spray a special coating over the track and surrounding sand to prevent the issue.



Bahrain Oil Fields and the First Oil Well
After a quick stop at the International Circuit shop, we then escaped the intense heat and climbed back into the luxury air-conditioned minibus to drive out towards the oil fields. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect as I had never seen an oil field before, but it was exactly what they look like in the movies: a dystopian-esque desert landscape with gigantic steel structures emerging from the sand, bright orange flares of fire billowing, and huge robotic arms drilling and extracting the oil from the ground.
We arrived at the First Oil Well, which first started spurting oil in 1932, and snapped some photos. Unfortunately the small BAPCO Dar Al Naft Oil Museum is only open to the public on Fridays, and as it was a Sunday we couldn’t visit, but I’ve been told by a friend that it’s well worth a visit if you’re able to visit on a Friday.

Tree of Life
Back in the van we climbed and drove a short distance to the Tree of Life, a Prosopis juliflora tree that is estimated to be over 400 years old that sits alone in the middle of the barren Arabian desert. This was one of my main reasons for visiting Bahrain, and it was a magical sight to see; this lone tree standing proud defying all odds and thriving with no known water source. Although it’s a native tree of North America, many believe that a traveller from the local village in Bahrain travelled to America in the 1500s and brought back a seedling or cutting, planted it in the centre of his village, and it grew into the tree it is today while the village itself no longer exists (pottery dating back 500 years has been found in the ground around the tree).There are multiple theories as to how it has stayed alive all these centuries. One is that because its roots are around 50 metres deep, it may be deep enough to reach some sort of water source. Another is that it’s located in what was once the Garden of Eden, and that it has some sort of mystical water source! And finally, many locals believe it is protected by Enki, the God of water.

There were very few visitors there and it was really lovely to have some quiet time with such an awe-inspiring piece of nature. Our tour guide told us to pour water over its trunk and give it a pat, as legend says this will allow you to return to Bahrain someday.

A’Ali Pottery Village
Our final stop on the Visit Bahrain Desert Tour was the A’ali village, a place just as famous for burial mounds as it is pottery. Here you can watch them make the pottery by hand, and choose a piece to take home with you for a very reasonable price! Sadly I didn’t have any space in my luggage, or I would have bought a few of the gorgeous pieces.

Dinner at Cantina Kahlo
When I arrived back from my adventure I was ravenous, so freshened up and head down to Cantina Kahlo – Ritz-Carlton Bahrain’s Mexican restaurant – and I highly recommend you do the same! I enjoyed a really delicious mocktail, and the most divine guacamole along with moreish ceviches. I worked my way through the extensive menu until I was full to bursting!

Day 2
Relax by the Pool and Beach
After my early morning flight and whirlwind tour of Bahrain the previous day, I spent the next day relaxing around the hotel. The morning was spent by the Ritz-Carlton’s multiple swimming pools and their private beach, floating in the shallows of the balmy ocean! The staff at the Ritz-Carlton brought me a little ice bucket with bottled water, and there were also multiple sunscreens for me to choose from to keep my fair skin protected from the harsh Arabian sunshine. They also created a little headrest for me on the sun-lounger with a carefully folded towel tucked into the top!The beach is a lagoon style beach with powder soft sand and clear waters that were so warm it felt like a warm bath! It was absolutely dreamy and just what I needed after a busy few days in Dubai with Nige and Kristina. You can swim over to a little private island on the other side of the lagoon with an even quieter beach, or use the long beach on the main side.

After some time on the beach, it got too hot so I went to sit by the main pool (there’s also an adults-only pool with cabanas which overlooks the beach) and cool off in the cooler swimming pool waters. There were plenty of sun-loungers and umbrellas for shade, and there are also cabanas over the other side of the pool which are perfect if you need more shade or have children. The staff came round with little complimentary fruit juices which was a lovely touch, and you could buy ice-creams from an ice-cream cart. Across from the pool there are also two Jacuzzi’s, which I didn’t use as it was a bit too warm for them.



Have a Massage And Use The Spa
A visit to the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain’s spa is a must. It’s one of the most impressive spas I have ever visited, with a myriad of treatment rooms and various pools to enjoy. While the indoor swimming pool was being renovated when I visited, I enjoyed soaking in the hydrotherapy and thalassotherapy pools, which are both the perfect way to unwind before a relaxing massage. After using the pools I then had a shower before being taken to my treatment room, where I spent a blissful hour enjoying a hot stone massage. It was the best afternoon pre-flight and I was in such a state of relaxation I slept most of the journey home!



