An Island Wedding

Siquijor Island, Philippines
January 30th to February 11, 2015

Well, it seems like I was just at home for the holidays but just 4 weeks later I was on vacation again. This time it was back to the Philippines but this time it was for a big event....Debi and Scott's Wedding. We were getting in a few days before and would be there a few days after so lots of vacation time along with the nuptials. It would prove to be a fantastic trip with people travelling from Canada (including Mom, Dad and Gramma) and Australia.

The first night a number of us would meet in Manila before making the trip to Siquijor Island the next day. No running through the airport and hopping into a cab trying barely make my flight in time (see my last Philippines post if you need a reminder). This worked out much better. I'm not going to post too many pictures of the wedding itself (Debi has the best ones).....well actually none but here are a bunch for the days surrounding the big event. It was a very enjoyable 10 days.....with a wedding in the middle.

Ahh the business class life......one of the perks of working in Saudi that I really.....really enjoyed. Made the long flights to everywhere much more tolerable.

The happy couple.

Debi and Deon......the best man.

We had to take a boat to Siquijor Island. This is how we were met when we hit land.

Walking into the resort. Very nice first impression.

The view from my room. Yeah.....it was a little rough.

Taste testing some drinks. Needed to find something for the wedding....or just needed to enjoy some fruity drinks.

This one was good.

Wedding rehearsal time.....Yeah we're pretty gangsta. I was a good maid of honour.

Lots of time to relax on the beach. It was sunnier than it looks in this photo.

Took a little road trip on the island. Siquijor is not a very big island so easy to explore in a day. Here we are at the fish pond.

Yes they are eating all the dead flesh off my feet.

Another one of our island stops.

Swimming at the waterfalls.

Hiking back up out of the waterfalls.

The beach at the resort. It was a really nice place.

Late night beach walking.

Bachelorette night. Pretty sure she thought she was getting out of this but she did not.  I think we took it pretty easy on her. 

The wedding shoes.....it was on the beach after all.

The dresses.....well mine and Debi's.

Off to take some pictures after the ceremony on the beach. Everyone in a great mood.

Some of the wonderful staff that not only took care of us over the 10 days we were at the resort but on this night made sure all the wedding guests were watered and fed. Can't say enough good things about them.

You know....just hanging out in a rooftop hot tub at a rooftop wedding. It's what you do. (That's Stef and Deon).

There was a little diving as well. Hello fishes.

Not sure if they are smiling or growling at me......Do fish growl? I think these ones did.

Scott and I. Scott joined me for one dive.....I got a few more in as I did not have the same wedding commitments that he did.

Turtles. No need to dive to see these guys. Just needed a snorkel.

A little swim with a pretty big turtle.

Mom and Debi with a big lazy turtle.....just eating away. Not sure he even knows we are there.

Post-wedding road-trip to the butterfly conservatory. 

Not a butterfly....yet.

A little night-time entertainment.

Evening swims.....for some of us anyways.

No shortage of beautiful sunsets.

Jumping in to end a wonderful trip.

Eventually I had to go back to Saudi and other guests made their way back home. Mom, Dad, Gramma, Debi and Scott had another week.....although they moved to a different resort.

Not much more to say about how wonderful this trip was.....hopefully the pictures speak for themselves.

Julie

My Summer Guest

Wednesday, July 16th, 2014 to Sunday, August 3rd, 2014
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

After I got home from Canada I had a friend come stay with me for a couple weeks. Well more exactly I had a friend's kitten come stay with me for a few weeks. One of the guys that plays hockey with the group, needed a kitten sitter for a couple weeks while he went home and well I was more than happy to volunteer. Technically, I'm not allowed to have pets in my apartment but I knew other people on the floor (and in my building) had cats so I was not too worried about it. I just snuck the little guy in and took it from there.

I haven't had a cat in a long time.....and certainly not a kitten, so while it was a lot of fun, it was trying at times.

This is Naji. At this point we are not totally sure how old he is. My friend actually rescued him off the side of the road but we figure he's 4-6 months old....but possibly older.

This is Naji checking out my fridge..... 

and my bathtub......

and my bed......

and my pot cupboard........

my laundry hamper......

eating my plants........

and watching The Daily Show with me.

Sometimes he slept.

And Blue Jays games relaxed him.

Adorably he liked to play fetch.

