TOMORROW!!

Hooray! 114 days down, one to go! The Gentleman will be here tomorrow. The joy of a long-distance relationship - the awesome airport reunion, which is the antithesis of the horrible airport goodbye.

I think this calls for Barry Manilow.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc4TnopiuzQ

ONLINE COUNTDOWN

Styled by Charming City

My girl Katie over at Charming City Style has done it again and put together some looks for me for a wedding I'm attending next month with my handsome Gentleman Friend. I love the way she pulls things together and I'm excited to dig around in my closet (and at the outlets this weekend for Columbus Day sales) and see what I can come up with. Also, she's fabulous and has great ideas, so you should check her out anyway.

Ski Dubai and some General Observations

Greetings, Glitterati! I'm going to be wrapping up my Abu Dhabi posts just in time for my next bout of travel which begins towards the end of this month. The Gentleman and I are headed out west for a wedding in California, and I'm making a stop on the way to visit Lee and Hot Curry (WHO NEVER UPDATE THEIR DAMN BLOG) in Salt Lake where I am excited to go hiking, drink delicious microbrews, see Mormons in their natural habitat, and hopefully stalk dooce. In a totally non-stalkery, breezy, Imagine seeing you here! sort of way where I die inside and try to hold it together and not be all OMG IT'S HEATHER ARMSTRONG!. Because that would be weird.

Anyhoodle, on my last trip out to Abu Dhabi, we totally went to Ski Dubai. We had to. How can you not? It's a ski resort in the middle of a mall. We saw it on our first trip out there and vowed to return.

A friend who had been before prepped us as to what to bring/wear and that was incredibly helpful. They give you full-body jump suits and warm socks, which is included in the lift ticket, but we brought hats and gloves with us. You can buy them there at the sport's shop but they aren't cheap. 

We went in the middle of the day on a Monday and it wasn't crowded at all, but I'm told that it can be packed on weekends with long lines. We paid for two hours of skiing and, believe me, that was plenty. This is not a ski resort - this is one run (two if you count the bunny hill, which is really just the lower half of the larger run), and it's about a 5 minute ride to the top in the ski lift (yes, there's a lift). With no lines to contend with, we probably got at least a dozen or so runs in with time for a coffee and snack break at the Apres Ski located halfway down the run. You can also do a full day pass, but unless it's really crowded I can't imagine wanting to be there for a full day of skiing.

SKI DUBAI INTENSE

Lift tickets and free socks!

My totally awesome skiing suit.

One thing I wasn't expecting was that it was cold. Underneath that jump suit, I'm wearing shorts and a T-shirt because it's approximately 98 thousand degrees outside (it's THE MIDDLE EAST), but once inside the conditioned ski area, it's freezing. I had gloves and a hat on, as well as multiple pairs of socks, and I got so cold that we had to take a break in the Apres Ski cafe for some espresso to warm up for a bit. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a man-made ski slope in the middle of the mall - it's cold as hell.

The slope itself is also a decent run. It takes just a minute or so to get to the bottom, and there are several different paths you can take depending on your skill level, but it's actually not a bad incline. After about a dozen or so runs, however, we got bored of the same old scenery (tall walls painted industrial blue and fake trees and wooden lodges).

They also have a Snow Park with penguins, toboggans, bobsled, snowball throwing area, and an igloo. I get it: it's the desert, this is exoticism at its highest. But having grown up in the Mid-Atlantic North East, I can't imagine purchasing a day pass to go and play in snow. 

It was definitely a lot of fun. I hadn't been on skis in years, so it was good practice to gear up for hopefully some ski trips in the future. It was also pretty opulent to be inside a snow globe of man-made snow in the middle of the desert. Sort of the ultimate in opulence, really.

Which brings me to the last of my observations from this May 2013 trip. I've been to Abu Dhabi twice now and am headed back over for New Years in December. And there are a couple'a things that seem to remain consistent. 

