It's my second Ditl here, and this day is special for me, so I decided to capture it for the history :) By the way, I'm Anastasia, nearly 30, originally from Russia, but lost somewhere in Dubai for last 4 years.
10 years ago, on March 17, this guy wound up in my small creepy flat in Moscow. Since then it have been 5 flats, 2 countries, countless trips and countless whatever, and we have been through everything together.
Today we quietly celebrate 10th Anniversary at home in Dubai, where we live for last 4 years.
I wake up early, cause I slept early yesterday. Today is our off. Sawyer is lazying in the bed with us.
I start my morning with the glass of water with lemon. Anton starts his with the good morning nap.
I skip snapping my morning bathing, cause loving husband suddenly woke up and decided to join me in the shower. How cute...
I try not to skip my small exercise, whatever day it is.
We live in a small studio, but it has a huge terrace. Here is gazebo,where I love to have my morning coffee with a cigarette. But today we have to hurry, so there's no time for a lazy smoking. What a pity.
Here is another side of a terrace, where I pretend to garden something. However, something is growing, and this something have to be watered regularly. Another daily routine, which I'm actually enjoying.
We are good to go.
Today we planned to do some shopping, then there is a big trip to the liquor store in another emirate, where the prohibition goes smooth. After that, if we come back home safe and sound, we'll see...
Time when we leave the house. Today I was supposed to show you a one of the regular sunny days in Dubai, to make you envy, but weather played it cool, so you don't have to be envy...
Yeah, we live in a desert. Downtown is far, but it's expensive and posh. I actually enjoy a sort of escape here, in a middle of nowhere, where no one can reach us. I've been living in Moscow for my 25 years, and my lowest floor was 10th, so now I prefer to be closer to the ground :)
But first is feeding. I almost forgot, how dangerous can be moving is one car with the adult hungry male.
Female is hungry also. It's not my favourite though. I would rather prefer some small cosy coffee shop for romantic breakfast, but sometimes hungry predators are not romantic. Or maybe,they think, that it's romantic to share fast food on the petrol station on the deserted highway,why not?
We land in Dubai Outlet Mall, where all the brands keep their discounted shops. It's a great place, if you like to dig out some weird pieces, suddenly realising, how great it can look, if you put some fantasy on it. Of course, we shop in a normal stores as well. But it's just fun to go to Outlet, isn't it?
For example, a good collection of ties at around $12 at Massimo Dutti.
Anton is looking for a jacket. This one looks good on him, as, actually, everything does. But he's very picky.
We get the jacket at $100, but it's Guess by Marciano, so I consider it to be a good deal.
It's my favourite shop! Tons of textile, where you really have to dig out the pieces, but some of them turn out to be really great, when you try it on. We split, and I start filling my basket.
Finally I'm in a dressing room. My basket is super full. I picked around 15 things, so let's see, how many I will have guts to wear :)
What a cute night dress! This is the only thing I'm able to show, cause the others reveal either my naked top, or bottom part, so I'm not stressing you.
At the counter we are paying around $50 for his 2 shirts and my 6 pieces, how nice!!
Again we are on the highway. It's about 115 km to the destination, that lies in the other emirate. We travel there roughly once a month, to fill our bar. It's illegal though. If police will stop you with a Booz in your car,you are done in this country. But we are desperate. Or we are nuts, but that what we are.
Barracuda Beach Resort hosts a liquor shop, where all desperate Caucasian population of UAE gets their vitality liquids. Also you see a lot of Indians, Philipinos and even some locals shopping there.
On the back view you can see an abandoned plane, which always makes me feel I'm somewhere in Vietnam, or other miserable place.
From the parking you can see the sea. It smells salted water, that makes you more desperate and brainless.
And here we are in haven. You can find everything here, from Portuguese Vino Verde, to finest single malts, and the prices are fantastic.
Time doesn't wait. We take off and rush back to Dubai, praying not to meet any police or other idiots on the way back. I didn't decide yet, whether this adrenaline makes any good for me, but the catch in the trunk clinks very encouraging.
