Emirates Palace

More grandiose and oppulent than the one shown in Sex and the City 2; the real Emirates Palace is over the top and the perfect symbol of Abu Dhabi. We stopped by one evening for coffee and dessert on the beach.

Emirates Palace Hotel

Kayaking in the Mangroves

Abu Dhabi may be a desert city, but along its coastline are 5,600 acres of natural mangrove forests and the best way to experience the mangroves is by kayak. Aaron and Jessica hired a guide and rented a kayak one afternoon and went out exploring. There's such a stark contrast between all the construction occuring in the City and the peaceful nature of the mangroves. It's hard to beleive that these two facets of Abu Dhabi are occuring in harmony of each other. Most of the mangrove forests are on the eastern side of Abu Dhabi Island, about a block from our villa. Our proximity to the mangrove forests and the kayak launch has us considering the purchase of our own kayaks.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the eighth largest mosque in the world and the largest mosque in the UAE. It can accomodate 40,000 worshippers under its 82 domes and holds the world record for The Largest Carpet and The Lagest Chandelier. Women are asked to wear the traditional Muslim Abaya as a sign of respect.

Desert Safari

Brian's brother Aaron was our first visitor in Abu Dhabi and we spent a week showing him around Abu Dhabi and Dubai. One of our first outings was a desert safari complete with dune bashing in a 4x4, a trip to a camel farm to sample fresh camel milk, sand boarding, camel rides, dinner around a camp fire, and an after dinner toke on a traditional Arabic shisha pipe. 

CNN Future Cities - Abu Dhabi

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family in Kansas City, Anchorage, Seattle, Wichita, Ankeny, Des Moines, Cabot, Bucklin, Dodge City, Chicago, Monterey, Washington DC, Telluride, London, and Abu Dhabi. A toast to all of you and to a prosperous 2011.

Paris

Last week our Abu Dhabi Adventure took us to Paris for a Christmas holiday. It was so refreshing to be in the cold air and to see snow. We rented a furnished apartment on the Isle Saint Louis for the 9 days we were in the City of Light. It was a beautiful flat over looking a quaint Parisian street filled with restaurants, bars, and boutiques.

We did a lot of the typical touristy stuff like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Musee d'Orsay, and Versailles. However, most of our time was spent walking around the various neighborhoods, drinking espresso in sidewalk cafes, shopping, and taking in all the sights. We attended Christmas Mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral, went on a walking tour of Montmartre, took a ride on the Grand Roue de Paris ferris wheel over looking the Champs Elysees, and strolled through the holiday markets.

Our French isn't very good, but each day we practiced a new word or phrase and by the end of the trip, were able to show the locals that we were at least making an effort. Jessica mastered the subway system and Brian mastered the art of bypassing all the long ques. Brian's brother Aaron used to live in Paris and we were fortunate to have him stop by for a few days on his way to Morocco to show us some of the cooler, lesser known hot spots.

Here's a link to an online photo album containing all our photos from the trip.
Paris Photo Album

Abu Dhabi "Be Still" Commercial

Our friend Martin Lever, Creative Executive Director at TBWA/RAAD here in Abu Dhabi wrote the poem and directed this commercial for his client, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. At the 2010 Cannes Lions International Advertising Awards he received the Bronze Film Craft Award for Copywriting. All of Abu Dhabi is proud of the award and we're especially proud to be friends with Martin and his wife Max.  

ShuiQi Spa at the Atlantis

Is it possible to be too relaxed or have too perfect a weekend? Not in Abu Dhabi and not when you have access to the worlds best resorts and spas. Last weekend we travelled north to Dubai and spent a full day at the Atlantis on Palm Jumeiriah. We purchased a spa package that included full access to the pool and beach, a Shiseido Qi full body massage, a Japanese foot bath ritual, a facial, and a sushi dinner. The spa treatment portion of the day lasted 3 hours, which is honestly a really long time to lie around being pampered. Mix in some time by the pool and a few over the top cocktails, and we were a mere heartbeat away from a comatose state. But alas, we persevered and stayed vertical long enough to do a little shopping in preparation of our upcoming vacation to Paris for Christmas.

ShuiQi Spa at the Atlantis

UAE National Day

On Thursday, December 2, 2010, the United Arab Emirates celebrated the founding of the country 39 years ago. Buildings were decorated and lit up in UAE colors, cars were adorned with pictures of the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and thousands of individual light displays were placed in the roadway medians. It was a National Holiday, so everyone had the day off of work and it seemed like everyone was down along the beach. In the evening, all the cars gathered at the Corniche and participated in an ad hoc parade with hundreds of thousands of people walking alongside reveling in all the sights and sounds. Drivers were honking, revved up engines were backfiring, and everyone was spraying Silly String. It was pretty chaotic by UAE standards. Around 10 PM, fireworks were shot off over Emirates Palace. The UAE has come a long way in just 39 years and all the locals have immense pride for their country’s achievements. We were happy to be part of the celebration.

Construction Site Visits

Brian and his colleague, Abdulla Al Romaithi, in front of the next phase of the Al Raha Beach development.

Brian and his colleague, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, touring the Motor World development.

Jessica's New Company Car