Infinity Tower

Just wanted to share this picture of another amazing building being built in Dubai at the moment.  It is called the 'Infinity Tower' and is located in the Dubai Marina.  When finished there will be a 90 degree twist in the building.

Some facts:

Project: Infinity Tower

Final height: 306 m
Floor count: 80
Type: Residential
Location: Dubai Marina, Dubai
Height: 330m
Status: Under Construction
Website: www.infinitytower.com
Key fact: Highest twisting tower in the world! - of course :)

Floortje's sea habitat

This term Floortje's class is talking about where different people and different animals live.  The theme of this week was underwater and Floortje was asked to draw a sea habitat.  I thought the result was so cute that I wanted to share it with you (by the way, it was Floortje's own idea to glue the wiggly eyes on).

Sailing

Last saturday Thijs and I were invited by Frank to join him and some others on a 40 ft sail boat sponsored by WTS Energy.   The previous days had all been cloudy and a bit wet but as we set foot on the boat the skies cleared up and the sun came out!  We sailed along the coast towards the Burj al Arab, saw the World Islands (nothing happening there, building wise) and the amazing Dubai skyline with the Burj Khalifa towering above everything else.  It was really nice to see everything from a different angle.

While sailing we enjoyed some champagne and wine & cheese.  A lovely afternoon, I must say!

A little rumour about the back side (visible from the sea) about the Burj al Arab is as follows:

Burj al Arab was designed by Tom Wright of WS Atkins PLC, during the designing stage, the world was told that it was built to resemble a sail, but critics are claiming that Wright designed the cross after he had a dream to have a Christian influence in a Muslim country (something that Wright denies).

Some locals claim that this was an intentional move on the part of the British architects. This issue is more ironic when one considers that the Tower of the Arabs is widely considered to be Dubai’s most important landmark. The real question is, does it matter if it looks like a cross?

In the year 2001, Dubai introduced the 4th series number plate. It has the Burj al Arab symbol, due to conspiracy theories and controversies surrounding Burj Al Arab’s resemblance to the Christian cross, the Burj Al Arab symbol was removed without any explanation in the year 2004.

 

Expensive alcohol

Now I understand why we pay so much for a drink when going out in Dubai....

...and this is without the bar making any money on it yet!

Meisjes Rademaker Calendar

A bit later than normal but the tradition continues: The 'Rademaker Girls Calendar'!  For the 8th time (I believe I missed out one).  A limited edition of only 4 copies has been published!

 

A380 to London

This week Thijs had to take a trip to London.  As the plane was very full Thijs was lucky enough to be upgraded to business class.  Only it wasn't just business class on any plane, it was on Emirates' new A380. The best thing of all...the onboard lounge area with bar!

As I am writing this he is on his way back...in economy!

Floortje 5!

Afgelopen zaterdag is Floortje 5 geworden!  's Ochtends werd ze eerst verrast met een versierd huis en kadootjes waaronder een nieuwe (2e hands) fiets!  Floortje mocht de dag invullen dus na het inwijden van de fiets zijn we gaan zwemmen bij de Montgomerie en daarna met z'n 4-en eten in een 'restaurantje'.  Groot feest dus.

 Op zondag (en woensdag bij nl-se les) moest er natuurlijk uitgedeeld worden.  Dat gebeurde dit jaar in de vorm van cupcake ijsjes.

Gisteren was het tijd voor een feestje met haar vriendinnetjes.  Een huis vol meisjes dus!  We hebben geknutseld en buiten gespeeld, spelletjes gedaan, worstjes gegeten en toen was het tijd voor taart en huis.  Volgens goed engels gebruik werden de kadootjes pas uitgepakt toen iedereen al naar huis was.  Een hele stapel zoals jullie wel kunnen zien.

  

NYE in Dubai

Since a few weeks our favorite hotel in Dubai (One & Only Royal Mirage) has a new sister hotel on the Palm Jumeirah called One & Only The Palm.  This hotel also looks amazing so why not celebrate New Years Eve there?  Together with Klaas, Ingrid, Richard, August & Thera (and Clarence Seedorf!) we went to 101 and saw the amazing fireworks all over Dubai.  As the hotel is at the tip of the Palm's crescent (see number 4 on the map) you can imagine the views were pretty spectacular.  The Atlantis hotel right ahead, Dubai Marina and JBR behind us and in the distance the Burj Khalifa and the Burj al Arab.

Happy 2011 everyone!

Burj Khalifa fireworks below