We reached home without any incidents. God bless brainless.
Here is the catch. White wine for me, red for share, single malts for both of us, his Bacardi, and my Martini.
They only sell Martini with a complimentary glasses now. Soon I will run out of space to store them. I think, I need to start giving away.
We do some degustation. Cheers.
I can't wait to try the stuff I bought. This blue shirt will look great with shorts, and it's very light, that will suit upcoming Dubai Summer. Cost somewhat $5, but looks like good Zara.
And this is Mexican print top, priced around $8, great cotton. Promises to be one of my favourites this season.
I can't resist a blue cheese, especially with white wine. Good afternoon. Anton is picking a restaurant for us to dine tonight. Actually, we wanted to go early, to get back home and continue a vandalism here.
The choice is made, and I'm getting ready. Anton is observing our estate of 500sq.ft outside. I'm observing my husband and I never stopped love him for these 10 years.
We are heading to one of the epic buildings in Dubai - 7 star hotel Burj Al Arab. Every room there is 2-floors. On the helipad at the top of it, the famous tennis match between Andre Agassi and Roger Federer was played, I don't remember which year.
But we are dining in another 5 star hotel just next to it - Jumeirah hotel. Jamie's.
We decided to sit outside, just to enjoy this unusual weather. It's cloudy, but warm, and the strong breeze of approaching evening is bringing the smell of the sea salt and freedom.
Anton takes my picture. I'm trying to be a good wife, wearing a high heels and dresses, making my hair and maintaining my abdominal. However, I'm not so perfect, as I'm regularly getting drunk with my friend on Fridays, I don't cook and I don't deliver babies. So,everything comes to balance so far.
Here's our cravings and wine. It's a pumpkin, spinach and cheese cannelloni for me and some wood grill seafood for Anton. It's great to eat outside. I love Jamie's recipes and appearance.
It's getting to dusk. Weather is awesome, for those, who see sun 364 days in a year, and 200 out of them, it's about to grill your skin. First 2 years, I haven't seen any single rain drop here.
We are having coffee and chatting about our life. 10 years passes and we have done a good job in personal relations. Also,we left Moscow for Dubai, and it didn't seem a bad decision yet. We have changed our live, changed it together, like we were dreaming about 10 years back,being a students of Sociology, and concerned about all philosophical problems in the world.
We payed the bill and went down to beach and Marina. We think about what will happen to us in next 10 years. Pretty useless, but we like to dream. We are thinking about getting a yacht and do a tourists trips somewhere in Italy, of course, robbing them, and kidnapping some pretty young girls and boys to the deserted paradise island...
Great view, isn't it?
We are home, and I'm trying to create some romantic atmosphere.
We are thinking,which movie to watch. This flat is free from Internet and TV. We decided that, so we can spend more time together, talking, cooking, inhabiting a gazebo and doing our hobbies. Or going out walking, swimming or discovering new places alive. Sometimes we just watch some movies on the laptop.
Anton opens a champagne,that was brought us by his parent last month. They brought it in a luggage,that's why it's still packed properly. This is very special champagne, made in Crimea, high class brut, our favorite.
I make some simple snacks, mandarins and strawberries, and bites of dark mint chocolate.
Finally we decide to spend evening flipping through our old photographs. It's been 10 years of photographs, so it seems good idea to refresh some moments and bring back good memories.
One of our favourites, Cabo da Roca, Portugal, 2009. We were sitting there, watching sunset, having wine, and I was spitting the grape seeds right into Atlantic. After that we wrote a note and sealed it in the bottle, and threw it in the ocean.
Time for the second bottle. I'm tipsy, so I stare at the plastic catching me, when I'm trying to unpack the ambrosia.
One of our great-as-always vacations in Sochi, where his parents and grandparents live. We always go wild there.
Once we had to travel from St.Petersburg to Moscow in a full-packed train, so we shared one bed, and that's how we are, always together, in good and bad.
Here I switched off, and my love had to carry me in the bed. It was great day, and I fall asleep with the smile on my lips.
