out and about in dubai.

here's a little smorgasbord of some of the happenings in dubai since i've arrived. 

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having traded the historic sites of milan for the modern buildings of dubai isn't all that bad.

i mean, check out the burj al arab in all it's colorful glory. 

there are also some amazing restaurants in dubai.

this is din tai fung, found at our local mall of the emirates. this world famous restaurant is known for their xiaolongbao, otherwise known as soup dumplings.

there's usually a wait to eat here, so patience is required.

but it's worth it!

noodles with a peanut sauce.

pot stickers. i had never actually seen these served all connected like this.

#asianfoodrookie

nom nom nom.

i also went and met up with some other expats in dubai at this nearby spanish restaurant.

it's quite tasty and on some of the local discount apps.

and, of course, there's the beach.

the water is clear, the temperature is usually pretty awesome, and there are plenty of public beaches to access for free.

this is kite beach.

and since i have several canadians for friends, we celebrated canadian thanksgiving in october.

i made this homemade apple pie, which was marginally successful.

the spices were all wrong.

but we ate it anyways.

oh, canada!

then kelsey and i made the short walk to "cat park."

it's pretty and right behind our apartment building.

but it is, in fact, filled with a zillion cats.

i exaggerate.

i counted the number of kitties on one 1 km lap- 64.

sixty-four.

cat park.

took this picture more recently. still lots o'cats.

but you can catch some nice sunsets in the park.

wandering through the mall one night, we saw a crowd gathering. none other than this uber famous supermodel in town for an event.

and while we don't have a pool worth using in our building, we do try and find other pools to cool off in when the temperatures are hot hot hot!

another day at the beach, and we found that they rolled the sand with dubai designs leading up to the world expo 2020.

brunch is a big thing here in dubai and i've made a point to avoid much of the brunch culture. it's expensive and generally focused on lots of alcohol, but we found this rather chill beach brunch with some pretty nice views.

and my co-workers and i found these amazing sunset views from the jumeirah beach hotel bar that overlooks the burj al arab.

have you seen those crazy milkshakes in your social media feed yet? meet the guilty makers.

unfortunately, now i've been twice and still yet to get one of those crazy milkshakes.

something tells me it might be for the best.

but, even their snacks are on point.

the school superintendent had the entire staff over for drinks.

over three separate weekends because the staff is well, huge.

and this is her view of the marina.

pays to be in charge, literally and figuratively.

for my teammate danielle's birthday, we rented a large yacht and cruised around dubai for a couple hours.

there were a lot of green faces in the beginning, when the ride was quite rough, but in the end, it turned out really nice.

meet kelsey.

and the grade 4 team.

and most of the group on the boat that day.

i've done a lot in dubai this year, but it's just a small portion of all the things that one can do!

meat on a stick.

so, it seems that since i'm wrapping up life in milan, i'm taking the opportunity to share some of my favorite haunts around the city.

this week i'd like to tell you about the "meat on a stick" place.

no, this is not the name of the restaurant.

but it is how we refer to it when making plans to go there.

because when you go, you must order the "meat on a stick."

this restaurant, located just south of the "ring" that surrounds milan, is abbruzzese in origin. meaning that the food and style is from the region of abruzzo, which is located centrally in italy on the eastern coast.

recently they also opened a smaller version of the restaurant, located in the heart of porta romana.

located across from the kk store on viale sabotino

the original location has a slightly larger menu than the new spot, but they both serve the ever popular "meat on a stick."

that 2nd item...that's what you want!

at the porta romana location, you get ten sticks of meat, which is lamb, and a piece of bruschetta. the same is true at the original, but you only get six sticks.

yummmmmmmmmm!

i've also had some of their pastas, which are all made in the restaurant.

mezzi paccheri con crema di zucca gialla e zafferano
'paccheri' pasta with yellow squash/pumpkin and saffron sauce

the desserts aren't bad either.

some version of a lava cake, which is delicious!

dessert trio

having eaten at both, we felt like the food at the bigger location was slightly better, but the smaller location is much more convenient!

either way, cheers to great food!

reservations recommended, especially on weekends or at the smaller restaurant.

Lately...

Lately, there's been a lot of rain in Milan.

I mean A LOT! As in flooding in the northern parts of the city and street and metro closings because of all the water.

Thankfully, I've only been bothered by my rain boots feeling like even they've absorbed some of the water. Argh.

Thought I'd take a few minutes and share some of the random happenings of recent weeks.

Caitlin and I participated in an October walk to raise money for breast cancer here in Milan. It started late...how Italian of them. I think we waited while they tried to get the confetti machines working. Dai!

waiting, waiting, waiting...for the Pink Parade

the confetti we waited so long for

One night I met my friend Meredith, who works at another international school in town, met for dinner. We went to Corey's Soul Chicken in Chinatown. Corey, from Louisville and who also just happened to work at King's Island, makes the chicken to order. (I just happened to grow up down the street from KI.) We had some delicious chicken fingers and a cold can of root beer! A rare treat here in Milan.

go get your chicken!

In early November a couple of friends and I went to the Chet Faker show here in Milan. Chet Faker is an Australian musician who writes, records and produces all his own tracks. He was pretty incredible live and even though his music is not what I'd typically listen to I thoroughly enjoyed his show. So, take a few minutes and check him out. This is from an earlier show in Australia this year...that has far better video footage than I was able to capture.

Chet Faker performing '1998'- one of my favorites

Another food treat worth mentioning is a small, but amazing experience out in Corano, Italy. This restaurant is about an hour outside of Milan and anytime someone mentions heading here for a meal the answer is always YES! Arriving at the restaurant, they start with the day's spread of antipasti, which is a variety of freshly cooked vegetables and the traditional spread of prosciutto and salami. Then you can order primi, secondi and dolci as desired. Traveler tip- do NOT eat at all before arriving at this gem of a restaurant. Of course, make a reservation. And, if you go, take me!

It's that way.

baked pumpkin with balsamic, eggplant with tomatoes and olive oil, and an onion tart

one of my favorites! can you guess what it is?

Here's to more great Fall experiences! 

Have a great Italian 'Fall' experience to share? What would you recommend?