Monday, December 23, 2013

DAY FIFTY FIVE - Christmas Eve in Abu Dhabi

I honestly didn't know what to expect when it came to Christmas. This is a Muslim country, after all. On the other hand, 80% of the population comes from other countries, some of which are Muslim too, but many are not. So would I "see" Christmas? Would I "hear" it? Would I even know it was "The Season"?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

I find a good way to get the pulse of a city is by checking out their Timeout magazine. There were two Christmas issues in a row plus several inserts. All the resorts, hotels and large restaurants have been advertising their Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners. 



This fabulous tree is in the lobby of the Beach Rotana Hotel. Doug was insistent that I pose in front of it (he dearly loves his "posed shots"), and I acquiesced since I figured I provided scale for this tree


As I strolled the malls most store windows had some kind of Christmas display, and yes, there were Christmas carols playing over the speakers


Marks and Spencer, a British department store, had a very lovely display in their window. Inside I found a Christmas section where I purchased some Christmas decorations. I loved seeing all the British holiday goodies such as mincemeat pies, crackers (the kind you pull apart with a "pop", not the kind you eat), and plum puddings. 


This mall is nearby and is pretty small. Still, they had a lovely and tasteful Christmas display in the center, complete with trees, reindeer and....


Santa!  I did not, however, see any elves


The Abu Dhabi World Trade Center opened up recently, complete with two towers and a huge mall, and since it is only two blocks away Doug and I checked it out. We were amused to see this Winter Wonderland play area for little kids with fake snow, a snowman, igloo and fir trees.


And in spite of this admonition, I saw quite a few older kids and parents in the "snow" too. They were trying to fashion snow balls out of the "snow" which did not work at all!


The malls and hotels had tasteful decorations, but there were plenty of tacky decorations and displays to be found, much like at home in the States. Can you spot Doug in the window taking this photo?


This was my favorite of the tacky displays. For a mere AED1,099 ($300) you too could have this cardboard fireplace with a "tv" fire popping and crackling away. I spotted this at Carrafour, a Costco-like store. Lots of little and not-so-little kids walked up to it and touched the screen to see if it was real.

To be crass, Christmas sells, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the malls and stores and restaurants would take advantage of that. But that is no different from back home, is it? And don't we all love to walk through our town or city and take in all the decorations and lights and enjoy the special food of the Season? 

I for one was delighted that I could find decorations for the apartment. At home in Hoboken I have several boxes of ornaments and decorations, and I love (LOVE!) decorating my home. Since we'll be here for one Christmas only, I didn't want to spend money on things I would not use again. Still, I had to buy something! 

I passed on the plum pudding and mincemeat pies at Marks and Spencer, but I did get this tiny "Charlie Brown" tree. I like it juxtaposed with my traditional Arab coffee pot.


Behold my Christmas philodendron! I mean I had to have lights. I found a small string at Lulu's, but when I brought it home and plugged it in there was a huge PHZZZZTTTTT!!!! and smoke and the acrid smell of fried wiring. Yikes! So I went back to Marks and Spencer and found a set that looked a little more trustworthy



I have a large bookshelf in the apartment but very few books (thus far), so I put out some Christmas presents, a trio of Godiva reindeer (one each for me, Doug and Jeff), and Christmas cards. The shelves will look bare again when I take them away


I have red holiday votives on the coffee table, and I'll have them lit when Jeff walks in the door this evening. And of course the Christmas philodendron will be lit - I can just see him grin and roll his eyes  when he sees it with that "Oh Mom!" look (heh heh). 

One thing I will miss is a Christmas Eve service. I did some Googling a few weeks back, and yes there are some churches in town, but since Jeff is arriving Christmas Eve we really couldn't attend anyway. 

So yes.... I am mostly ready for Christmas. I used my funny little apartment oven for the first time this morning and baked Doug's pumpkin pie. It looks absolutely perfect, I am happy to report. I had to go online to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius so I could set the oven temperature properly. Jeff's brownies are also baked - he's not a pie guy, so I make him a big brownie sundae with ice cream, fudge sauce and whipped cream. Later this afternoon I'll assemble a French Toast Breakfast Casserole which I'll bake Christmas morning when Jeff wakes up (and after all his traveling, who knows when that will be!).