Not sure why this is where he felt he would go to sleep on this night.

Waiting for me to print something....he really liked that.

Hmmmm.....helping me do my homework.......as in not being very helpful at all.

And also not very helpful with my laundry.

Eventually he had to go back home. It was fun having him for a couple weeks but I think any desire I had to have a kitten of my own.....is completely gone.

Julie

Bringing Sexy Back

Thursday, May 22nd to Saturday, May 24th, 2014
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Well, in case you did not catch the musical reference in the title......it's all about JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!!!!! Of course, no musical guests come to visit Riyadh, however, they hit up the UAE quite often and as soon as we saw Justin Timberlake was coming to Abu Dhabi, a few of us knew we had to go. This was actually J.T's first trip to Abu Dhabi and sounded like a perfect weekend away.

I had never been to Abu Dhabi, and this trip would not allow for a lot of exploring. It was to be a quick weekend trip, flying in on Thursday, concert on Friday, back to Riyadh on Saturday so mostly it would be concert, drinks and a little bit of relaxing on the beach and by the pool. Unfortunately I would also need to do some homework. I did as much of that as possible before we left but there seems to be a never ending amount of reading and what not to be done. Of course being able to read with a glass of champagne did make it a little bit easier.

The Grand Mosque. No chance to visit this time around but hopefully there will be a next time.

The group of us were travelling from two cities to Abu Dhabi. Lola and I were in Riyadh and Jenn and Kathy were travelling from Jeddah. Lucky for us, flights from Jeddah come through Riyadh on the way to Abu Dhabi so we all traveled together. Upon arrival in Abu Dhabi we hit the duty free (as usual) and then it was off to the hotel. Not many plans on Thursday night (food, drinks....that's about it) but it was nice to get into the hotel.

A theme from the evening.

Friday was concert day, but we had most of the day to relax, so we hit the spa (our room came with a few free spa treatments) and the beach and just enjoyed the sunshine.

The hotel beach. That square glass building in the background is actually the new Cleveland Clinic. If you are not familiar with Cleveland Clinic, they are one the top hospitals in the United States. This is a major undertaking in the Middle East as large US hospitals have had trouble finding long-term success in the region. At the time I took this picture, the hospital was not yet open but it is in fully operation now and I have many friends who are happily working there.

My favourite Moet and Chandon on our balcony. I was actually doing homework in this picture.

Eventually it was time to head to the stadium for the concert. One thing we tried to be prepared for was the heat. Even in May Abu Dhabi is pretty hot (and far more humid than Riyadh) but we felt we were prepared. Light cotton dresses. Well hydrated (yes, we had some water) and ready to dance. We decided to get Golden circle tickets, because these got us nice and close to the stage. Previously Lola had attended concerts at this venue with VIP tickets but that section is much farther from the stage.....and we wanted to be close. Here are some pictures and video. Not too many as it is hard to get good quality stuff while signing and dancing, but you get the point.

Yes this is zoomed in a little....but we were pretty close.

A pretty good view of the stage. It was really hot and a couple people actually passed out in front of me. About part way through the concert though the security guards handed out a bunch of bottles of water to fans. It certainly helped.

Not sure how he had a jacket on. We could actually see the sweat dripping off his shirt. It was a little gross but also indicated how close we were to the stage.

This video gives a very good idea how close to the stage we were. The sound is not great but you get the idea.

We waited all night to hear this song. Justin did not disappoint. 

Safe to say that this was a great show. Probably one of the best concerts I have ever seen. It was a late night back to the hotel. It was a bit of a wait for a taxi, (as you can imagine) but we did eventually make it back safe and sound.

Saturday was a pretty relaxed day. Another spa treatment and then it was off to the airport. Lola and I did make a quick stop at an area called Masdar City. It is a pedestrian friendly community that is said to be environmentally friendly and mostly self sustaining. We were there for the whole foods store but it was an interesting place to check out.

These little self driving cars move you around underneath the city.

No driver. No cables. No rails. They just know where to go. Super cute and fun.

The pull into their own little parking stalls.

Our shopping trip was quick and then it was off to the airport. The other girls went direct to Jeddah this time so it was just Lola and I on the way back. It was a very quick trip to Abu Dhabi but a great little weekend away.

Hopefully I will have time for a longer trip soon.

Julie