The Sharjah Food Festival ended this weekend. The festival is spread across three areas within Sharjah; Al Majaz Waterfront, Al Qasba and Al Montazah. We spent an idle Friday evening at Al Majaz Waterfront courtesy Zomato, and had a great time.

Sharjah Food Festival 2016 SFF16 Al Majaz Waterfront (8)

The Sharjah Food Festival has stalls from many well-known brands, and is also a great introduction to a few I have not heard of earlier. 

The weekend before last, we had the pleasure of being invited by Hilton Al Ain for a mini break. Did you know that this is the very first international hotel to have opened on UAE soil? Hilton Al Ain opened its doors to the public way back in 1971, and has an impressively long list of celebrity vacationers with the likes of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Their Majesties – The King and Queen of Spain, and legendary boxing champion Mohammed Ali himself.

Hilton Al Ain staycation review The Tezzy Files travel lifestyle food blog UAE Dubai Sharjah Abu Dhabi (19)

Hilton Al Ain staycation review The Tezzy Files travel lifestyle food blog UAE Dubai Sharjah Abu Dhabi (20)
A postcard featuring an areal view of Hilton Al Ain in 1971

With a population just over 80K and covering an area of 336 square kilometers, my gorgeous little hometown of Palmerston North, New Zealand can be considered pretty tiny by global comparisons.

However, this little city has earned itself a number of titles. It is known as the ‘Knowledge City’ of New Zealand, given the number of highly reputable educational institutions it houses for its size (the biggest, and oldest campus being Massey University from where I proudly earned my three tertiary degrees in Marketing).

Palmerston North is also known as the ‘City of Roses’ owing to its very well-loved Dugald Mackenzie Rose Garden.

Palmerston-North-Rose garden