The afternoon Call to Prayer is happening...... so I will take this moment to send a prayer to all of you: Peace and Joy this year, my friends. And much love. Always! 

Blessings. 













Sunday, December 22, 2013

DAY FIFTY THREE - My Annual Christmas Letter

Dear Friends & Family,


As I type this letter, this is the view I have from my desk - Abu Dhabi and the Arabian Gulf in the distance. To say this has been a very interesting year would be an understatement.

It started off on a rather somber note as Doug's father, the Rev. Francis Carlson, passed away shortly before Thanksgiving of 2012. I had been asked to be the Executor many decades ago, so now it was time to settle the estate which included selling his house in rural Connecticut. I'd never done this sort of thing before, but I made it my priority and just dug in. I decided I needed to put auditioning for acting projects aside for the time being, but I did not want to abandon it completely - honestly, I just couldn't. So I signed up for semester one of a two-year professional Meisner acting program with The Brooklyn Training Ground, a new school founded by my long-time acting coach, Roger Manix. It  proved to be THE most challenging and rewarding acting class of my life. Boy was it tough and did it ever stretch me, which was the point after all. 

Between the Meisner class and working on the estate paperwork, I was kept pretty busy through the Winter, and as usual Doug's work at NYU commanded his attention. In late March my nephew, Sasha, came for his 2nd solo visit. Activities included exploring Central Park (he loves climbing on the rocks) and South Street Seaport, and we saw "Peter and the Starcatcher" Off Broadway. 

Sasha at South Street Seaport

In mid-April Amandine, our former Belgian Rotary exchange student, returned for another visit. She was planning on relocating to Santiago, Chile, where she had lived as a student many years ago, and she decided to make a stopover with us first. While in Hoboken she signed up for several dance classes in NYC, and she even realized her dream of participating in the New York City Annual Dance Parade. Doug, our friend Nancy and I waited for her dance troupe to pass by at Union Square.

In spite of it being a rainy day, Amandine was just pumped to be in the Dance Parade

I had to look at my calendar twice to verify that Amandine was with us for almost two months because it simply didn't seem that long. As always when she visits, the time flies. I went to my photo album and was reminded of all the things we did together.

We went to the Metropolitan Opera and saw "Rigoletto"


We had lunch at The Standard Grill and walked along The High Line. Amandine brought her new iPad everywhere as she was experimenting with photos and taking videos


Of course we had to go to the newly opened World Trade Center Memorial


She even managed to fly to Denver for a long weekend and visit with Leah and her fiance, Jorge. Amandine loves Blue Moon beer, so they took her on a Coors brewery tour.

Amidst all the activities surrounding Amandine's visit, I was also hard at work planning a vacation to Italy. Doug and I had talked about going for years, and we'd been accumulating frequent flyer miles to use "some day". Since this year Doug and I both turned 60, we decided that "some day" had arrived. 

Amandine left for Chile on June 3rd, and one week later Doug and I left for Italy. We flew into Rome first  and spent several days exploring all the must-see sights, including the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, and more. Much more. And of course we ate lots of fabulous food. How could we not?

Doug looks very relaxed, doesn't he? When it came to meals we sought out little cafes and tried to stay away from the touristy areas.


Making a wish just before tossing a coin over my shoulder into the Trevi Fountain. They say if you do that, you'll return. I figured, "why not?"

We walked and we walked. Doug had a new pedometer app on his phone, and one day we walked over 12 miles. I should mention it was pretty warm while we were in Italy. Thank heaven for gelato ;-)

After 4 days we took one of the high-speed trains to Venice. And oh my...... we loved Venice!

Hotel le Isole

Based on TripAdvisor reviews, I booked us at the Hotel le Isole, and it turned out to be the nicest place we stayed. Just charming. That is our room right over the walkway with the iron balcony and overlooking a canal. The building was old, but it was completely renovated on the inside. Like so many places in Venice, you could easily walk right by the entrance and never know it was there. We had breakfast every morning in a courtyard in the back and then went exploring.


