We were so excited to be confirmed for our house sit in Abu Dhabi. It has provided us with the excuse to explore an area of the globe that we had never experienced. The good news is we have absolutely no regrets.
We arrived the day before our sit was scheduled to begin and checked into the Al Raha Beach Hotel. What an establishment! Made even better when the lovely front desk staff provided us with a complimentary upgrade to a Junior Suite. This view from our suite was a good indicator of what was in store for us in Abu Dhabi.
As we were here for the purpose of house sitting, most of our days were spent in and around the complex we were staying in. This certainly was no hardship.
The sunset view of downtown Abu Dhabi, about 20 km away, from our balcony was lovely.The view from our place of one of the New Years Eve fireworks displays was fairly impressive. Mind you, enjoying it had to be balanced with comforting our wonderful little gal we were looking after. She was not a big fan of the noise.We did set aside a couple of days to set out on public transit and explore two of the main attractions here. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was nothing short of jaw dropping. With a capacity for over 40,000 worshippers it is the largest mosque in the UAE and the third largest in the world. This courtyard is considered the largest marble mosaic in the world.The main prayer hall contains the largest single piece carpet in the world. Usurping the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat. The carpet was made by an Iranian company and took two years to complete, weighing 35 tonnes when it was done.Its main chandelier is rather impressive, with millions of Swarovski crystals, but for my tastes just a bit over the top. The chandelier in Sutton Qaboos Mosque in Muscat is much classier, I thought. There is no denying the beauty of the architectural symmetry throughout the structure. I was frequently reminded of Disneyland, the way the custodians moved the massive amount of visitors through the building and grounds quickly and efficiently.The scope of the site is quite beautiful and awe inspiring.As we headed back to the bus stop for the trip home we were treated to one last view of the domes. On a side note, the blue winding path in the foreground is a padded 3km running track that circles the whole mosque. Kind of a neat feature I thought.The other must see attraction in Abu Dhabi is the Louvre. They partnered with the Louvre in Paris to help widen the appreciation for history and art.As a rule we are not huge museum people. However wandering through here was quite enjoyable.The dome and water features all around the complex are a wonderful setting. Everything is big enough to allow you room to appreciate the works of Da Vinci and Rodin. As much as we enjoyed our bit of sightseeing I will be honest in saying the best part was playing with our beautiful dachshund, Mila, and relaxing in the roof top pool. Life is pretty good.
We’ve never been there but have always wanted to go. Now it’s a must see. Mika is adorable, We are glad she is holding up under the stress of the roof-top pool. Feliz Año Nuevo.
John and Bev
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