miss b's quote

'I haven't been everywhere yet but it's on my list' Susan Sontag

Friday 10 January 2014

miss b loves .........a festive Dubai and record-breaking fireworks.



After spending a traditional Christmas Day at home, we flew out to Dubai on Boxing Day to be greeted by blue skies and warm winter sunshine. What a treat and an escape from the UK storms!


Dubai is a city which embraces different cultures and faiths and this is particularly evident at Christmas time. Christmas trees adorn shopping malls, hotels and residential neighbourhoods. 

Le Royal Meridien Hotel had a range of different styles of trees with one thing in common - glamour! (I thought we had a lot of baubles on our tree until I saw these!!)







The Dubai Mall's gigantic Fairy Tale Castle was attracting as much interest from the adults as the children!




Beautiful window displays .....

Stella McCartney, Tiffany
Patchi and Bateel

Known for its glitz and glamour, this is a place which loves to sparkle. Throughout the year palm trees are dressed in twinkly lights but at Christmas time they really add to the festive ambiance...... 


Two unusual Christmas trees caught my eye........One made from dried pasta at Carluccio's Italian restaurant and café....


....and in Galeries Lafayette, Hey Sugar (one of my favourie cupcake places) had a tree decorated with...knitted cupcakes!


An outdoor Dubai Christmas Festival in early December had welcomed 27,000 visitors with a range of activities including .....a pantomime, carol singing, Santa's grotto and even a snowball fight area!!! 'Snow' in the desert....

via

All these festive touches are a reflection of Dubai as a global, cosmopolitan, multi-cultural and commercially minded city.

New Year's Eve is always a huge celebration in the city  but this year was even more special as Dubai broke the world record for the largest ever firework display.

We headed down to Jumeirah Beach and as the fireworks began there were gasps of amazement from the spectators. It was a breathtaking six minute display with apparently 500,000 fireworks used in a display covering 94km of the city's seafront and illuminating Palm Jumeirah and the World Islands.  
                       

The finale was a stunning artificial 'sunrise' along the seafront - a truly memorable start to 2014!

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope that 2014 is a great year for you all, with good health and much happiness........

Festive desserts at the new
  Maybury gourmet store

We returned home a couple of days ago and I'm just getting back into the routine, looking forward to catching up on my favourite blogs very soon though............

46 comments:

  1. Happy New Year miss b! For an Islamic state, they do Xmas in style. Off to Dubai tomorrow..for the nth time, but will be rediscovering it with my family who all travelled there ahead of me, so it will be different this time :)

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  2. All of the Christmas trees and displays are spectacular, festive and grand. Happy New Year!

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  3. Your Dubai adventures are always intriguing. I love the diversity there, and I have seen some interesting trees, but love how different everyone's Christmas can be, especially with decorating. Incredible video. Happy New Year miss b. xx/Madison

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  4. The fireworks during New Year's Eve was spectacular and record breaking especially the one at the Palm. Happy to hear you got to see it. It's the best time of the year to be here right now especially with the ongoing Dubai Shopping Festival Sale. :)

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  5. Wow! Hard to imagine how it would have been to witness those fireworks firsthand - amazing!

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  6. Love the video! I'm sure it was incredible to see in person. Beautiful decor for the holidays at the top! The trees are all so beautiful. Hope your 2014 is off to a great start! xxleslie

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  7. The holiday season looks to be quite magical in Dubai and those fireworks are quite the show stopper! Thanks so much for sharing. Happy New Year to you!

    Rowena @ rolala loves

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  8. Oh lucky you I had watched the fireworks in Dubai but on the telly. Wishing you and your family a year of health and happiness

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  9. Happy New Year! Stunning photos as always. The Christmas trees are amazing. Love Liz x

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  10. Wow, Dubai looks fantastic. I've never been! I love how festive it looks for the holidays! Wishing you a wonderful New Year and hope 2014 is beautiful! XOXO

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  11. Happy new year! They probably beat London in terms of Xmas trees!

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  12. Amazing Christmas decorations! Great to read that you had a wonderful time away.

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  13. Hi Miss B! Happy New Year! Wish you a marvelous 2014 full of new adventures, travels, joy and peace!:) I enjoyed you trips in Dubai..honestly everytime you talk about it makes me want to go there!:) The trees you spotted are beautiful, especially the one with the dry pasta. The fairytale castle is dreamy! Have watched also the video with the fireworks, outstanding!:) Kisses dear, have a great weekend! xo

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  14. Hi Miss B, hope you had a splendid and fruitful start it the New Year. These trees are so beautiful, firstly I am surprised seeing so many of them in Dubai, not being a country that celebrates Christmas, is it merely for tourists?

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    1. No it's not just for tourists. There's a huge expat population in Dubai and local families also seem to enjoy seeing all the decorations too.

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  15. Happy New Year - your's looks awesome! Dubai at Christmas time is really quite some spectacle! And you've now given me an idea of how to occupy the kids next Christmas - make their own pasta tree! Yay!

