laziness

yes, i was just too tired yesterday to comment. i am pleased to report that our documents have finally been authenticated by the us consulate in dubai, thanks to our little trip there yesterday.

i will also add that they clearly have some issues to sort out, as the person behind me in line who was trying to renew an expired passport for his daughter, was experiencing similar issues as we did, "what do you mean i don't have the right paperwork?". it's like they want to purposely keep you in the dark just to get you into a hassle-laden trip to their office and then piss you off further by telling you that you're missing paperwork or it's the wrong kind, etc. you'd think the person behind the window would be sick of hearing the throngs of people complaining DAILY. either that, or it's their idea of a good laugh. and that's just sick. it's called: put the ACTUAL information on the website in a clear and concise manner. 

my bad, that would actually make sense.

anyhoo, before we took care of that, we went to the deira city center (yet another colossal mall) so that i could exchange a book at borders. sadly, this branch of borders sucked and had none of the books i had wanted to buy. since it was a bookstore, i was able to find something, so no loss there.

we also stopped for a cappuccino and light snack at the "swiss cafe" in the mall, although it was about as swiss as i am, which is not saying much.

we made our way in the afternoon over to le meridien mina seyahi by the dubai marina. we saw our friend reynita who was visiting dubai with her dad and other friends from france (although she lives in nj). we had a lovely afternoon by the pool, chatting, playing in the water and watching the monstrous yachts pulling in to the harbor. great view of the atlantis from there as well...

serge decided to buy some chocolates at the westin for us all to sample. he wanted to see how good the pastry chef there is, as he (to quote "otto"/kevin kline in "a fish called wanda") "thinks he's sooooooo superior".

the chocolates cost 4 dirhams per piece, but let me tell you, i wouldn't have eaten them if you PAID me to. REVOLTING. the overwhelming taste profile was fridge mixed with artificial flavoring. one of them (we were chopping them up so we could each taste a bit) was moldy. i think it's quite obvious we stopped eating them after that and just concentrated on not vomiting. that guy should be ashamed of himself.

but lovely to see reynita and talk to her dad - we are hoping to join them for a vacation one day in yerevan, armenia! we just hit the road in the evening and headed home.

NOTE: pictures to be added later, as the site isn't letting me do it now!