Hostaria da Franz

I planned it so that we were in Venice for our 39th anniversary. The concierge booked reservations at this wonderful little restaurant, Hostaria da Franz, a few blocks away. The food was very Venetian (lots of seafood) and amazing.


And yes, we took a gondola ride in the evening just before going out for our anniversary dinner. We had been advised to take a gondola ride through the smaller back canals rather than on the busy Grand Canal. It was excellent advice. It was so quiet and peaceful - I felt like we'd slipped back in time.

My only regret about the Venice visit was that we did not stay long enough. I would go back in a heartbeat. In. A. Heartbeat.

From Venice we took the train to Florence, our last stop. It was very warm when we first arrived in Italy, and as the week progressed it got even warmer. By the time we hit Florence, it was just plain HOT. 


One of the highlights of our entire trip was booking a full-day guided tour of Tuscany. Our friend, Susan, recommended a tour guide she and a group of friends had used the year before, Monica Iris. Monica took us to hilltop towns and little vineyards such as the one above. 

I felt like I was walking through a postcard

There is lots of prosciutto in Tuscany! Doug is chatting with Monica at a butcher shop in her home town of Greve

It was a wonderful vacation, and I could bury you with photos, but I won't. It was wonderful to see Doug actually put work behind him and really and truly relax. He doesn't do that often enough. But.... once we returned it was back to the office for him, and I turned my attention back to the estate work. The Connecticut house had sold, and the closing took place at the end of June which was a huge weight off my mind. Now I was in the home stretch and could tie things up. 

Doug and I also turned our attention to Leah and Jorge's upcoming wedding which was scheduled for September 1st in Denver. Leah and I spent much time emailing back and forth and talking on the phone, and of course there were clothes to buy for the event. In addition to the joy of knowing Leah and Jorge would be married, I was excited because so many of our family were planning on gathering in Denver for the event. Jeff was flying in from Denver, my sister and niece were accompanying my dad from Maryland, my brother and his new wife, Katherine, were flying in from Idaho, Doug's brother was coming in from New Jersey and his sister and her husband flew in from Dallas. And if that weren't enough, Amandine was flying back from Chile for the wedding too.


The day before the wedding, Leah and Jorge hosted an "I Do" BBQ at their home in Denver. They thought it would be a nice, casual setting for the two families to meet each other. Jorge smoked and grilled meats, his Aunt Gabby prepared all kinds of wonderful side dishes in the kitchen, and a wonderful time was had by all.


The wedding took place outside at the Denver Botanic Gardens, and thankfully the weather cooperated. It was casual and relaxed and fun..... just like Leah and Jorge. 

Doug, Leah, Jorge, Kathi

The reception was at Leah and Jorge's favorite Denver restaurant, The Kitchen. I caught the two of them having a quiet moment together. 

It was a wonderful time. And most importantly, Leah and Jorge had a wonderful time. Or so they said! They'd planned the BBQ and wedding from start to finish, so the events were very personal and a true reflection of the two of them. I liked that.

Once home we had a few days with Amandine before she headed back to Santiago, and then Doug was off for a week to Shanghai on business. I used the time alone to push my personal "re-boot" button. The lawyer was finishing up the last of the paperwork so I could close the estate, and my Meisner class was due to begin again in a few short weeks. After all the craziness of the past few months, wonderful craziness that it all was, I relished having some time to myself to simply exhale. 

Doug was home from China for less than a week when a situation came up at NYU's Abu Dhabi campus, and he was asked if he would be interested in going over. To live. For at least a year. He asked me what I thought, and I said, "Go for it". 

And so it happened that exactly two weeks from the day Doug was asked if he was interested in moving that we found ourselves en route to the United Arab Emirates. Within a few days of arriving I started a blog to keep friends and family up to date. Rather than repeat the details of the trip and our experiences in Abu Dhabi to date, I will refer you to earlier posts in my blog. If interested, of course. 

I pause as I write this and look out the window again. I've been here almost two months now, and still at times it doesn't seem real. Never in a million years would I have imagined myself living in another country, much less here. You just never know, right?

