Pippa developed an awful cough on Sunday 21 September in Paris. The stoic girl that she is didn’t let it stop her although I’m sure it contributed to her breathlessness and fatigue. It just would not budge so I was reluctant to have her do the flight home from Venice with it still bad. We chose instead to stop in Dubai for 2 days/3 nights while the 2nd antibiotic course finished and to do a complete relax in some real warmth.
Dubai of course is big in every sense and it was so hard not to try and cram in some amazing experiences while we were there – a five or seven day stopover and we certainly would have! We were staying at the beautiful Grand Hyatt with huge swimming pools and water slides so on our 2 days we slept in, relaxed and swam, then in the afternoon and evening we went out to catch a brief glimpse of Dubai.
In the lobby we bumped into an Australian who delivered us three Hyatt Camels and patiently answered many inquisitive questions about living in Dubai. We visited the massive Dubai mall, complete with ice skating rink, aquarium and theme park. We sat outside with a view of the world’s tallest building to have dinner and to our surprise (having an unplanned and thus unresearched stop) saw the spectacular water fountain show! It was so good we watched it again from a different vantage point having ice cream!
James and Patrick were in awe at the valet parking service right in front of us – Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces…….the list went on and the jaws dropped.
We went down to the beach to see the landmark Burj Al Arab hotel but near the water the humidity was so high the camera fogged up and we couldn’t take any photos. We visited some souks and watched the incredible skills of a man who made Pippa a personalised sand bottle.
Once again Pippa was treated like royalty on our flights; this time with the lovely crews from Emirates. She now is the proud owner of 5 Emirates monsters, her very own Emirates headpiece and among many other gifts the most delicious chocolate mousse cake!! Yummo!
Our journey has now come to an end. It has been incredible and every day there has been a highlight. The magic of the Eiffel Tower will remain with Pippa forever. Some of us wanted to return home and some of us would like to continue travelling. For me, avoiding reality would be the preferable option but that’s not possible so this travel bubble has burst. Hopefully we can manage to escape reality again soon.
Pippa Rea 
Such a remarkable family and so many places you have visited with such enthusiasm.
Lots of wonderful memories and so sorry we could not have joined you in Paris for a few days.
It has been our privilege to have been part of your journey with all the photos and stories that you have shared with us. Love and kisses to you all xx
Glad you had an amazing time- can’t wait to hear all about it, even though you have done an amazing job of sharing your trip along the way. Love to all. xxxxxxxx
Wow Virginia what an amazing and awesome adventure you have all had together, you are so inspiring and a testament to grabbing life with both hands and living in the moment. Tx