The Pope, And The Little Mermaid

Well it has yet again been another wondrous month. Since we last spoke, I have managed to somehow make it to my 28th birthday, meet the little mermaid on a rock in Denmark, wreak havoc of all sorts in the bars of Budapest, and witness my father meeting the Pope in a science musuem in Philadephia.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Dubai Mall. Just so you are aware, that is located in Dubai. You may see me in this photo, wearing a sly grin and my birthday dress which cost an obscene amount of money. To be honest I had never been, not before this trip. My good friend spoilt me and paid for the nicest hotel, right across from the Burj whilst having a taste of Dubai nightlife. Sufficient to say it was a wonderful birthday, mission accomplished.

Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, amidst finding Sylvester Stallone in his Rocky younger years, I also managed to find my father (not quite so young) hanging out with the Pope. It was such a lovely visit. In Philadelphia there is the Reading Terminal Market, at which you can buy most anything your heart desires. As it were, we happened to be in Philly, which meant we had to have Philly Cheesesteak and I'm quite sure I shortened my heart health by a decade in doing so. Seeing as the Pope had recently visited Philadelphia, the "Francis House Of Peace" sat beside the Cathedral, littered with the white hand-written prayer ribbons of people's suffering from all over the world. Not near as depressing as the Phillies vs the Mets baseball game we attended later in the evening, mind you.

Not to mention cruising through the Copenhagen jungle with a Thai and Japanese girl, myself sharing a bike with the Japanese girl. However we didn't know it was illegal for two people to ride on one bike in that country. Sorry Denmark. I love your danishes. And your cool little mermaid sitting on the rock pining for her long lost lover. And Nyhavn as shown here. And your ice cream.

And, the most recent rendez-vous being Budapest. You may see the breathtaking view of the Parliament building. I stayed a few days, but still did not have near enough time to see everything. Just enough to go to a few bars, a little shopping and Jewish/Communist walking tours. I also got locked in a room with an Australian, Englishman, Canadian and Belgian and we had one hour to open up all the locks and make the bird fly down the wire and find out which rabbits were male and female in order to put all the shapes in line and escape. But that's another story.