    Welcome back :o)

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  16. I just love fireworks
    they cheer me up.

    I've heard so many great and nice things about Dubai
    and your pics are proof of them.

    http://roomsofinspiration.blogspot.com

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  17. Looks like you had another amazing trip to Dubai:) Wishing you a very Happy New Year Miss B!
    ~Anne xx

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  18. Oh you luck girl, how amazing to go to such a place at such a time of year and how beautiful it looks. If I was there I'd be right in there in the snow section - snow and shorts, what a fabulous combination. Well welcome home and happy new year Miss B!
    http://forcailini.blogspot.com

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  19. I wanted to visit Dubai this year in February but unfortunately I have midterms at this time. All those Christmas trees are very interesting indeed but I like more simple decoration. Despite that, I think that Dubai is one of the most attractive places in the world. Nice photos, glad to hear you had a great time there! And it is really strange to see palms and snow at one place! :D

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  20. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my last post. Happy Weekend!

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  21. Lovely decoration!

    www.juliechagas.com

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  22. Oh what fun! The trees are so pretty, and I especially like the pink one with the knitted cupcakes. I would loved to have gone through the Fairy Tale Castle, how exciting. It looks like they are having fun throwing those snowballs.

    I hope the new year is treating you good, my friend.

    Love,
    ~Sheri

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  23. Wow, who would have thought Dubai was such a fun place to celebrate Christmas. Especially love the lit up palm trees! Always love coming along your adventures. Happy New Year Miss b!

    xxKim

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  24. I loved seeing Dubai all dressed up for the holidays and what incredible fireworks! Thanks so much for sharing this Miss B!! Have a wonderful rest of the weekend! xoxo

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  25. Hallo Miss B! Happy New Year!
    Beautiful place too!

    Ciao

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  26. Good idea to continue the Christmas holidays in such a fantastic way! Thanks a lot for sharing your travel with those wonderful pictures.

    xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena

    www.dressedwithsoul.blogspot.de

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  27. Wow, how festive!! Lovely images.. Happy New year to you!

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  28. I always love reading your travel posts, Miss B - the photos are such a feast for the eyes! If I've learned anything about Dubai from your blog, it's that the city takes real pride in its appearance, which I think is wonderful; these Christmas trees are among the most glamourous and gorgeous I've ever seen!
    xox,
    Cee

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  29. miss b, those christmas trees were glamorous indeed. i can't get over the exquisite ornaments! hahaha i love to see different kind of trees. a pasta tree? i'm glad i wasn't there. i probably would've found a pot of boiling water and tried to cook it. LOL i think that is so cute. you had a fabulous time. what a nice getaway! again, thanks for sharing.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  30. Happy New Year Miss B! I'm always fascinated by the getaways to Dubai. They certainly deck out for the season. Love all the gorgeous trees. What a fun escape for you. Wishing you the best year in 2014 my friend.
    Lovely post!
    xx, Heather

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  31. my boss goes there a lot for work and it always looks so pretty and clean.

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  32. Happy New Year!! Great pictures and lovely trees!

    Thank you for your nice comment on my blog! Let's stay in touch! <3

    Diana
    www.ManhattanImageandStyle.com
    New Outfit Post: A Cozy Day

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  33. Those decorations are so pretty! Sad Christmas is gone already, but I also miss summer!

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  34. What a fantastic way to spend the holidays! x

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  35. WOW! I love it when malls and stores go all out but a place is even better!! Between the pasta tree and snowball fight (amazing), I am blown away!! That's fantastic that you got to visit there!!
    xx Corinne
    cateyesandthighhighs.com

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  36. Olá!!!, Deus te abençoe boa tarde, amiga que belas fotos
    SUCESSO AMIGA
    Blog: http://arrasandonobatomvermelho.blogspot.com.br
    Canal de youtube: http://www.youtube.com/NekitaReis

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  37. This looks so amazing! I would so much looove to visit Dubai! Thanks for sharing and hope you had a wonderful Christma! xo Caroline

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  38. I would love to visit the heart of the city with all the skyscrapers! Another beautiful post Miss b!

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  39. Stunning post. That castle is too neat and I love the snowball fight in the desert. Those trees are giving me so much inspiration for Christmas next year (especially that white and purple one.) Have a great week.

    LittlePinkRainBoots.blogspot.com

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  40. Wow Dubai looks amazing. What a wonderful getaway

    www.highheelsandtutus.com

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  41. Ahh my stomach just grumbled (far too) loudly at the memory of Hey Sugar *-* is it sad that it's one of my favourite places in Dubai? (yes Hayfa) . ANYWAY! Your photos are lovely as always :)

    Hayfa
    www.londonloafers.com

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  42. Thank you for all these lovely comments. Much appreciated. I see that many of you you were surprised to see so many Christmas decorations in Dubai!

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  43. This just made me wish it was Christmas again! Beautiful pictures!

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Thank you for taking the time to write a comment on my blog. I really do appreciate it. miss b

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