With Love & Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Joyous and Peaceful New Year,
Kathi (scribe) and Doug

P.S.  We have a guest room should you find yourselves in our new 'hood  ;-)












Wednesday, December 18, 2013

DAY FORTY NINE - Planning for Christmas Dinner


"Cook? You're going to cook Christmas dinner? Why in the world would you want to do that?"

Cathy Harborow, NYU Abu Dhabi's Manager of Faculty & Support, seeing my dumbfounded expression then went on to suggest I order Christmas dinner from Gems Restaurant in the nearby Cristal Hotel. "They do a fabulous job", she enthused. Then I'd have no worries about cooking with my tiny oven, and who wants to experiment with a turkey on Christmas Day? No pots and pans to scour by hand (no dishwasher here), no mess, no bother. I warmed to the idea pretty quickly.

When I stepped off the elevator on Cristal's 17th floor this afternoon I spotted brochures prominently displayed on a table by the entrance to the restaurant. They were hopefully entitled "Cristal Hotel Abu Dhabi - 2013 Festive  Season". I opened one up and there it was: Christmas Turkey with Condiments. Save yourself the hassle of slaving over a kitchen stove. Let our Chef create a special whole roasted turkey with garnishes and condiments for you. Minimum weight is 4kg. 



Hmmmm, I wondered, so is that 4kg. off the bone? Or is that a 4kg. whole bird, which really isn't a big turkey? We Carlsons do love our leftovers, and I'd rather err on the side of too much than too little. 

A man I assumed to be the Maitre d' stood stiffly at a podium. I walked over with my brochure in hand and asked if I could order the turkey dinner with him. It became immediately apparent that his English comprehension wasn't all that great, and his thick accent made it difficult for me to understand him. 

"There will be three of us", I explained. I figured he could suggest an appropriate amount to order.
"You want three turkeys" he stated with authority, pulling out an order form and picking up a pen.
"No, there are three people. There will be three of us for dinner. I'm not sure how much turkey to order".
"Three kilograms?" Now he was looking a little irritated. "Four kilograms minimum", and he took the brochure from my hand and pointed out the paragraph where this was noted.
"Okay, fine" I said, "One turkey. I want one turkey". 
Pacified, he started filling out the order form. I waited a few moments and tried again.
"It says here garnishes and condiments. What comes with the turkey exactly?"
"The traditional. Potatoes, sauce, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding". 
Say what?!?!? Yorkshire pudding? That's not traditional in my part of the world. And are the potatoes mashed or baked or boiled or something else? I heard no mention of stuffing or dressing. Is there gravy or is that what's meant by as "sauce"? Or is the sauce cranberry sauce? SO many questions bubbled up in me, but based on the conversation thus far, I dared venture only one follow-up question.
"Is there dessert?"
He lifted his head up from writing and looked me right in the eyes. "No dessert".
I sighed, took my receipt, thanked the man and left. 

As it turns out I came upon Stove Top Stuffing in Lulu's Market a few weeks ago, so I have that as back-up just in case there is no stuffing with the turkey, and I'm not hopeful. I also found some cranberry sauce in the small gourmet section of a British department store, Marks and Spencer, so I am good on that score as well. Those are my "must haves", and I'm covered. After a little bit of hunting I found my Libby's canned pumpkin, so Doug will have his pie, and when I packed to come back to Abu Dhabi I included a box of Ghiardelli Brownie Mix, so Jeff will have his brownie sundae (he's not a pie guy). If all I get on Christmas Day from Gems Restaurant is a juicy turkey, then all will be well. 

And hey, maybe Yorkshire pudding will end up being my new favorite turkey side dish.


Yorkshire puddings. Up till now I thought they were the traditional side dish for roast beef. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

DAY FORTY ONE - Grocery shopping and the cost of "eats"

True Confession: I don't cook dinner very often. In fact, as I write this, I realize I haven't cooked dinner once since I've been here. Sometimes we eat out at a very nice restaurant (there are many), sometimes we order take-out (yes we can get pizza here easily), sometimes we even venture downstairs to the NYUAD Dining Hall on the 2nd floor (hit or miss), and sometimes we pick up fast-food (shwarma is the local favorite). But we always eat breakfast at home, and I like to have healthy snacks on hand, so that means I have to go out and shop for groceries.