Late Lunch at the Hotel
I absolutely loved my lunch at the Ritz-Carlton’s relaxed Asian restaurant, aptly named ‘Thai’. Mostly because they have the exact same funky comfy chairs that we have in the Google office library in London, which made me very excited! But also because the food was just divine. I was treated to spring rolls, a Thai green curry, and the most delicious beef salad! If you’re looking for something a bit lighter, La Plage is the hotel’s stunning restaurant overlooking the Gulf, which offers Arabian and Mediterranean light meals. The views from both Thai and La Plage over the Ritz-Carlton’s beach and the ocean make for a tranquil and enjoyable pre-flight meal.
Visit Bahrain Fort at Sunset
A visit to Manama and Bahrain is not complete without seeing the famous Bahrain Fort. The hotel advised me to visit at sunset, and as my flight wasn’t until around 10pm, I had plenty of time to catch it before my flight. The majestic fort stands stark against the backdrop of the modern city; the high-rise skyline sitting in it’s rightful place behind the awe-inspiring UNESCO World Heritage Site believed to have been the capital of the ancient Dilmun Empire thousands of years before Christ was even born.The fort itself was built on the site by the Portuguese in the 16th Century, and it truly is an incredibly humbling experience to wander the ruins and towers of the fort and think about how humans have continually inhabited this exact location for over five thousand years. I met a couple of lovely people when wandering around who offered to take a couple of photos for me as I was by myself – I’m always so grateful to people who offer to do this! Visiting Bahrain Fort at sunset was the perfect end to a culturally rich and relaxing short-break, and really made my visit that extra bit special.

Dublin’s Docklands are known as the “Silicon Docks,” with the European headquarters of Facebook, Google, and Airbnb all taking up residence here. The Marker Hotel, a sleek geometric building in the middle of Grand Canal Square, is the district’s unofficial landmark. There’s a hip vibe throughout, from the light-filled lobby to the bedrooms bursting with pops of color. You’ll always find some young Dubliners having a drink in the atrium, and on sunny days the rooftop bar is sure to be hopping.

Twenty-six years on, Ellerman House is still everybody’s fantasy bolthole in Cape Town: minutes from the best beaches and the Table Mountain cableway, but close enough to the city and its dynamic food, art, and design scene. Sandwiched between Lion’s Head and the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape Edwardian mansion looks like a private residence from the road and that’s exactly what keeps guests coming back. Owner Paul Harris takes enormous pride in his country—his impressive collection of South African art spans original works from the turn of the last century to current contemporary art. An informal tour of the collection with one of the in-house art experts is a fascinating lesson in the country’s socio-political history. Then there are the 7,500 bottles of rare and vintage South African wines in the cellar, and the indigenous plants sourced from Kirstenbosch (Cape Town’s botanical garden) in the 1.5-acre terraced gardens. Besides the main house, there are two modern, minimalist private villas built into the granite mountainside, as well as a wine gallery, and an excellent little spa.

Sofya deluxe updated their business hours.

Sofya deluxe updated their website address.

Luxury in 24 Hours: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
I recently spent 24 hours in Abu Dhabi before heading to Dubai for a few days, and with not a lot of time in the city I thought I’d tell you all about what I got up to. I’d had a busy few weeks in New York and London, so wanted to use Abu Dhabi to relax as well as see the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and new Louvre Abu Dhabi.

What to wear in Abu Dhabi
When visiting Abu Dhabi it’s important you stay respectful with your choice of clothing, as it is a Muslim country. Some places you visit, such as the Grand Mosque, require you to cover your shoulders, knees, and your hair with a headscarf. The dresses below are all perfect for the requirements! Simply click on each image to go to the product page and purchase or view other similar style dresses. Trousers are also suitable and totally fine, I just always wear dresses because they’re so easy to pack!

Click for more info about Superga Cotu Classic 2750 canvas trainers in grey Click for more info about Fashion Union Plus button front midi shirt dress in gingham-Pink Click for more info about Boohoo exclusive broderie midi shirt dress in white Click for more info about Wednesday's Girl midi shirt dress in check-Navy Click for more info about Gilli floral maxi dress with ruffle detail-Multi Click for more info about Y.A.S Petite stripe square neck tiered midi dress-Multi Click for more info about Fashion Union Plus midi fitted shirt dress in blue floral-Multi


Spending 24 hours in Abu Dhabi

I arrived Wednesday morning and had had a long flight, so checked in to the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, then chilled out by the pool with my book and had a nap. I wasn’t feeling very well as I was unknowingly in the early stages of my second pregnancy (which sadly ended a couple of weeks later the same heartbreaking way as the first – miscarriage SUCKS), so I was completely exhausted, so spent most of the day lazing around the hotel drinking fresh watermelon juice, and managed to eat part of a delicious caesar salad! In the evening though I was determined to push through the jetlag and exhaustion and go to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque for sunset.
Before visiting the mosque I needed to freshen up, and the bathtub in my room was insanely deep so naturally I had to test it out. I was so relaxed I fell asleep though, and woke up in a panic wondering how I didn’t drown myself. Does anyone else have that ‘sh*t I could have drowned’ panic when they wake up from a nap in the bath!?