1. Park anywhere you like.

I thought Rome, Italy, and Amman, Jordan, were the most ridiculous in terms of trying to drive. And then came Abu Dhabi. Everyone has giant, obnoxious cars, and everyone drives them in giant, obnoxious ways. Rules? Regulations? Pssshh. Do whatever you have to do, park wherever, double park, park on the curb, it's ok! THERE ARE NO RULES HERE IT'S CHAOS. Until you get in an accident. Then, there are lots and lots of rules and you're screwed.

2. Seriously.

PDA is a no-no. Hand holding, kissing in public, NO. NOT ALLOWED. We've tried to be extremely careful, but hey- we're in a long-distance relationship, and sometimes there's a hand-brushing incident or an arm around the shoulder or a quick, sneaky kiss. We take our chances when we do these things though, because as a non-married couple in a Muslim country, it's not only rude and inconsiderate, but it's illegal. As in - you will most likely be fined, but you could possibly serve jail time, or even be deported. So be careful. Just don't mess around. Think about it like this: don't do anything that you wouldn't do in church under the watchful gaze of the Pope. Be considerate. Be polite. These are not just religious considerations, but cultural. People in the US don't like public make-out sessions in nice restaurants - this is similar. Be considerate.

3. The architecture is incredible.

 The UAE is a relatively young country - it became independent from Britain in 1971 - and since then, the oil boom has been quite lucrative. Buildings here are "dressed to impress,"with attention to detail and clamoring for attention. Unfortunately, it seems like infrastructure hasn't always kept up with the incredible rate of growth and there are still some kinks to be worked out (like traffic patterns and fire escape routes). But, I never get tired of staring out at the buildings in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. 

The Corniche

Gulf of Arabia (NOT the "Persian Gulf," as I've been told)

4. It's full of surprises.

This was an ad in the Ladies' Toilets in the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. There is so much going on here. It's amazing. The Gentleman didn't believe me when I first told him about it, so I had to go back into the Ladies' and take a picture.

Or, you know, a stretch Hummer just parked randomly on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. That, too.

Boston!

I had a really good time in Boston. 

As part of my recovery, the doctor ordered me to sojourn to Boston for the weekend.

And by doctor, I mean my buddy, Dr. Emily.

(It's ok, because she's a real doctor.)

Dr. Emily moved to Boston back in July, and a group of us agreed that we needed to visit her. And the Samuel Adams brewery. Until we heard that the Harpoon Brewery was way better, and then it was ascertained that we needed to visit Dr. Emily. And the Harpoon Brewery.

Fall is a pretty fantastic time to visit anywhere in the north east, and while none of the leaves had yet begun to wear the Autumn Line, the weather was absolutely beautiful. Kind of. On Sunday.

My pals and I flew out early Saturday morning (and flew back butt-early Monday morning, in time to make it to work) and in the course of the barely-48 hours that we were there, we saw a lot of Boston.

The sky was not at all pretty.

Not my first time, bee-tee-dubs - Boston and I go way back. In 2003, I lived in Maine for a summer and worked as a camp counselor, and weekends/days off often meant trips to Boston. We'd pool together our cash to get a motel room ($79 a night for 1 room for 7 people) and two cases of beer ($20 for some delicious Keystone Lite) and then traipse around the nicer parts of Boston pretending like we weren't gross, dirty camp counselors with hemp necklaces and Tevas, but tourists on vacayyyy.

I also went to Boston for a conference in 2005 where I stayed in a (much nicer) hotel and posessed a thing called a "per diem" and discovered that Boston has a pretty spectacular night life.

But I haven't been to old Beantown in years, except to fly in and out of Logan on various Trans-Atlantic adventures. And, mostly, I just wanted to see my friend. Dr. Emily was really good to me in the year or so that The Gentleman moved overseas and she moved to Baltimore and became my partner in crime. I miss her dearly, but I am excited that now I get to go and visit her in Boston, because she's super fun and lives next to Fenway Park.

The weather was not so lovely the first day.

Now, it should be noted that Dr. Emily is an amazing host. Whatever you wanted/needed - Trader Joe's Coronas, hot tea, kale chips, a warmer blanket, a sweatshirt - it's yours. She will generously allow you to make fun of her really, really fat voluptuous cat. You want to take a nap? Dr. Emily will ask you if she should set an alarm for 15 minutes or two hours. She is truly a lovely host.

