Theatrical kids

Last week both kids' classes put on shows. Not really Xmas shows, given the country we're in, but they ended with a Xmas song. Unfortunately I (Andrew) missed Jaime's show - but Delanie took some wonderful photos as you can see. Jaime has certainly moved on from the shy and stubborn little girl that wouldn't sing or even move at Kindy in Whitby!

I may be towards the back, but the spotlight loves me....

Don't you love the concentration?

And more....

Spotlight hogger

My favourite - look at her trying her heart out

Jack also did really well. He and Daniel (pictured below) were wonderful when they stood up to tell the whole auditorium about the weather in Austria.

Jack and Hannah

Jack and Daniel doing their thing

Jack and some of his classmates

Merry Xmas to all.

Jack's Greek Birthday

Jack celebrated his seventh birthday in Athens. Here are his words about the day....
"It was my birthday when we were in Athens. We had a great day. First I opened my extraordinary presents, then we went bowling at a place called Cosmic Bowling, then we had some scrumptious ice cream. They were decorating the mall for Christmas. Daddy wanted to take me to a bar called Hooters to celebrate my birthday - it was in the same mall we were in - but we didn't go in. Daddy said it would be fun - but I didn't see any owls.

After that we went to the movies, and saw New Moon. Jaime and Mum loved it but Dad and I were throughly bored. Then we walked to dinner in the pouring rain. We had to buy umbrellas. from a man selling them on the street. We then went back to the hotel and had some of the amazing Grand Prix birthday cake that Kylie had got made for me.


I'm still no good at blowing the candles out - Daddy had to help me.


It was my best birthday ever. The cake was also the best cake we had ever tasted. We had some everyday for the next few days. I was sad to give the rest back to Kylie".

Greece!

We got back yesterday from a week in Athens - visiting Del's friend Kylie and her husband and two beautiful girls, and having a look around "the old stuff" (Jack's words). We had such a wonderful time - the weather was wonderful (only one day and two evenings of rain - one of which we got drenched in!), it was great to spend time with Kylie and her family, the food is fantastic, and Athens just has an energy about it that is wonderful.
The trip started in a rush for me (Andrew) - just landed, picked up at the airport, then left Delanie to check in while I was whisked away for an afternoon and evening experiencing Greek food, Greek coffee, Dutch beer, and football Pirareus style - watching the local team Ethnicos play. A great experience - chanting, yelling at the ref, fireworks, streamers thrown onto the pitch, having to go outside the stadium beside the road to have a leak because there were no toilets open inside the stadium, and flares and hugs from the guy next door to you when Ethnicos scored! I am now a diehard Enthnicos fan - they're second in the league and playing this Sunday. I need to find a way to find out the results here in Dubai....
Below is the view from our hotel balcony. The Acropolis looms over you when in central Athens - and is an awesome thing to see.

Jack and Jaime on the steps outside the hotel. The weather was coolish, but only really cold at night. After 11 months in Dubai it was kind of cool to rug up at night. Delanie wore shoes (not sandals) for the first time in about 10 months!
On Day two Kylie and her family took us on a trip across to Aegina - an island close to Athens. The weather again was very kind. There are some very beautiful spots even this close to the mainland - as you can see below.

When we arrived at Aegina we were greeted with the most beautiful village - the colours and architecture just about made me stand still. Even in late November the place was buzzing - it must be crazy during summer.

A friend of Kylie's husband's has a holiday home there - with the most amazing outlook, as you can see in the picture below. The water is breathtakingly clear - and at this time of year breathtakingly cold!

But - as you can see below, we just had to have a swim. Jaime handled it pretty well. Jack developed a mild case of hypothermia - well you would think that from the way that he carried on! I had no swimming gear, so asked to borrow something. Got given the tiny tight little things you can see below....couldn't really say no. Then had it pointed out to me that I should be feeling very good about wearing them - they were PRADA! Probably cost more than all the clothing I left sitting back at the house. First and last time I will wear Prada I reckon. First and last time I will wear togs that small as well....

