Al Ain Falcon Festival
As do so many events in the UAE, Al Ain hosted a world-wide falcon festival and I almost never heard about it. Luckily for us, John and Judy Daniel were in town and so we had just happened to scour the local events listings. Representatives from something like 75+ countries were in attendance with their [...]
I Heart Abu Dhabi
Vic and I recently returned to the US for three weeks. We had a wonderful time. (Shout out to all the friends and family who were part of this wonderful time!) On the lengthy trip back, however, I realized that I was looking forward to coming home, and that home is now Abu Dhabi. Thus, [...]
Weekend at Qasr al Sarab
Before it go SUPER hot, Beth and I took a quick weekend away and went to Qasr al Sarab, a fancy resort located in the middle of the desert. The facility is beautiful, but the food was unimpressive and very over-priced. If you can get a good price for the room, it’s worth a weekend, [...]
Al Wathba Camel Races
Camels are one of the iconic images of Emirates. Historically, they were a critical component of daily life, used for transportation, food, trade, and much more. While the locals are more inclined to drive a Mercedes now than ride a camel, there is still a very active camel racing scene in the UAE. The race [...]
Texas Lindsays in Abu Dhabi
Mom and Dad come to visit with Grandma Gwen. We introduced them to Abu Dhabi with a walk along the Corniche as well as visits to the Fruit & Vegetable Market, Fish Market, Meena Port, Emirates Palace, and Saadiyat Island Golf Course.
(Finally) Visiting the Grand Mosque
No visit to Abu Dhabi is complete without a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Yet, somehow, Beth and I managed to live here for almost nine months without seeing it up close. I remember very vividly the night we first arrived at the airport driving past it on our way to the hotel. [...]
Saadiyat Beach Golf Course
Beth’s dad loves to golf. So for Christmas this year, we bought him a round of golf at Abu Dhabi’s new Gary Player designed course on Saadiyat Island. It’s currently one of the few functioning attractions on the island that will eventually be our home. I’m not a golfer, so it’s hard for me to [...]
UAE National Day
pa·tri·ot·ism –noun 1. devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty. 2. desire to decorate one’s car in excessive fashion and make loud noises in celebration Back home in the United States, we have a whole set of traditions related to Independence Day. In Austin, where I grew up, my neighborhood hosted a [...]
Masdar: (Yet Unbuilt) City of the Future
Along with all of the other big development projects going on in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the UAE has also launched the auspicious goal of creating the world’s first zero carbon footprint city. More information available on their webpage: http://www.masdarcity.ae/ For now, however, only the Masdar Institute—a new school offering graduate level degrees in engineering, [...]