A Date...with Jihad

This is the time of year when the date palms are full of dates. Last week was the date festival in Al Ain complete with a date beauty contest and the Guiness Book of World Records for the largest plate of dates. The trees around town have bags attached to them to keep the dates from dropping or getting eaten by birds. These are fresh dates and need to be dried before they are what we are used to.

Judges at the date beauty contest...I think they just found Miss Congeniality...

Guiness Book of World Records for world's largest plate of dates....

Okay, enough of that...back here in Abu Dhabi I've got bigger things to worry about. I called to make a hair appointment and I was told that my usual hairdresser, Ede, has gone back to Lebanon. "No problem" they tell me because they can book me in with his replacement, Jihad. Thats right, his name is Jihad. I asked the receptionist to spell it....JIHAD. I was hoping that it was spelled with a G or with two DD's or something. Who would name their child Jihad. Maybe it is a nickname...but then that is worse isn't it? Usually nick names are indicative of something you are good at. I'm having enough bad hair days, so do I really want Holy War on top of my head? What do you think dear readers? Should I keep my appointment with Jihad?

ps. Note to Hollywood...next time you need a name for an evil villan bent on world domination...take some inspiration from the Lady of the Desert Salon in Abu Dhabi ...name him Jihad...and give him a really bad hair-do

Beware of Road Surprizes

The driving in Abu Dhabi defies words...here are some pictures to help you understand....

Ships of the Desert

On weekends we like to take drives in the desert and my favorite thing to do is camel spotting. It is a hobby similar to bird watching only you don't need binoculars and they don't have nests but sometimes you get lucky and see one in flight....

Happy Birthday Greg

In just a few months, I will have my very own son-in-law and I couldn't be happier. I have loved being the mother of two girls, but have always wondered what it would have been like to have a son. Having this kind of son is great...he comes already fully grown, educated and employed ...and he fixes stuff. His parents did a great job with him and we get to share in the benefits.

Greg, you are entering an exciting new chapter in your life and we are so glad we get to be a part of that. Best wishes for a great day.

Love,

Your Future Mother-in-Law

Our Staycation Part 2

Fast forward through the afternoon spa treatments, romantic dinner and steamy walk on the beach. (When I say "steamy", I mean it was still 110F, 80% humidity at 10:00 pm...there was no Beach Brouhaha going on at the palace) We wake the next morning refreshed after a good night's sleep on our comfy bed and pillows that we chose from our pillow menu. (I'm not making this up)

Now I decide it is time for a bike ride to see the pool. (The reason we have 26 years of marriage under our belts is because I have a very sweet husband that has learned the secret to marital happiness...two little words "yes dear". ) We get our bikes from the bike butler and take off for what seems like a ride on the face of the sun. 10 minutes and stage 5 skin cancer later, we are back.

Enough of that...time for a tour of the VIP suites. This is where the famous people who do not rule countries stay. The Rulers' Suites were off limits, but here is what we saw.

The elevator ride... They misspelled Mezzanine and Rulers is possesive and therefore should have an apostrophe. Do you think Justin Timberlake noticed? This 7 star hotel could be down to just 6 stars if they keep this up. The suite where Justin Timberlake stayed
We didn't eat here but JT did...

VIP Prayer Mats

Not our bathroom....

Celebrities only get silver sinks....for gold ones you have to rule a country. You'll have to try a little harder Justin.

Now it is time to go home. It has been a fun 24 hours of luxury, but now I'm craving a peanut butter sandwich and a lamp that can be turned on with a switch....I will miss my butlers though.

Our Staycation

To celebrate our anniversary, we thought "why get on a plane and and go somewhere when we have the world's most expensive hotel just around the corner?" We decided to get in our car and drive 2 blocks to the Emirates Palace and a have the 7 star experience for ourselves. I always think it is a good idea to get out and meet the neighbors anyway.

I have never stayed at a 7 star hotel so I wasn't sure what to expect. This is a hotel that changes colors every few minutes to reflect the many colors of the desert. (A little trick that was blantantly stolen from the Burj al Arab in Dubai). Did it change moods too?

We pull up and are greeted with Arabic coffee and flowers. This place is huge!!! We are shown to our room by our own private guide. I think the walk to our room is actually further than the drive from our apartment. Maybe we should have been greeted with trail mix and a sherpa.

We like to take the Rolls when we go on trips...

The room is on the ground floor as requested. When you live on the 11th floor of a high rise, it is very novel to be able to see grass and trees and to open a door and touch terra firma.

We had a few minutes to check out the free stuff in the room before our own private butler arrived with fresh orange juice....I'm really liking this 7 star service. 5 minutes after he leaves, there is another knock on the door it is another butler with fresh squeezed orange juice. Seems there was some butler confusion. Too many butlers??? You won't hear me complaining.

We are shown the giant blackberry-like contraption that controls everything like a genie granting wishes. Do you want to watch TV, rub the lamp...do you want to turn on a light, consult the genie...do you want the light to be on 10%, 30%, 50%,73.5%???? Okay, now I'm getting a little stressed out.

We leave and go get some coffee and listen to harp music and I notice that my cappuccino foam is sparkling. "Waiter, there in some bling in my coffee". I'm told that these are gold shavings and perfectly edible. This probably explains why this cup of coffee costs $10....eat your heart out Starbucks.

To be continued.....

7 Stars in the Neighborhood

As I've mentioned before, there are no addresses in Abu Dhabi. Giving directions is often like playing Pictionary or Charades and usually includes landmarks such as "turn right at the little coffee shop where all the taxi drivers hang out and smoke shisha..." Luckily for us, we live just down the street from the world's most expensive hotel. All we have to say is "take a left at the 3.8 billion dollar palace where Vladimir Putin is staying this week." There is usually no confusion about what we mean.

How did this palace come to be built? Here was the problem...where to put visiting dignitaries and Justin Timberlake when they come to visit to capital while taking some of the wind out of Dubai's sail at the same time. The solution, build a bigger, better palace. This is the way they "keep up with the Joneses" here in the United Arab Emirates.