Abu Dhabi Time
After returning from Thailand, I took my second week of break to chill out around Abu Dhabi. My neighbor had his cousin in town from Arizona, so I tagged along with them to do some touristy stuff.
I finally went to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This is one of the main tourist attractions in Abu Dhabi, I just had never gone to visit, even though I pass it on my way to and from work everyday.
The Grand Mosque certainly is GRAND. It has 82 domes of 7 different sizes, is large enough to accommodate 40,000 worshipers, and has seven imported chandeliers from Germany that have millions of Swarovski crystals. It cost 2 billion Dirhams to build, which is equivalent to $545 Million USD.
After the mosque, we made our way to Ferrari World. I had been to Ferrari World one other time, but it was a holiday weekend and the crowds were awful. My friend and I stood in line for 3 hours to ride the world's fastest roller coaster. By the time we did that, the place was closing. We went to customer service and complained and were given two tickets to come back again another time, so this was it.
This time there were NO crowds, NO lines, and a much, much better experience. We rode all the rides, and even rode the Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster, twice in a row with no waiting.
The coaster goes from zero to 150mph in 3.9 seconds and a 4.8 G-force (although I never really knew what that meant). Anyway, it is fast.. In fact, it was so fast it almost blew my shirt off. I spent the whole ride trying to keep my clothes on and not arrive back at the station topless, which here in Abu Dhabi, most likely would have resulted in arrest and/or deportation..lol...
We also went to Saadiyat Island, which is right next door to the island I live on, even though it ends up being a 20 minute drive by car! Saadiyat is still a really bare island, but it will be the up-and-coming seven star resort area. There is already a golf course there and they recently added a St. Regis hotel resort. We went to the Monte Carlo resort one night for dinner and drinks with a group of friends.. This place is like heaven. The food was awesome, and the weather was perfect. As you can see, the setting was great.. I don't know why I only took pictures of the pool, but it was wonderful. What you can't see is, right beyond the pool is the gulf waters.
The following few days were fun filled evenings and outings. One of the best days was when I went to the gym at my apartment in the morning. The gym here overlooks the city to one side and the gulf waters to the other. As I was working out, I saw a huge cruise ship pull into the port. I see this fairly often, so I thought nothing of it. But just then Facebook notified me my friend was nearby at Abu Dhabi Port.. Turns out a whole crew of my Georgia teacher folks were on the cruise ship coming in. Granted, they all live here now, but they were placed in Al Ain, which is about an hour and a half away, so I rarely see them. I had a few prior commitments that day, but was able to spend about 3 hours with them, which was wonderful and refreshing. We went out for coffee and dessert and they came to see my apartment. It was a great afternoon. Here is a picture of us from the coffee shop.
Spring break was wonderful but now I am back to work. Only 39 days with students left, 54 work days for me left, and only 81 days till I fly back to the States for a visit! Counting it down!!
I finally went to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This is one of the main tourist attractions in Abu Dhabi, I just had never gone to visit, even though I pass it on my way to and from work everyday.
The Grand Mosque certainly is GRAND. It has 82 domes of 7 different sizes, is large enough to accommodate 40,000 worshipers, and has seven imported chandeliers from Germany that have millions of Swarovski crystals. It cost 2 billion Dirhams to build, which is equivalent to $545 Million USD.
After the mosque, we made our way to Ferrari World. I had been to Ferrari World one other time, but it was a holiday weekend and the crowds were awful. My friend and I stood in line for 3 hours to ride the world's fastest roller coaster. By the time we did that, the place was closing. We went to customer service and complained and were given two tickets to come back again another time, so this was it.
This time there were NO crowds, NO lines, and a much, much better experience. We rode all the rides, and even rode the Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster, twice in a row with no waiting.
The coaster goes from zero to 150mph in 3.9 seconds and a 4.8 G-force (although I never really knew what that meant). Anyway, it is fast.. In fact, it was so fast it almost blew my shirt off. I spent the whole ride trying to keep my clothes on and not arrive back at the station topless, which here in Abu Dhabi, most likely would have resulted in arrest and/or deportation..lol...
We also went to Saadiyat Island, which is right next door to the island I live on, even though it ends up being a 20 minute drive by car! Saadiyat is still a really bare island, but it will be the up-and-coming seven star resort area. There is already a golf course there and they recently added a St. Regis hotel resort. We went to the Monte Carlo resort one night for dinner and drinks with a group of friends.. This place is like heaven. The food was awesome, and the weather was perfect. As you can see, the setting was great.. I don't know why I only took pictures of the pool, but it was wonderful. What you can't see is, right beyond the pool is the gulf waters.
The following few days were fun filled evenings and outings. One of the best days was when I went to the gym at my apartment in the morning. The gym here overlooks the city to one side and the gulf waters to the other. As I was working out, I saw a huge cruise ship pull into the port. I see this fairly often, so I thought nothing of it. But just then Facebook notified me my friend was nearby at Abu Dhabi Port.. Turns out a whole crew of my Georgia teacher folks were on the cruise ship coming in. Granted, they all live here now, but they were placed in Al Ain, which is about an hour and a half away, so I rarely see them. I had a few prior commitments that day, but was able to spend about 3 hours with them, which was wonderful and refreshing. We went out for coffee and dessert and they came to see my apartment. It was a great afternoon. Here is a picture of us from the coffee shop.
Spring break was wonderful but now I am back to work. Only 39 days with students left, 54 work days for me left, and only 81 days till I fly back to the States for a visit! Counting it down!!
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