Settled in Dubai - August 2010

...and we thought Spain was hot! Unfortunate enough to arrive in the hottest month of the year, Dubai is absolutely roasting, with temperatures rising to an unbearable 45 degC. Thankfully air con is everywhere, otherwise we might have been instantly regretting our decision to move to the desert! The first few weeks we stayed in an amazing hotel with views over the Palm and the Marina...

After two and a half months with no fixed abode, we now have a place to call our own again. A surprisingly easy apartment hunt and a little bit of paperwork has meant we have a nice little 2 bedroom apartment in the Dubai Marina, all set for visitors. Whose keen?

Amsterdam - 9th to 10th of August 2010

Only an hour north by train from Den Haag to Amsterdam, world famous for its canals, bicycles and liberal attitudes. We jumped straight onto a canal boat for a tour of the city's waterways before a bit of a walk around.

Leaving it late in the day in the hope that the queues would be shorter (they weren't), we lined up to go through Anne Frank's house. It's a moving experience, they have made the entrance and exit to the secret annex into a museum, and include a number of Anne's very poetic diary entries.

After a compulsory pancake for dinner and stop off back at the hotel to get dolled up, we hit the town. With it being our last night on tour, we were keen for a big night out, and Amsterdam didn't let us down.

We were only 10 mins late for our 11am checkout the following day, not bad really, but didn't really have the energy to do too much. A little walk around was all we managed before making our way to the airport for our flight back to London. And just like that our holiday was over, back to London for a night before flying to Dubai the following day for the start of our new lives.

Den Haag and Leiden - 8th to 9th of August 2010

With a 25 minute train from Rotterdam to Den Haag in front of us, we had the luxury of a bit of a sleep in before hitting the road. Den Haag is the seat of the Dutch Government, but otherwise is just another city really. It does have some pretty buildings (International Court of Justice) and a beach though...

After finding our hotel and going for a walk in Den Haag we jumped on the train again for 10 minutes to Leiden. Leiden is what you image the Netherlands to be, zig-zaged with canals, bicycle and "coffee shops" everywhere, and all overlooked by lazily rotating windmills. It's also tiny, and so we had a little looksie before hitting some of the cute little cafes that line the canals.

Antwerp and Rotterdam - 7th to 8th of August 2010

50 minutes northest from Ghent to Antwerp, a city with the obligatory picturesque main square lined with cute buildings, but one that doesn't really hold a candle to Bruges or Ghent. Of course being the centre of the diamond world, it had its share of jewellers wedged between the Frite (hot chip) shops and waffle makers. We deposited our bags in lockers at the amazing train station and had a wander before moving swiftly on...

Just over an hour on a train and we were in a different country, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We made it to our hotel and had just started our touristing before the rain came down, so we hid in a little pub in the old harbour and waited it out. 3 rounds later the rain was still coming down, so we completed our little circuit in the wet, dried out in our hotel and hit the bars. Other than being known for its port (the largest in Europe) its also known for its nightlife, and being a saturday night we gave it a shot.

Ghent and Bruges - 6th to 7th of August 2010

45 minutes northwest from Brussels to Ghent, a town right in the middle of Belgium's "big three" - Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp - and often overlooked. But we had a tip it was worth a stop, so we offloaded our bags at our hotel and tripped into the old town for a walk through its picturesque squares, beside its lovely canals, and through its markets.

Two hours later we were done, so jumped back on a train for 20 minutes to Bruges. Bruges is another canal-lined old town filled with chocolateries and beer cafes, and is the main destination for tourists in Belgium. It was certainly heaving with snap-happy foreigners, us included of course. These photos make it look like we spent the whole day eating, and I wish I could say this wasn't the case - although we did only have the 1 beer (but at 9% alcohol that was enough!!!).

Brussels - 5th to 6th of August 2010

Leaving a sunny Nice behind, we flew an hour and a half north to a very rainy Brussels. After sitting out the storm in an internet cafe, we went for a little stroll around the city that is actually surprisingly pretty - it has one of the coolest main squares we've seen. Of course we couldn't say no to mussels for dinner, a few Belgian beers and some waffles!!