Merry Christmas Everyone!
It has been a interesting day for us so far...we had a great sleep-in and a Christmas Brunch (with non-stop sparkling wine) here at the Intercontinental Abu Dhabi. We laid by the pool for a bit and now we are sipping on some red wine, watching the sun go down and contemplating visiting one of the souks tonight before we come back to Skype with family (and hopefully friends too!).
We have had an excellent trip so far - Wednesday afternoon we flew to Abu Dhabi, picked up our rental car and made our way to the Intercontinental.
We picked Abu Dhabi so that we would be able to golf and sightsee without breaking the bank and without signficant travel time involved. It's only a one hour flight here.A friend in the affiliate here sent me a flyer for a holiday special at the Intercontinental and so we booked it!
The hotel is gorgeous and has its own pier and marina backing onto the sea. We have played golf twice. The first round was at the Abu Dhabi City Course, built in the middle of the equestrian race track. It was a nice nine holes and a good warm up for our game at the 'big course' - the Abu Dhabi National. In about 20 days the Abu Dhabi National will host the European tour and so the course was in fine shape, although there was a lot of construction going on (bleachers going up, last minute landscaping, etc). We played the "hybrid" option which is holes 10 to 18 on the National course and then 1-9 on the original course. It is a slightly less expensive option, but let's just say that this round was a Christmas present to ourselves!
As I said, the course was beautiful but we were frazzled from arriving late - we left with over an hour - but there was construction that blocked the access to the course which caused delays in getting turned around and then finding another route. Anyone who has experienced a four lane highway in the middle east knows what I mean. Exits, turnarounds, etc are uncommon. Neither one of us had our best round, but at least we golfed on our own for the whole time. We waited a lot for a slow group ahead of us as well. Still, sparkling water, palm trees, white sand and 25 degree weather make it hard to get too worked up!
We have had some excellent meals as well - aside from the brunch today, we also ate at Chamas here at the hotel. Chamas is a Brazilian BBQ (like Gaucho & Bolero back home) and we thoroughly enjoyed the tasty meat and the caprinihas too!
After golf on Thursday, we visited Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The third largest mosque in the world, it holds 40,000 worshippers and was just completed (mostly) in the early 2000s. It is stunning, spectacular and well worth a visit. The entrance and tours are free and the mosque shows the Sheikh's vision to combine architecture styles and materials from around the world in this 'multicultural' mosque. Greek marble, Swarovski crystal, murano glass - it is really beautiful and magnificent.
We also hit up the Heritage Village designed to show was Abu Dhabi was like before oil and then the Marina Mall (Ikea!).
Yesterday afternoon we went to Ferrari World - a Ferrari theme park that boasts the fastest roller coaster in the world. Unfortunately, we didn't get on the roller coaster. The wait was too long and then when we went back it was closed for maintenance. But we enjoyed the other rides - including a log type ride where you are the 'fuel' travelling through a Ferrari engine and a set of duelling roller coasters in look alike Ferrari spiders. There was a 4D ride and lots of historical and educational rides about Ferraris as well. Plus, there were all kinds of new and classic Ferraris on display. Very fun!
We decided to go away for Christmas because the closer the holiday came, the harder it was to not be at home with family and friends. In the end, even though we had convinced ourselves we didn't have the time off or money to fly home, it would have been tough to stay in Doha. It just didn't feel like Christmas time at all! So, in the absence of Christmas and with the storms in Europe wrecking havoc travel - why not travel to somewhere warm and somewhere new?
We have enjoyed the trip to Abu Dhabi so far, but we are in agreement that it still doesn't feel like Christmas. While we are making new memories and traditions together, we miss the familiar traditions with our family back home. We are certainly a bit homesick today and missing not just our family but also our friends.
So wherever you are, we hope that you are enjoying your time with your family and friends - or however you decide to celebrate Christmas. Remember that no matter how frustrating family can be, they are still family and try and savour the time together while you can. Reach out to those who are alone on Christmas and please know that we are thinking of you!
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