Playing Tourist

This last week was a busy one! Covered a lot of "touristy" things (some for the first time, some for the second). A friend from the States flew in on his way to Munich and we covered a lot of ground in one day.

First on our agenda was touring the Grand Mosque. This was my second time there, but I was still in awe. It's such an amazing sight, hard to believe that it is still consider brand new. I asked how much the mosque cost to build, but apparently no one knows, as they are still building it. A quick Google search and I saw numbers upwards of 3.2 billion (not sure if that was USD or AED, huge difference). After the tour of the mosque, we headed into town and went to the Emirates Palace. A must if you need to hit the gold atm. Yep, an atm that dispenses gold bars. The Palace is a hotel, complete with some of the best nightlife and restaurants in the world (I loooove Etoiles). After taking some touristy pictures, we drove over to the Marina Mall (because who doesn't want to see a mall with a ski slope and ice skating rink in the middle?). The malls in Abu Dhabi do not even compare to Dubai Mall, but there is still fine shopping and sights. From there, we headed to Heritage Village and Lulu Island. Heritage Village is set up like "Old Abu Dhabi" complete with straw huts, handmade crafts and camels! Lulu Island offers an amazing view of the Corniche of Abu Dhabi (the beach area) and all the buildings. Not to mention, the bluest water I've seen in a long time (I'm looking at you Jax Beach...). 

After I worked that day (YEP! I work here, not on a permanent vacation like so many believe) we went to the Left Bank, which is a bar at the Souk and then down to Cedar Lounge at the Fairmont to smoke shisha. Shisha is most commonly known as hookah in the States and also as hubbly bubbly. Lots of fun, good conversation and amazing views of the Grand Mosque at night from across the Grand Canal. Not to mention, we were at the Fairmont, which is basically my favorite place in the world. 

Was planning on going out this weekend, however I never did. Did a Skype happy hour with my girl Katie and then fell asleep. Oh technology. Saturday morning, my boss, the girls and I woke up super early and met some friends to go kayaking in the Abu Dhabi mangroves. It was so much fun. My arms, back and shoulders are killing me now though! I haven't uploaded the pictures and we didn't see much, but it was still a fun experience to "escape" city life for a few hours and get some exercise, while having fun. 

Hoping to hit up a rain party this weekend. Since it doesn't rain here too often, we bring the rain to us. Should be interesting and if I do make it, I'll be sure to take lots of pics! Happening at the Aloft Hotel in downtown AD. (Jo or Sahar, if you're reading this...I'm looking at you to boogie down there with me!)

Sidenote: 1 month 'til I'm home for Fl-Ga weekend! Only in the States for 6 days, but planning to make it well worth my while! Can't wait to see everyone!

XXOO