Abu Dhabi

I'm back home after a weekend in Abu Dhabi. We liked Abu Dhabi, it's a bit like a cross between Dubai and Doha. At least we think it is, we didn't actually see very much of it, for the first 40 hours we didn't leave the hotel. But we did manage to see some interesting stuff during a six hour sightseeing spree this afternoon. We started the day at the mosque, where I had the opportunity to wear an abaya (well, you have to or you're not allowed in). I won't lie, I enjoyed wearing it, it was basically dressing up, which I like.

Here I am:

 Posing with my husband - no touching.

It was seriously hot in that courtyard - hottest part of the day, hottest part of the year, hottest part of the world.  Grim.

I was hoping N would have to wear a thobe (traditional floor length white shirt worn by men in the Gulf) - but they only gave those to men wearing shorts - and my husband is far too culturally sensitive to make such a faux pas.

Later we went to the
Emirates Palace, where we saw a marvellous exhibition all about the cultural island they're building, with gob smacking buildings designed by world renowned architects, like Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid, housing branches of the Guggenheim and the Louvre and museums and performance spaces. It's called Saadiyat Island.

I also had the best sandwiches there i've ever eaten. A selection of English high tea style sandwiches - egg, salmon, cucumber and corned beef. I can't get over how good they were. Really. Amazing.

Then we ended our visit with a look at a load of ancient artefacts that were stored in glass cabinets, lining the corridors. We assumed they were a mini museum - in fact they were shop display cabinets, with all the items available to buy. Bowl from 1500BC anyone? Warrior statuette from the Tang dynasty? N had his eye on this rather fetching urn from around 400BC. Apparently you're supposed to buy pottery for eight year wedding anniversaries, so i'm going to start saving now.