Travels: Dubai

I love visiting new places, every time I go on a little adventure, I feel like I come back a little richer. I came across a quote on Instagram today by Jaime Lyn Beatty that said, "Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul" I have to agree 100%. Travel is like soul food - it opens your mind and has the power to re-inspire.  I have previously blogged about my travels to Paris, Amsterdam, New York and Florence.  Last week, I was fortunate enough to go to Dubai for a couple of days and although my stay was short, it was well worth the visit. Dubai has never been on my travel list, I had preconceptions that I wouldn't enjoy it because it was only about shopping malls and I'm someone who prefers art galleries, museums and of course the beach. There are a ton of shopping malls..in fact Dubai Mall is the world's largest mall, but there are also lovely beaches and a marina and Abu Dhabi is an hour and a half away which is home to the amazing Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which I would love to visit one day. I also love that Dubai is a bit of melting pot of different nationalities. The trip was a good reminder for me on the importance of dropping your expectations and pre-conceptions and really to make your own mind up by seeing for yourself.  I look forward to visiting Dubai again in the future. Here are a few pictures from my travels.I stayed at Grand Excelsior Hotel in the Al Basha area of Dubai, which I have to say serves a lovely breakfast and has great spacious rooms as well as a pool on the roof.Lovely mosaic floor in the hotel lobby...Quick selfie in the hotel room...Should have really ate local food... but I was hungry and I spotted a Japanese restaurant...Beach and skyscrapers...Jumeirah Beach also known as JBR Beach is such a lovely and just a few minutes away from Marina Walk...If you look really closely, you can just see the paragliders up in the sky...The sunset was beautiful..Dubai Marina...Location: Dubai, United Arab EmiratesHotel: Grand Excelsior HotelAirlines: Air France and KLMPhotography: Tanya WeekesSpecial thanks to Lloyd Frontline for the shots of me on the beach.