With the sun slowly dipping in the sky, I got a taxi across the road to the mosque (like Dubai, Abu Dhabi is impossible to walk around), and after changing into one of their Abaya’s I joined the last tour of the day. Timing your visit with a tour is well worth doing as they’re free and I learnt so much! It was really fascinating, and it also allows you to enter half of the mosque that visitors aren’t allowed to wander freely in.
The mosque was finished in 2007, and is large enough to fit almost 41,000 worshippers! The carpet in the main prayer hall is the World’s largest carpet, and took over two years to complete. Apparently they had to ship it into the country from Iran on a military aircraft!! I’ll be doing a separate post soon on visiting the Sheikh Zayad Mosque, as I have hundreds of photos that couldn’t fit into this post and didn’t want to over-fill this one.
As we walked out of the main prayer hall the sunset prayer call began, and it was mesmerizing. Hearing the call to prayer just gives me all the feels. I have no idea what the words are or what they’re saying, but they just sound so beautiful. The tour finished and we were allowed to wander around the public areas of the mosque. The light at night was stunning, but I planned to go back the next morning to see it again in the daylight. I’m actually really glad I did this as the light was completely different.



I headed back to the hotel and decided to try out Barfly by Buddha Bar for dinner. As I was travelling alone I didn’t want a typical restaurant where I would feel lonely, so opted for somewhere with more of a bar/nightlife atmosphere. I definitely made the right choice – I had a lovely dinner with some incredible food (although it consisted of everything you’re not supposed to have whilst pregnant – sushi, sashimi, and alcohol), right on the water beside the canal. Also, it turned out it was ladies night, so I got 50% off my bill and bottomless prosecco (which I didn’t even make full use of – I managed two sips of my glass before feeling sick).



And then after more than 24 hours without a proper sleep, it was time for an early night. The next morning I awoke early, made full use of the buffet breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton, and then got a taxi back over to the Sheikh Zayad Mosque. If you have time I would definitely recommend visiting both during the day and at sunset, as it looks like a totally different building in the different light.

While I was in Abu Dhabi I was desperate to visit the newly opened Louvre Abu Dhabi. I’ve been to the Louvre museum in Paris many, many times over the years, so was excited to see what sort of size the Louvre Abu Dhabi would be and what pieces of art it contained.The Louvre in Paris is absolutely huge, but thankfully the Louvre Abu Dhabi is much smaller, and they have an amazing selection of masterpieces that are all super easy to find. They had works from Bellini, Da Vinci, Monet, Po***ck, Manet, Matisse, Van Gogh, Degas, Gaugin, and hundreds more!Also, all my childhood dreams came true when I saw Whistler’s Mother in real life…yes, THE Whistler’s Mother from the Bean movie!!



Once I’d finished checking out the collection at the Louvre Abu Dhabi I then got a taxi over to Emirates Palace for some lunch. I didn’t have a lot of time left before I had to check out of my hotel and head to Dubai, so I just went to the cafe in the middle of the Emirates Palace and had the most expensive club sandwich I have EVER had! It cost a whole £30, and it didn’t even contain any gold leaf that the Emirates Palace is famous for adding to food and drink – sadly I don’t drink coffee so didn’t get to experience the gold leaf coffee!



If you have more time than I did on this trip, make sure you head to Zaya Nurai Island for a day trip! It’s very close to Abu Dhabi and I absolutely loved it when I went in 2016. If you don’t have a whole day, head to Saadiyat Beach Club for some chill-out time. After Abu Dhabi I spent 3 nights in Dubai with my old boss Nigel and his girlfriend Kristina. I still wasn’t feeling well so we took things easy and it wasn’t anywhere near as wild as my previous Dubai visit. We had a night out at Inner City Zoo the first night, an insane penthouse pool party at FIVE Palm Jumeirah on The Palm the following night, and then a fancy dinner at Sea Fu at the Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach on my last night.

I was struggling massively with food while I was in Dubai and everything I tried to eat was making me sick. Nige bought us burgers on the Friday for lunch and as soon as I smelled them I heaved and couldn’t touch them, he was shouting at me “WHO ARE YOU?” because I’m known for being able to eat a burger ALWAYS. So as soon as I found out I was pregnant I messaged him and was like ‘So I know why I couldn’t eat the burger…’.

As well as the slightly sedate parties, we also did a brunch on the Friday and went back to my favourite bar – Shades at The Address hotel in Dubai Marina, and then went to Nasimi Beach Club at Atlantis The Palm on Saturday afternoon, where we napped in the sunshine and ate some sushi (again).



I won’t be doing a separate post on Dubai as I honestly don’t feel like I can, so this little round-up is all you’ll get. Despite feeling rubbish with crazy exhaustion and sickness, I had a really fun time, drank way too much alcohol which has made me feel incredibly guilty, danced a little too wildly, and then got back to Sydney, found out I was pregnant, and just felt REALLY guilty and awful for it all. I’m not drinking for the foreseeable future purely because the amount of alcohol I consumed made me realise how much damage it can do, and how there is literally no reason or need for me to drink. Anyway, for all of my Dubai posts head over to my older ones (there are loads!)
PIN FOR LATER:

PIN FOR LATER: Spend a luxury 24 hours in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Home to the Sheikh Zayad Mosque and Louvre museum, it's just a one hour drive from Dubai, so makes the perfect day trip or one-night stopover while your visiting Dubai.