Europa!

Well, it's been a while hasn't it?

Middle Eastern Chick has been away... IN EUROPE! Well, she's back to the good ol' Middle East now, but the whole month of July was spent in green lands with perfect weather, quite a world away from the hot deserts of home.

Austria, Spain and Italy were the main destinations. Oh, and seven days on a cruise ship. Sounds brilliant doesn't it?! Not to mention the ridiculous over-load of eye-candy as well. You knew it was coming, didn't you? Don't worry, all Middle Eastern Chick's girlfriends ask the same question: "Were the guys hot?" And frankly, who wouldn't want to know? It's true! Middle Eastern Chick can vividly recall walking down the bustling street of Las Ramblas in Barcelona as if it were a sea of pure eye-candy. One or two guys even made her swoon. No kidding. Of course, she had to swoon discreetly.

Apart from the sizzling levels of hotness, there were quite a few other attractions. You know, secondary ones, like the Colosseum, the Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and what-not. I kid, I kid! The history of all the countries visited was to die for. Every street we walked and every corner we turned, there was a new story to be told. Sometimes it just got quite unbelievable. Like, this one time, Middle Eastern Chick was walking with her tour-group in Rome when the guide randomly pointed to a construction site and told us that the city planned to build an extension to the metro line there. However, once they started excavating for the project, they ran into Roman ruins. Yup, just like that... we want metro, but we found Roman ruins. No big deal.

Now, let me get onto the important bit: the Cruise ship. DAMN. I WANT TO LIVE ON ONE FOREVER! If you haven't been on a cruise ship yet, Middle Eastern Chick STRONGLY recommends it! It was flippin' brilliant! There were 18 decks that housed pretty much everything, from casinos, restaurants, cinemas, comedy clubs, nightclubs and amphitheaters, to a water park (with slides and all), rock-climbing wall, spa, gym, basketball court, running track, pools, bars and social clubs. Basically, one could never get bored. AT ALL. The only time Middle Eastern Chick wasn't on deck was when she needed a little shut-eye in her cabin (which was FANTASTIC! It was tiny, but it was five-star tiny) or when she was out and about in the city when the ship was docked. Otherwise, she was always out on deck with her new friends (yes, there was a teens social club too. It was called Entourage), doing all sorts of crazy stuff, or dancing late into the night at the various parties the ship had.

Oh, and did she mention FREE FOOD? That's right. It's one a.m, you feel hungry? No problem! Head off to a restaurant that's still open and serving and order all the food you want, no charge. It was chocolate brownie sundae HEAVEN. 'Nuff said.

The only downside that Middle Eastern Chick can think of is the obvious withdrawal that one would experience after such an epic get-away. Imagine landing back in Dubai, getting hit square in the face by a blast of sickly moist warmth and realising that you have to start paying for your food again. What a ripper. But hey, it's always good to be back, innit? ...Kind of.