After the swim we wandered into the township for a (very) leisurely lunch. Fantastic - the Greeks know how to live. Plates of food just kept coming - fish, calamari, octopus, spinach-like stuff (can't pronounce it), beetroot salad, fried cheese, amazing Greek salad..... fussy pants Delanie even ate some!

Actually Delanie was very good with the food - she loved Tzatziki, Greek salad, their wonderful potato salad, and souvlaki. She found a local cafe the first evening with Kylie in the Plaka, and we must have gone back to eat there 7 or 8 times. I don't think it had anything to do with the fake Prada and Guess handbags in the market just outside.... although a few of those did join us in the suitcase on the way home.

Next day we wandered around a bit and then went up the Acropolis. It is an amazing place, and we were lucky to see it on a day when the weather was just gorgeous. It's not too much of a hike up there, but if I had a dollar for every time Jaime complained about being tired, we could've stayed for another week!

That night I had a real treat. Kylie's husband is a good friend of Marc Anthony - yep Marc Anthony who is Jennifer Lopez's husband! So - I was able to meet Marc at the hotel where he was staying in the Penthouse Suite, go backstage at the concert then spend a bit of time in the dressing room afterwards before he got on the private plane back to LA. Watched videos of his kids on his Blackberry. Nice dude. Then went to coolest club in Athens where I was the oldest ugliest and poorest guy in the room. A really amazing evening - thanks to Kylie's husband.

Needless to say, the next morning I was quite fragile.... and even after Delanie kindly took the kids out for the morning I wasn't too keen on the planned trip to a Monastery/Church that Delanie had been to when in Athens with Ian and Viv as a child. A few hundred steps to the start of the cable car to the top just about did for me, but after that I started to feel more human. Below you can see the walking path to the top - which Delanie remembers from more than 20 years ago when she was there.

We did a bus tour of Athens for two days and saw lots of old things. It was nice to see some fat people again also.... as in Dubai everyone is skinny.

On our last morning we walked to Thessio and had a look at the Temple of Fire it was stunning. It looks like the Partheon. We then sat in the sun and had a drink each, actually Jaime didn't have a drink so just 3 drinks ordered and it cost over $50 Kiwi. Lucky it was nice sitting in the sun. Why is the Euro so damned strong!

All in all a great place, and we had so much fun. Every one of us wants to go back soon.

Jaime's Birthday

On 24 November, our little Princess Jaime turned 5 years old. Delanie had already organised a 10 pin bowling party for Jack's birthday in December, and, upon hearing this, Jaime decided that she would like the same. So, we wandered into the Mall of the Emirates one morning, and joined 8 little girls to play bowling. Lots of fun actually - many different bowling styles on show, some more like shot putting than bowling, but with the sides on the lanes up, most quite effective.
Below, Sophie, Ella and Jaime ham it up for the camera.

Big smile from Jaime before she bowls - she assures me that this one was a strike.

Jaime and Benthe below - blonde and dark and both cute as buttons.

In the evening we went to have fish and chips at Barasti as a family. Jaime (right here beside me) says "Daddy shared his fish and chips with me".

At the end of a very big day, Jaime fell asleep in the car on the way back home.

A final message from Jaime. "Lots of love, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx".

Jebel Hafeet

Very hard to do Jebel Hafeet any justice at all in either words or pictures. You drive about 90 minutes from Dubai to another Emirate called Al Ain (which is a lovely place - ancestral home to the ruling family in Abu Dhabi, and quite green in many places). It's always less humid here, but often hotter. Anyway, you drive through the city of Al Ain and get to Jebel Hafeet - a simply huge (relative to the rest of the flat desert) rock mountain. There's something kind of Ayrs Rock about the place - it is so different and seems so out of place compared to the desert.
The drive up is actually pretty sedate - we had heard all sorts of horror stories about the road, but it's dual lane, well sealed and frankly 1000 times better than any ski road I have been on in NZ. I guess, compared to the 3,4, 5 or 6 lane each motorways you drive on here most of the time (with no corners) it could be a little daunting.
We stopped partway up to look at the view - with the dry air you can see for miles and miles, and see just how high Jebel Hafeet is compared to the rest of the place - it has been a stronghold for hundreds of years.

