On my fourth day in Abu Dhabi we returned to the Emirates Palace hotel. The day before we were not allowed in because ray was in shorts (and they were nice shorts), though we saw other people wearing gym shorts even, but apparently they were guests (so it’s true rich people can get away with more!). Ray has apologized several times for my being in Abu Dhabi during Ramadan. It’s the hottest part of the year (so going to the beach or outside adventure sports are out) and with the religious holiday there are a lot more restrictions than usual (like no eating and drinking in public, which mean the beach cafes are closed) no dancing (so clubbing is out). I’m not sure if the dress code is more strict right now or not. It hasn’t been bad for me, I’m a pretty modest dresser, I’ve been trying to make sure at least my knees or my shoulders are covered at all times, and I carry a cardigan all the time, which is especially good since places are so air conditioned that I feel cold inside, when you go outside the hot air instantly makes your sunglasses steam up. So despite Ray apologizing, I really haven’t minded or thought anything less of my time here.
So anyway, back to the palace, we went back in the early afternoon, making sure we were dressed appropriately, though we did see some people who we considered not looking as good (jeans and flannels, but at least the knees were covered).
Inside everything is gold and beautiful, the huge entry dome holds the biggest Christmas tree Ray tells me, which is crazy since they don’t celebrate.
It truly is luxurious. And speaking of luxury, we found our way to the cafe to have a drink of their specialty, 24-carat cappuccino.
We had lunch as well as the cappuccino, going with the 2.350 dirham caviar.
Just joking of course, we did have a delicious lunch but went the quinoa salad and wrap route (both of which I hope to emulate back at home). So the lucky thing about our getting kicked out of the palace the day before was when we returned the next day the place was virtually empty! It’s so big (over 390 rooms) you can almost get lost. There are private beaches, a blue courtyard, palm trees, ballrooms… Check out the pics (and since it’s a hotel it was free to explore, we just paid at the cafe for our food and drinks).
Here I am posing with a pic of Sheikh Zayed, whose picture is everywhere because he is the founder of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, which is a relatively young country having been formed in just 1971. He was forward-thinking and did a lot to modernize his people. He shared his wealth with the people, he paid for the mosque we visited two days before, in short he did a lot of cool things and is a very popular and venerated figure here.
The Emirates Palace is located just across the street from the Etihad towers we visited the day before.
Next we drove to Capital Gate, the building with the highest degree of leaning in the world. It’s a hotel and is connected to the Abu Dhabi national exhibition center grand stand, which hosts parades and important events throughout the year.
Next stop was to see Masdar City, a project started in 2010 to be a city that relies solely on solar and other renewable energy.
It was pretty desolate while we were there but I love the concert and hope it succeeds!
Finally, we headed to Yas Island and the mall there to go to Ferrari World, an indoor amusement park, only to find it closed. Maybe next time.
We concluded that night at “brunch” at an Irish bar. These brunches are pretty common here, it’s from 8-11pm, and includes a buffet and all the drinks you want. It costs $149 dirham (it’s about 4 dirham to a dollar) and was a really fun night of getting know more of Rays friends better and lots of singing of show tunes. We need this in the U.S.! More tomorrow!!!
Catching Katie 
