Weekend

Today has been a relaxing day.  It was so nice to just sleep in and get up slowly, when I wanted to, not the alarm.  I went to church and lost my phone.  Not sure if I lost it at church or in the taxi coming from the church to the hotel.  Hopefully it fell out of my purse at church, becuase then there is a chance that I may get it back.  I may have to go phone shopping again:(

I finally made it to the Emirates Palace this afternoon!  Unfortunately I forgot my camera:(  That is just an excuse to go back.  All I can say is that it is amazing!  Pictures wouldn't do it justice, just like the mosque.  As soon as I got to the hotel there were people there to open the taxi door and the hotel door.  I walked in on a red carpet!  Just like the stars!  The lobby is amazing; my eyes were immediately drawn up and up and up.  The ceiling seemed to be so far up, when in reality there were only 5 floors above where we were.  It was so grand and the way that you can only see one part at a time is amazing.  Marble everywhere, chandeliers, spiral staircases, ancient art pieces, and luxurious furniture defintitely make it a place of grandeur.  They have an embrodiery exhibit and a 2030 exhibit, but they were closed when we were there (Ramadan of course).  The exhibits opened again at 8 pm, but we didn't go back.  We will definitely have to return in the evening.  The gardens were so green and lush.  It's amazing that they can do that in this heat.  The grass is greener than the grass in NC that actually gets some rain.  They must pay a lot of money to irrigate their lawn.  There were palm trees everywhere and the look at the beach was beautiful.  Not that I wanted to go in the water, it was so nice just to look at it!  Pictures will come when I go back and take pictures, but if you're curious you can google Emirates Palace.  I'm sure there's a website.

I also did the Corniche tonight.  The Corniche is the beachfront walk.  It was so quiet, peaceful, and beautiful tonight.  Unfortunately it was so dark that my camera (yes, I remembered it this time) wouldn't take good pictures.  Just looking out over the water to see the buildings lit up was magnificent!  It was actually tolerable on the Corniche.  The breeze from the water helped.  It was nice to just walk along and talk.  I thought that there were shops on the Corniche, but all that was there was restaurants.  We treated ourselves to Cold Stone Creamery!!

Just a word about the people here.  They are so friendly and helpful.  Especially the people at the hotel; I know they are getting paid, but still.  The people outside are also friendly.  Language hasn't really been an issue, other than a few times in the taxi.  The men seem to stare a lot, but I guess I should be used to that since people are always staring at me due to my height.  All the people that I have talked to have been really nice so far.  I hope that is the same in Al Ain.  I know there will probably be more of a language barrier there, but it will be good exposure to the real culture. 

Still no word on when I'll be moved to Al Ain.  I am just going to enjoy this 5 star living!