[ paris ]

I'VE BEEN sorting through my pics and thought I'd start off by showing you around the neighbourhood we stayed in. We chose the Latin Quarter in the 5th arrondissement, on the left bank of the Seine. It's a great neighbourhood with lots of cafés and little shops.

Our little boutique hotel was Hotel Henri IV on rue Saint Jacques...

the welcoming lobby had lovely rustic features and was beautifully decorated...

and while the rooms were a little small {like all Paris hotels}, it had everything we needed, including a super comfy bed, well sound-proofed rooms and a charming view out to the street...

Once we checked in, we started off with a sip of wine on a terrace around the corner. I didn't think anyone would be sitting on terraces in November, but they all had heat lamps to keep you toasty...

Here's a sample of what we saw around our neighbourhood...

As you can see from this small sample, it's a lovely area of Paris with plenty to see. My favourite thing was the Pont de L'Archeveche with all the love locks...

Couples come to Paris and put a love lock on the bridge and throw the key into the Seine as a symbol of their undying love...

And so of course we went searching for a lock and inscribed our names and the date on the back...

Now we'll have to come back to Paris to visit our lock!

Stay tuned for the next instalment ~ a peek at the big Paris flea market ~ Les Puces de Saint-Ouen.

lisa

[ at the top ~ burj khalifa ]

I FINALLY went up the world's tallest building! After living here for almost a year and a half, it was about time.

At over 2716 feet (828 metres) and 160 stories, the Burj Khalifa is quite the structure. It was a collaboration of 30 on-site contractors from all over the world.

Construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2009, officially opened in January 2010. Total cost: about $1.5 billion.

{what's inside}

37 office floors on the highest levels

observation deck on level 124

fine dining restaurant on level 122

900 residences on levels 19 to 108

Armani Hotel and Residences on lowest levels

57 elevators

Its Y-shaped footprint which maximizes views, is organically inspired by the regional desert flower, the hymenocallis with its petals extending from a central stem...

riding up the high-speed elevator {59ft/second}, ears popping...

the At the Top observation deck on level 124 is part open, part enclosed...

if any of you have ever wondered what an aerial view of Dubai looks like, here's a peek...

Every day there are fountain shows choreographed to music, similar to what you see at the Bellagio in Las Vegas...

It would have been cool to be able to see more of the inside of the tower but high security only allows access directly up to the observation deck. Surprisingly, I didn't feel nearly as queasy as I thought I might at that height. Definitely something you need to do while in Dubai.

lisa

[all pics with my iPhone; hymenocallis via wikipedia]

[ grand mosque in abu dhabi ]

YESTERDAY I went on a little road trip with some expat women to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. The largest mosque in the UAE, it can hold over 40,000 people and is a stunningly beautiful structure.

The design of the mosque is a fusion of Arab, Mughai and Moorish architecture and artisans and materials from all around the world were used in its construction. Reflective pools surround the mosque and at night, a unique lighting system is designed to reflect the phases of the moon.

The mosque site is the size of 5 football fields and features 82 domes of Moroccan design, all decorated in white marble. The courtyard is paved in white marble with a coloured floral marble and mosaic inlay.

Once we were all dressed in the abaya robes they provided {some of us brought our own head scarves}, we made our way through the courtyard to the main entrance.

Took off our shoes...

and felt the cool marble under our toes.

The walls and floors of the entrance room are covered in a floral motif inlay crafted from different types of marble from around the world. Flowers are an important motif used to depict paradise.

The first of many gorgeous chandeliers.

Prayer clocks list the names of each prayer and what time it takes place.

We were greeted by our tour guide who led us through to the main prayer room.

This room is all about details. Ceilings and walls are intricately decorated and handcarved Greek marble columns are inlaid with mother of pearl.

The floors are covered with the world's largest carpet {over 60,000 square feet and over 36 tons}, all hand-knotted in Iran by over 1300 artisans.

Huge chandeliers from Germany feature thousands of Swarovski crystals and Italian glasswork.

The 75 foot high Qibla wall {the wall worshippers face in the direction of the Holy City of Mecca when praying} features the 99 names {qualities} of Allah done in traditional Kufi calligraphy.

We were led outside to the outer area where over 1000 marble columns surround the mosque. Semi-precious stones were used to create the floral inlay. Thirty different types of marble were used in this mosque.

The mosque also houses a library with publications dating back over 200 years and is also the final resting place of late UAE president, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who was the visionary of this beautiful mosque. What an incredible place.

lisa