Although it is the 3rd largest of the 7 Emirates, Sharjah is often thought of as a suburb of Dubai. Only 20 minutes away by car, Sharjah has become a popular choice for expats looking for a more relaxed and affordable living situation than they would get in neighbouring Emirate, Dubai.
Eager to learn more about Sharjah, Beth with fellow former QP staffer turned UAE-resident, Michele, headed over to the Emirate to explore.
Sharjah is considered a real leader and innovator in the embrace and promotion of arts and education. It constantly hosts literary and other festivals and has art galleries scattered all over the Emirate. So, we decided to check out as much of the culture as we could fit it.
We started with a visit to the Heritage Area near the sprawling Corniche. The area has restored a number of traditional Sharjah houses and has a charming market and numerous quaint museums, including the Museum of Calligraphy. The area currently spans a few city blocks but there are plans to expand the historic area substantially over the coming years.
After a stroll down the Corniche and a leisurely lunch at a local restaurant, we headed over to Al Qasna for a quick peak before hustling out of town to beat the sometimes intense rush hour traffic. Al Qasna has become one of the hot spots in Sharjah, hosting a beautiful canal lined with restaurants, shops, art galleries and, of course, the Eye of the Emirates ferris wheel. Even in mid-afternoon, the canal was bustling with people out enjoying the gorgeous weather and attractive promenade.
We were thrilled that the anticipated traffic jams did not really touch us on our way back and we made it back to Dubai in record time, leaving us the rest of the afternoon to get some serious work done.
Many thanks again to Michele, who has embraced UAE life to the fullest and was an excellent tour guide!
On our flight to Singapore, we had a short layover in Doha, Qatar. 
After a frigid week in Toronto, we were very excited to head down to tropical Curacao. Although the weather was a good draw, it was the wedding of our dear friends, Steph and Ronan, that made us most excited about our week away. 
Although a bit more rainy than expected, Curacao was a fantastic place to spend a week. With a colourful and vibrant downtown area, soft sand beaches with incredible "walk-in" scuba diving options, outdoor restaurants with gorgeous panoramas (thank you, Fort Nassau!) and fun waiters who never let the unexpected rainfalls get them down (thank you, Gouverneur Cafe!), and of course, the friendly iguanas who would sometimes pull up a seat in the deck chair next to you for a quick catch-up, Curacao's down to earth and inviting charm made everyone feel relaxed and at ease.
More than anything, however, it was the opportunity to spend time with great old friends (and meet some new ones!) and see two such special people get married, that created an unforgettable week. Whether laughing over sheer and white outfits getting dumped on by rain pummeling down through the open-air "party bus" roof, or participating in pool-noodle dance parties and sand hole-digging tricks with the kids (which is all fun and games until someone scrapes their knee!), or enjoying relaxing breakfasts on massive hotel room patios, or just wildly dancing to the addictive music during the wedding festivities, we will always remember fondly our splended week in Curacao.
Although we had anticipated skipping Canadian winters for many years to come, this all got flipped on its head when we decided to throw a Conference in Toronto in February. 
We were very excited to discover a theatre in Dubai that hosts live performances. 
We started with a visit to the Heritage Area near the sprawling Corniche. The area has restored a number of traditional Sharjah houses and has a charming market and numerous quaint museums, including the Museum of Calligraphy. The area currently spans a few city blocks but there are plans to expand the historic area substantially over the coming years.
After a stroll down the Corniche and a leisurely lunch at a local restaurant, we headed over to Al Qasna for a quick peak before hustling out of town to beat the sometimes intense rush hour traffic. Al Qasna has become one of the hot spots in Sharjah, hosting a beautiful canal lined with restaurants, shops, art galleries and, of course, the Eye of the Emirates ferris wheel. Even in mid-afternoon, the canal was bustling with people out enjoying the gorgeous weather and attractive promenade. 
