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Abu Dhabi and Dubai, an unexpected holiday

I was pretty sure that I would spend a calm and quiet summer and maybe even a little boring.
I didn’t plan anything: no travel, no vacation.

Then, like a bolt from the blue, I received a proposal “What aboutthe UAE?”
You can not imagine my surprise and excitement.

I quickly booked the ticket. I couldn’t miss such an opportunity!

A few days before departure, while walking down the stairs, I missed the last three steps, I fall down and I got a metatarsus distortion.
I spent one morning in the emergency room, I practiced on crutches during the following days  and after less than a week I left to the UAE.

I’m used to travel. I have traveled several times alone, with family, with friends, with colleagues, but it never happened to take an “assisted” trip
Often, while travelling, I saw people on the wheelchair at the airports assisted by dedicated staff.
Well, when travelling to the UAE I got it too!
An unusual way, indeed, but this gave me the chance, once arrived in Abu Dhabi, to leave the plane and the airport with my suitcase in less than 10 minutes.We booked at the Sheraton Abu Dhabi: simply gorgeous!
The impressive  and elegant entrance, the superb restaurants and a the swimming pools where spending the time relaxing were a real dream!

Due to my swollen foot we were quite limited in our moves and we had to give up to the idea of taking a ride in the desert.

We used to spend half a day at the pool to relax and enjoy the warm, and the rest of the day visiting Abu Dhabi.

The heat was really terrible, mostly due to the humidity.
Due to this reason, while driving around with the car we seldomly saw somebody walking in the street.
People went from one air-conditioned place to another and moved with the car, always with air conditioning on!

In Abu Dhabi we had a lot ot fun visiting the malls.
The Marina Mall is a feast for the eyes … but also for the wallet.
This Mall offerings to the visitors consist in luxury shops and even more, restaurants, bars and an ice-skating rink.

But to see the craziest shopping centers in the world you should go to Dubai.

We dedicated one day to Dubai visit: the Mall of the Emirates with a ski slope and with ski lifts open 365 days a year, The Dubai Mall with a giant aquarium in which you can do scuba diving and walk across a glass tunnel to see all kinds of fish swimming around you, the Souq shops with local products, and finally a visit and a lunch to the Burj-Al-Arab, the famous hotel 7-star .


Even in Abu Dhabi we didn’t visit the malls only.
One afternoon, we went to  the most luxurious hotel in Abu Dhabi, Emirates Palace, to sip a tea. After that we visited the Heritage Village: the reconstruction of a village in the Emirates before the oil boom.

An other day we visited the Great Mosque: a place not to be missed when you visit Abu Dhabi.
The Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque is one of the largest in the world and it can accommodate up to 10,000 people at once.
It is built next to Sultan Zayed mausoleum, the founding father of the UAE.
Entirely built with white marble, it is open during the day and women should wear the black caftan and cover their heads with a black scarf to access it.
As in all the mosques, there is a praying section dedicated to men and one to women, but outside of worship, women can also access the men area to visit it.
The marble used in the courtyard comes from Carrara, in Italy. 
This marble is the only one that remains cool even when the sun shines and it’s hot, and allows people walking barefoot.
The holiday in the UAE was a real dream for more than one reason. 

Now I’m looking forward to returning there soon, without injured feet.
Meanwhile I’m taking a look at UAE cruises  because after having visited two of the seven Emirates I still have the curiosity  to see the other ones.

5 Comments

  1. Stephen8 Maggio 31, 2013
  2. Freesoog Agosto 25, 2016
  3. Spice Goddess Ottobre 16, 2016
  4. Dubai Aprile 3, 2017
  5. Dubai Holiday Deals Aprile 27, 2017

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