Jaime and Alexa posed halfway up - not sure what Grandad (taking the photos) said, but Jaime certainly reacted....

There is a very nice hotel close to the top, where we had a bite to eat, and walked around a bit to look at the facilities. Just a really interesting setting - similar to many of the resorts we have seen here, but the only one at the top of a mountain!

We had a lovely lunch there. And it wasn't just lovely because we had a kids table and an adults table...

Twins separated at birth?

When you get right to the top there is a huge cobbled parking area (big enough and empty enough that Ryan, Alexa and Jaime all got turns at driving the Land Rover - a long way from the edge I might add).

From that parking area you get a wonderful view of a private residence, right at the top of the Mountain (photo below taken from a parking area slightly lower down). Absolutely amazing engineering - makes some of the houses perched on Mt Vic in Wellington look kind of amateurish.

We think the house belonged to the late Sheik Zayed - the father of the Emirates, who pulled everyone together, and created the United Arab Emirates and set the programme for development in the region. It is very clear that it's a private residence - there is strictly "No Admissiton". I bet the spelling is right in Arabic.

Truly cool place, well worth the visit.

Beach (otherwise entitled Jaime's master stroke)

The beach just down from the Burj Al Arab is really lovely. We are very lucky to be able to just jump in the car, drive 10 minutes, and go to a beach and swim in water that you would be very grateful to have at most resorts you'd go to. The only downsides are that for 3 months of the year it's too hot to be there after about 9.30am (which makes getting out of bed on the weekend a challenge - at least for those over 6 years old) and the rubbish and cigarette butts. Luckily there has been a bit of a focus on this lately and things are being cleaned up.
Unfortunately, Jack and Jaime were supposed to be back at school while Ryan, Cailin and Alexa were here, so the three Broadleys were to go to the beach with Nana and Grandad without the Bodys. Jaime was having none of this so, in her words, she "did a bommit in the car park at school, so had to come home, but now I'm fine". Nice work - so she got to the beach as well.
Nana and Cailin in front of the Burj Al Arab

Sometimes there are no waves at all, but a few this time so Ryan got to show his prowess on the boogie board.

Jaime and Alexa. "See Jaime, white girls CAN jump".

"I am so stoked that I can bommit sometimes when I need to. That sucker Jack is still at school..."

Cailin - sometimes full of grace, sometimes not.

Oh - and if you have any questions about where Damian and Tracy were when everyone else was at the beach, try bed.

Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

Another trip to Abu Dhabi to see the Grand Mosque - this time to show the Broadleys round - and it didn't disappoint. An over zealous security guard tried to stop the women (Tracy mum and I) from walking into the outskirts of the Mosque without our Abayas. He insisted that our husbands must go and get them for us and we were to stay well outside in the scorching heat. I informed him that this being my third visit here I knew better than him and ignored him and carried on. Never did like being told what to do especially by a male (Andrew here - can confirm that). So - we got all dressed up and went off to explore this amazing place. Jaime and Jack wore their own clothing. School heritage day finally came in handy.

Cailin looked gorgeous.

Daddy and Jack looking the part. Both have had haircuts since then...

The 3 youngest cuddling up.

Looking down one of the corridors.

On the way to the Mosque there are some interesting sights. The bridge below was to be completed a long time ago - it is supposed to be a very elegant arched structure when complete. However it has taken years to work out how to get the arch up without it falling over during construction and we think it has gone to court now to work out who is going to front up with the money to pay for all the extra design work and scaffolding. Very funny. That's what happens when designers get too cute.

The building below is by most people called either "the Coin"or "the Lozenge". It is going to be Aldar's headquarters (Aldar is a big Abu Dhabi-based developer that Andrew's company does some work for). Very cool looking but probably not very cost effective.

The bridge and the coin are very close to the mosque. We had lunch with Tracy's old school friend Roy and his wife Nicky and son before we started back. It was a great day out, and the drive was a lot easier than the one back from Jebel Hafeet.