Except...Dr. Emily lives in a world where the time-space continuum is vastly different from that on earth. Meaning - if she tells you that something is "a brief, 10-15 minute walk away," this means that the destination is approximately 14 miles afar. She is a true creative when it comes to map reading, and Google maps can really only offer an approximation, right?

It took us an hour to walk from the T-stop downtown to the Harpoon Brewery. I'm certain there are faster better easier different ways to get there, but we took the T to East West Foreveraway and then walked 18.2 miles to the brewery. Signs taunted us along the way:

Harpoon Brewery and Beer Hall.

And then! Sweet victory! The Harpoon Beer Hall! Alas, tours were already booked for most of the day (we got there around 1pm and hadn't made a reservation), but we were invited to enjoy brew samplers and delicious pretzels at the beer hall. Which we did.

Harpoon Brewery Beer Hall, Boston

I basically LOVE pumpkin beer. I mean...love love. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE. You get the idea.

We sampled a flight of "pilot beers" that came in this handy little Harpoon sampler shelf thingy.

Pretzels and a plethora of dips at the Harpoon Brewery

After the brewery, we went on another 18.2 mile jaunt of Boston. But we got to see some beautiful sights along the way, including the tequila bar at Temazcal. 

Dr. Emily loves tequila. And we love Dr. Emily. So, to a tequila bar we went....

....to taste some pretty ridiculous tequila. This stuff was approximately 400 years old, aged in the 

One of these was a pomegranate tequila. I'll let you figure out which one.

Damn Yankees and their damn lobsters.

T

T

Downtown

The Intercon, Boston

Our first night in Boston, we went for cocktails at The Hawthorne Bar (including a delightful champagne jobby called "Air Mail" while we awaited a table at Island Creek Oyster Bar. 

Air Mail! I don't know what's in it, but it's delightful!

I mean, how can you not?

The walls are lined with err-sters.

Smoked salmon toast 

Clamz

Errsters (shocking)

Amazing heirloom tomato and goat cheese salad

Boston Cream Pie, believe it or not - layers upon layers wrapped in dark chocolate. Amazing.

Brainiac ads on the T heading towards BC.

Sunday was beautiful.

Fenway Park area at night

Sunday was a pret-ty gorgeous day. Copley Square on Sunday morning

STOP LOOKING AT ME, SWAN (Public Gardens)

Boston Public Garden

Boston Public Library

public gardens

public gardens

sky

We went to the SoWa open market on Sunday which boasts food trucks, locally grown and/or produced foods, and crafts. I had a pretty epic ice cream cookie sandwich from the Cookie Monstah - peanut butter cookies and Reese's peanut butter ice cream. Soooo good.

Glorious Sunday brunch at Cafeteria

Sunday Funday!

Smoked salmon platter from Cafeteria

The finish line of the Boston marathon. This was a little heavy. But not as heavy as the dedicated light post near the bomb site...

We do, too.

Boston strong

Boston loves you too, Joanne & Charlie!

When you live next to Fenway, pre-gaming means delivery Indian and Trader Joses.

Naturally, we couldn't come to Boston and stay next to Fenway without going to see a Red Sox game. AND, we happened to be there during a Red Sox-Yankees game. It was pretty awesome.

Everyone drinks red wine at Red Sox vs Yankee games. Right?

Make way for ducklings! And random kids! 

Also, can we just talk about the fact that Dr. Emily's Trader Joes sells "Trader Jose" which is the cheap alternative to Corona and is like $5 FOR A 6-PACK?! WHEN WILL MARYLAND GET ON BOARD WITH THE SELLING OF THE ALCOHOLS IN THE GROCERY STORES?? (If it's anything like the gay marriage trend, we're only a few years behind....)

Leaving Boston at 6:30am on Monday morning. Hashtag no filter. Hashtag I'm tired. Hashtag COFFEE. Hashtag I slept the entire flight back to Baltimore.

Until next time, Boston! Now, just let us borrow Dr. Emily for a weekend or two. At least in Baltimore she can't tell me that something is "just a ten minute walk away."