Our company just released everyone’s awaited holiday circular today: we’re off from the afternoon of October 25 (Thursday) to 28th October (Sunday)! This week is our big Eid in the UAE: October 25 being Arafat Day – this day is the culminating event of the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and the next two/three days is Eid Al Adha – the days to celebrate the end of the Hajj (annual pilgrimage to Mecca).

I’m thinking of what to do on the holidays. Nothing has been planned so far. Malls in Dubai open for 24 hours during the weekends for Eid Al Adha but malls tire me. I always find myself walking and walking for the sole purpose of finding a sofa to sit on. {Only to see that there are people who got there faster than I did!}

I admit I’ve been spending some time late at night in between diaper duties looking at destinations. Nothing like late night reading up on travel pages can make you realize how bad you need a vacation, huh?

A few of my friends at work are planning a getaway somewhere close but I’m dreaming of somewhere far.

Europe.

Spain.

Barcelona.

The more I read about it, the more I want to go. There are sophisticated shops, avant-garde restaurants and sleek hotels in Barcelona than anywhere else in Spain. Add to that the interesting buildings – you don’t have to be an architecture buff to make a beeline for Barcelona. The medieval and Roman buildings in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) provide quite a contrast to Antoni Gaudi’s fanciful architecture – a huge contrast to Dubai’s skyscrapers.

And don’t get me started on the food: tapas, paella, asado, picadillo, calamari…ah, I feel when I arrive in Barcelona my tummy will not know what a jet lag is!