Wow!

If you like flowers then you will like this. This is definitely the most beautiful garden I have ever seen, flowers everywhere. Dubai change the theme of this garden every year and I visited while they have the A380 Emirates plane structure, which currently holds the Guinness world record title for the largest flower arrangement, which covers the entire plane. It is pretty spectacular, it even has turning propellers at the engines.

Cute gnome houses covered in flowers are beautiful and when I climbed to the top of the viewing platform, I could look down on the whole garden and see that a lot of the structures were made to look like the tops of castles, it is such a princess world!

Considering the number of flowers that are here, the up keep of them must be crazy but I didn’t see any dead flowers or dying ones which, I would have expected. So nice to see it is kept so clean and tidy.

It was a warm day and I was there around lunchtime, so once I had a good look around I went and found a swinging chair to sit on and just watched the world go by. It was so peaceful, there are so many places to sit amongst the flowers. You aren’t allowed to take food or drinks into the garden as they have food carts and small shops placed around the outside of the garden paths for you to enjoy. I tried my first Arabic Shawarma here! It is kind of like a kebab, but with a few different ingredient’s, I had chicken in my pitta bread pocket, and it also had pickles and a yoghurt sauce. It was so yummy!

Another few of my favourite pieces at the Miracle garden would have to be the giant teddy bear made out of flowers and greenery. Also the swans that lined each side of the main entrance path. It definitely is a beautiful place to spend the morning or afternoon and the entrance fee only 45 durum. (Around £9)
If you are planning on visiting Dubai, be sure to put this attraction on your bucket lists. However, time your arrival right, because the garden is only open during the winter months. It is closed for 6 months of summer as it is far to hot!

Also, don’t forget to try an Arabic Shawarma while you’re there!

Last week, I visited the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, a brand-new museum which opened on November 11th.  I had seen the write up on it in the local Dubai newspaper and the advertising was huge so I knew I wanted to check it out. Plus, it was reported that Abu Dhabi had paid France 402 million to use the ‘Louvre’ name. After seeing the museum in France I knew this one had to be good. I took a drive to Abu Dhabi it takes about an hour and a half from Dubai, the Louvre has actually been built on its own island and the building structure has been built into the water. What can I say, the pictures don’t do it justice, it is stunning!

Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum

The floating dome, the blue water that surrounds the white walls make it so beautiful, the French architect really knew what he was doing here. Inside, the light streams through the dome making beautiful patterns of light as your walking through. The museums narrative is broken into 12 sections that give visitors a global glimpse of the past 12,000 years on earth. The exhibits inside are spectacular and the whole museum is set out like a maze, each room numbered and easily signed so you are able to keep track of where you have already been so you don’t miss anything out.

They also have a children’s section which is lovely, with all sorts of different sensory and learning exhibits that they can interact with but also learn something at the same time. You can definitely spend a good 4 hours here, they have a café and a restaurant that serves yummy food and has seats outside on the water overlooking the city of Abu Dhabi. They also have an ocean view auditorium where performers sit in a sort of floating/island stage. It is definitely a beautiful place to spend the afternoon.

Every year for the last five years I have celebrated my birthday in different countries all over the world. I have been able to do this due to my job as a Travel Nanny. This year for my birthday I have ended up in Dubai. I was lucky to enough to have my best friend come out to Dubai the day before my birthday who happened to be coming for a work project. I decided that due to my location there was no better way than to spend my 23rd birthday with my best friend other than trekking through the desert on camels.

The camel trekking safari that we booked included transfers to and from our pickup location, a 45-minute camel ride through the desert, sunset barbecue dinner and belly dancing entertainment into the evening.

In the UK the pop-up, German markets that come to Birmingham in December are a popular and well-known attraction, something I like to visit every year. This Christmas I had 3 weeks off work and returned home, my partner and I were looking for a short Christmas getaway for a few days but being Christmas time, we knew prices on flights and hotels tend to be expensive so we were on the hunt for a last-minute deal.

I was looking into Germany for two reasons, one the Christmas German markets would be on and two the first family I became a Nanny for were there on holiday. We found some good flight prices on Sky scanner that was within our budget and we booked straight away which flew us from Birmingham to Düsseldorf Germany with Euro wings. We needed to be staying in Aachen, a city 1 hour 30 minutes train ride away from the airport so we booked into the Mercure hotel a close walk into the centre of Aachen city.

Christmas city break in Aachen Germany

Christmas city break in Aachen Germany

Christmas city break in Aachen Germany

When we arrived we quickly realized that all of the German words we knew between us wasn’t enough to help us understand and ask anyone for directions, the majority of people were very friendly, happy to help and had okay English speaking skills. It is always good and respectable to know some of the language, not only to help yourself but for the locals to understand what you are trying to ask. So, we downloaded the free google translator app which was a lifesaver.

Over the next three days, we spent our time amongst all the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers. The German markets were beautiful, we enjoyed seeing the lights and handmade German gifts that were on sale. The markets are set around the Aachen Cathedral which is amazing on the eye and as you walk around you really feel like the Cathedral is towering over you, it is one of the oldest Cathedrals in Europe. We also tried some German cuisine and one of our favourites was ‘Flammkuchen’. This is translated to ‘Flame Cake’, it has a crispy thin crust and rather than tomato sauce, the dough is spread with crème fraiche and any toppings you desire but traditionally is topped with cheese, bacon and onion. They are then cooked in a wood-fired bread oven, you can also find sweet versions. These are delicious, I would highly recommend having one of these the next time you visit Germany.

Aachen is not just a historical city, there are many other things to enjoy such as, great places to shop with loads of high street stores and a lovely shopping centre called Aquis plaza. This is home to one of my new favourite warm drink shops, ‘The Chocolate Company’. There is also a very exciting water park called ‘Aquana sauna and Freizeitbad’ just a 20-minute drive from the city centre which is fun for all the family, we enjoyed visiting this for an afternoon going down the water slides, river rapids and fun in the wave machine.

I would recommend Aachen Germany as a travel destination for anyone, after visiting twice now, I know there are lots to do in all seasons and another special place to put on your bucket lists!