The itinerary.

The travel package had all the elements I had wanted to experience - flying first class Emirates,staying in Dubai at the Atlantis and cruising in the Gulf. The flight really WAS first class,The Atlantis I never came to enjoy and the ship The Vision of the Seas turned out to be a great disappointment.And then there was Dubai. Mr Cameron went to the EU with a begging bowl asking for little and getting even less.I was expecting very little from Dubai and got a wealth of memories. On a bus from the airport to the Atlantis, where I was supposed to have stayed three nights, my heart sank - one tall building after another, hardly any people walking in the streets,no life to speak of,no colour.Just much of brown muchness around.My goodness,is that it,I thought, is this what I have flown for seven hours to see? At the Atlantis I perked up a bit.It was impressive,by golly,very,very impressive.But my heart sank when I was told there was no room for me at the hotel and five hours later I found myself at The One and Only,The Mirage. Not deterred I could not wait to take a bus tour. One day the red HISTORIC tour, driving through the old part of the city,the next day the blue MODERN route to Jumeirah Mosque,Burj Al Arab,the most luxurious hotel in the Emirates and the Mall of the Emirates, to name just a few well known stops.We even went to the Atlantis.This brown stoned complex is in every advertisement to entice the travellers to visit Dubai,the richest city in the world.We passed by numerous constructions of which I liked the SAMA TOWER the best,sleek,elegant apartment building where two bedroom flats go for 135.000 dirham a year[about 29.535 £, or 36.754 $] and the office buildings AL MOOSA 1 and 2,were equally lovely to look at.A lot of the time I had a sense that an architect had unleashed his anger over a failed relationship, on a building.Of all the hotels along the Jumeirah beach I liked the position of the Four Seasons very much indeed and if ever I come back to Dubai,this is where I will stay.About 8 km from the Mall of the Emirates, the possibilities for walking in the neighbourhood are endless,one could drink in local cafes and tea houses,[the ATTIBASSI coffee shop looked so enticing,THE WHITE TEA CUP tea house adorable] browse in small boutiques.8 km of paradise.I love to stay cocooned in luxury,but when I go out I want to see the life the locals live.I am not afraid to tread the streets not travelled.I am not afraid of the back streets,of the side streets, of no streets.I want to breathe and smell the life no luxury hotel can give me.The bus tours went from the Dubai Mall bus stop.The Mall is nothing much to look at from the outside, but inside is absolutely lovely.I could not believe my eyes when I passed by PAUL, a patisserie,they have a branch in Notting Hill by the tube,where I get excellent croissants and delicious cakes.The shoe section has to be seen to be believed.There were exquisite Prada black and white loafers and had they had them in size 3 1/2 I would have not left the shop without them! Burj Khalifa,at 830 m the tallest building in the world,was practically under my nose,but I had no desire to wait in line to go to the top of the 163 floors. The next time.