atlantis on the palm

we decided today to scrap going to dragon mart (not enough time) and scrap meeting up with a friend of mine from high school (didn't hear back from her). instead, we chose to visit the atlantis hotel on the palm jumeirah.

yes, what a glorious day. cruised up the stalk, through the tunnel and up to the crescent to the atlantis hotel. it was pretty packed with visitors. you could valet park the car at the entrance for a whopping 150 dirhams, or park in the far lot and get shuttled over (free). guess what we picked. and we didn't even have to wait for the shuttle coming or going - it was there, like magic!

i think i mentioned in a previous post that there is an aquarium in the hotel that has a whale shark named sammy. people are all in an uproar because whale sharks are endangered and travel great distances in the wild. this one is stuck in a tank and atlantis refuses to comment on it. it's a big to do over here. we had to see it before they may take it out of the exhibit.

of course, upon entry to the hotel, you are immediately greeted by not starbucks, but cold stone creamery and a host of designer shops. then some more pricey restaurants (one tried to entice people in with it's 3-course prix fixe of salad/soup/fried calamari, followed by salmon or ribeye, followed by ice cream or tropical fruit for dessert. not a complicated menu - but 175 dirhams. i guess you have to pay for being on the palm. we did not partake in that or the other restaurants (including nobu) that were inside. just cruised around and visited the aquarium.

before i get to that, they also have a water park at the hotel which costs 285 dirhams to get in. you can also swim with dolphins for only 845 dirhams. nothing is cheap at this hotel, people. if you're coming to visit and want to do those things, start saving your money now.

back to the story. the aquarium was so neat. dimly lit, but lots of interesting marine life inside, including horseshoe crabs you could touch, the whale shark, poisonous jellyfish from dubai area and ginormous grouper. of course, nemo, dory and those fish that pointed what direction to take were there too.

julian was very hesitant at the beginning - afraid of the fish in the tanks. then about halfway through, he got SUPER excited and was running all over checking out the fish. his faves included the nemo tank (obviously), the directional fish tank, and the really the colorful fish. the giant tank (with the rays and sharks) was a big hit as well. he didn't want to leave!

we eventually headed out, since we were hungry and not in the mood to empty our wallet. we ended up going to mercato (serge had never been) and had savory crepes at the food court, followed by pastry and cafe viennois at paul. voila, now we're home and it has been POURING down rain. can't wait for the floods tomorrow!