On My Doorstep

If you can tell me what this intriguing
matchstick thing is, you win a prize!

Things change fast in Dubai, with new roads and buildings springing up all over the place.  And Downtown (where I live) is the King of these changes, with exciting things happening and popping up on a regular basis.  Well, when you have the world's tallest building as a focal point (and the first thing I see when I open my front door in the morning!) it's bound to attract a lot of attention and activity.

I'm most excited about this new development, The Pavilion.  It's the old sales centre built to sell the apartments off plan when the whole area was just a pile of sand.  These were the days when buyers queued round the block to snap up properties here, so the centre was defunct pretty quickly.  Many's the time we've walked past and mused on what a fabulous building it is, in a perfect location (approx 20 steps from my front door!).  We had hoped for a bar or restaurant, but to be fair, this sounds wonderful:

"The Pavilion Downtown Dubai's intriguing concept intends to stimulate on a variety of levels.  Including an art gallery (which is currently showcasing photographs from DIFC's always-amazing The Empty Quarter gallery), design gallery, cafe, library, theatre and bike rental - just to name a few - The Pavilion aims to serve as an inspiring and intellectual cultural location for the residents of Downtown Burj Khalifa and its visitors."

Some do complain about Dubai being devoid of culture (I've never subscribed to this view, we may not have an opera house, but there's so much going on here on the art and culture front, you just need to be plugged into it) so this is a welcome addition to the galleries and spaces here.   And did I mention that it's TWENTY STEPS FROM MY FRONT DOOR?!

I remember moving into Downtown almost three years ago, and driving around the limited accessible space wondering: "what's behind all those hoardings"/"can they please stop changing the roads every five minutes"/will the mall ever open"/"how tall will the Burj Khalifa be"/"will there ever be any decent restaurants nearby (hello Rivington Grill!)".  I'm so very glad I had faith in the area developing.  It's everything they promised it would be, and more.  Dubai, my love affair with you not only continues, but gets more passionate on a daily basis. Love!