I spy with my little eye... an organic day at the park.

Bonjour pitchouns! The beginning of 2014 has been busy here at HOB, hence me taking some time off: I moved houses, bye bye Greens, I worked on writing assignments, and I got confirmation that my video skills needed some serious improvement. Now that all the logistic job is done, time to get back to real life: more creativity and quirkiness please! And since I changed neighborhoods,  I went on a little exploratory trip with the ladies. We decided to picnic at Safa Park and try the Ripe Market. All I knew was that it was an organic market held every Friday morning at the Park. And for once in Dubai, when they say morning, they mean morning (I'm sorry but brunch should be 10am-2pm, not 1pm-5pm): 9am till 2pm, so rise and shine pitchouns! The easier way to access the market is to head to Gate 5 of the park but if you get in through an other entrance, just head to the Archive. I liked walking through the park on a sunny morning, there are children running everywhere, rugby/soccer teams playing, bicycles, runners, it felt like being in Europe, where people enjoy the outdoors and head out the second the clouds clear out. 

Now about the market, I was a little bit disappointed to see mostly restaurant/bakery booths. I would have liked to find more of an artisan/entrepreneur vibe rather than establish brands. That being said, most of the pastries were gluten-free and all the smoothies/juices and sandwiches/wraps were made on the spot, which made it quite genuine and resulted in delicious smells. So far it's the closest to a european Sunday market I found in Dubai. The Ripe booth is very tempting: all the products are gown in the UAE, the packaging is simple and environmental friendly and the prices are reasonable. I would recommend it if you are planning soups, ratatouilles, woks etc... As for us, we got our daily dose of vitamins, smoothies and veggies and sat on a tablecloth for a couple of hours, getting our weekly dose of sun. It was so nice to enjoy the outdoors I might become a regular, so if you decide to give it a go and spot a white and blue tablecloth, come say hi!

For more information about the Ripe Market, click here.