An Abu Dhabi Christmas
Christmas is pretty nonexistent in Saudi Arabia. We knew that would be the case, so we planned to take a little escape the week before. We didn’t even have to travel far. Abu Dhabi is a short plane ride away, and it delivered. We had a magical Christmas week. Wade’s brother was living in Abu Dhabi and had traveled back to the states to see his family, so we were able to steal his apartment at the St. Regis on Saadiyat Island. It was a beautiful, peaceful vacation spot. Who needs snow!
Going to the beach while celebrating Christmas is a dream. Not to mention that the beaches were crowd-free, the water was pure turquoise, and Ollie and Aliya found enough shells to fill a suitcase. Next stop was the mall, because Christmas is always alive and well at the mall. The tree was (what felt like) ten stories high, there was an elaborate Santa’s workshop and of course Santa in his sleigh. The kids were even given a lollipop the size of their face after visiting Santa. Funny fact, we visited “Santa” more times during the Christmas season in Riyadh/Abu Dhabi than we ever did in the U.S. Santa visited our compound (1), Santa visited their preschool (2), Santa visited a Christmas party we attended (3), and then we saw Santa three times while in Abu Dhabi (6). He really loves the Middle East.
Our next stop was not necessarily Christmas related, but it was close to seeing snow in the Middle East (if that counts). We visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and it was absolutely breathtaking. I might just try to let the photos do the talking, but I will say that it was inviting and peaceful. Quick amazing facts, the hanging chandeliers you will see are about $1 million a piece, and the rug is the largest handmade rug in the world, and I honestly don’t know where it begins and ends.
I also love this picture of Ollie. We just barely missed the tour, so we tagged along with this group of Asian tourists, ha. And thanks to Aliya you have a photo of me all covered up, but this was only necessary at the mosque. I didn’t have to cover in Abu Dhabi (I do in Riyadh), which was a vacation for me in and of itself!
Then it was time for more Christmas. One of the malls has an elaborate Christmas market/town right on the water. There was a Christmas train for the kids to ride, a man made-snow playground, an ice-skating rink, tons of booths with Christmas crafts and sweets, and a stage with Christmas performances. We were in heaven. Oh and of course we saw Santa one more time, because he was everywhere.
Of course the next day we had to fit in a beach bike ride for good measure. This is one of our favorite activities, and I’ll be a little sad when the kids are too big to fit on the back of the bike (that time might already be here). Our bike ride was right by the Emirates Palace, so we stopped by to see the Palace Christmas tree, and it was taller than any we had seen so far (and most every tree we saw was REALLY tall), so I didn’t even try to fit the whole thing in the frame. It was beautiful and the palace was opulent and it all added to our Christmas cheer.
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Christmas getaway. Yes, every bedtime was horrific becasue we were basically all sleeping in the same room and the kids were a buzzed, silly mess, but our days were filled with beautiful moments. We flew home on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day at home together. This year we are going to be doing things a little differently, and I’m excited about it, but I wouldn’t trade last Christmas for anything. Merry belated Christmas!
Going to the beach while celebrating Christmas is a dream. Not to mention that the beaches were crowd-free, the water was pure turquoise, and Ollie and Aliya found enough shells to fill a suitcase. Next stop was the mall, because Christmas is always alive and well at the mall. The tree was (what felt like) ten stories high, there was an elaborate Santa’s workshop and of course Santa in his sleigh. The kids were even given a lollipop the size of their face after visiting Santa. Funny fact, we visited “Santa” more times during the Christmas season in Riyadh/Abu Dhabi than we ever did in the U.S. Santa visited our compound (1), Santa visited their preschool (2), Santa visited a Christmas party we attended (3), and then we saw Santa three times while in Abu Dhabi (6). He really loves the Middle East.
Our next stop was not necessarily Christmas related, but it was close to seeing snow in the Middle East (if that counts). We visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and it was absolutely breathtaking. I might just try to let the photos do the talking, but I will say that it was inviting and peaceful. Quick amazing facts, the hanging chandeliers you will see are about $1 million a piece, and the rug is the largest handmade rug in the world, and I honestly don’t know where it begins and ends.
I also love this picture of Ollie. We just barely missed the tour, so we tagged along with this group of Asian tourists, ha. And thanks to Aliya you have a photo of me all covered up, but this was only necessary at the mosque. I didn’t have to cover in Abu Dhabi (I do in Riyadh), which was a vacation for me in and of itself!
Then it was time for more Christmas. One of the malls has an elaborate Christmas market/town right on the water. There was a Christmas train for the kids to ride, a man made-snow playground, an ice-skating rink, tons of booths with Christmas crafts and sweets, and a stage with Christmas performances. We were in heaven. Oh and of course we saw Santa one more time, because he was everywhere.
Of course the next day we had to fit in a beach bike ride for good measure. This is one of our favorite activities, and I’ll be a little sad when the kids are too big to fit on the back of the bike (that time might already be here). Our bike ride was right by the Emirates Palace, so we stopped by to see the Palace Christmas tree, and it was taller than any we had seen so far (and most every tree we saw was REALLY tall), so I didn’t even try to fit the whole thing in the frame. It was beautiful and the palace was opulent and it all added to our Christmas cheer.
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Christmas getaway. Yes, every bedtime was horrific becasue we were basically all sleeping in the same room and the kids were a buzzed, silly mess, but our days were filled with beautiful moments. We flew home on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day at home together. This year we are going to be doing things a little differently, and I’m excited about it, but I wouldn’t trade last Christmas for anything. Merry belated Christmas!
Comments
Post a Comment