A short ten minute walk away is the Madinat Zayed Mall. This is an old mall by Abu Dhabi standards and is somewhat shabby. We appear to live on the edge of the garment district, and this mall is home to shop after shop of fabrics - colorful silks and more sequined, sparkly and beaded material than I thought existed. It is also home to the city's Gold Souk, and there are over 80 small shops selling what, to my eyes, look like the very same ornate necklaces and earrings. I wonder how they all stay in business. There is a small food court, some clothing stores, electronics stores, a home goods/furniture store, and two grocery stores: the Food Co-Op and LuLu's Hypermarket. LuLu's has become my "go-to" grocery store.


This is the view out my guest room window. The Madinat Zayet Mall is in the middle of the photo, extending from the center left right to the middle. It's the long structure with the blue-green domes on the top and parking lot out front.

I've zoomed in on LuLu's which you can see in the center. The name is in green to the left of the domes. 


My first few visits were mostly reconnaissance. What was the layout and what did they sell? I grabbed a shopping cart and was off. Already I felt very much at home. 

This part of town has been referred to as Little India, so I found lots of Indian food here as well as Pakistani and Arabic items. Mixed in throughout the store, though, were many brands familiar to me: Duncan Hines cake mixes and frostings, Kraft cheese slices, Activia yogurt, Crest toothpaste. There was a large display of Tang. Who drinks Tang anymore? And boy does this country have a sweet tooth judging by the shelf space allotted to candy. I spotted the Ethnic Food aisle and was amused to find Ken's Light Options Olive Oil & Vinegar salad dressing. I bought a bottle just because. 

The LuLu's produce section is quite large, and I was surprised to see fruits and veggies that were unfamiliar to me. And here I thought I was oh-so-sophisticated thanks to my beloved Wegmans in Central New York State and specialty markets like Aspen and Citarella in New Jersey and NYC. Very humbling, I must say. 

I was also surprised to find a prepared food section which included a salad bar and hot food bar. For some reason I thought this was an "American thing" and that in other countries people made all, or most, of their meals from scratch. Apparently not. I found a huge olive bar; lots of interesting salads including my new favorite, Fatoush; cheeses (many yogurt based); whole roast chickens and fried pieces (lots of poultry is eaten in this country); and an enormous selection of mostly fried food (LOTS of fried food!). 

I passed by the fried food with only a glance. Okay maybe two because I do love samosas. But it was the bakery section that really caught my attention. I walked by the familiar cakes, cookies and cupcakes - been there, done that. I found a section of the bakery devoted to baked goods of the region, wonderful little pastries and bites concocted of dates and nuts, phyllo dough, and sweetened with honey. Yum!!!!! I figured in the interest of learning about this culture, I needed to buy some. Actually I decided that over the course of the coming year I should try each and every one! Not all at once, of course. Maybe a nibble or two every night as a special treat. Compare and contrast. Evaluate. I need to be thorough.


This is Doug's new favorite. The label says Hareesa Nafi-Kia, and it's a moist little almond (I think) cake soaked in honey and topped with a mix of nuts. 


This is my favorite thus far. It's called Bourma, and it is crispy, shredded phyllo dough wrapped around a filling of dates and pistachios, all soaked in honey. The nuts have protein, the dates are high in fiber, and honey is a natural sweetener. I figure this is Health Food (heh heh heh).

Now that Winter is almost here the weather is gorgeous. Just perfect with temps in the lower 80's/upper 70's, and there is almost always a gentle breeze blowing. This afternoon I took myself to LuLu's just for the joy of getting outside and taking a walk. My mission: yogurt for breakfast, lunch food for me, fresh fruit for snacking, and whatever else struck my fancy.

When I first started shopping in Abu Dhabi I gravitated to the foods that I knew and brands I could identify. Now that I am feeling more comfortable in general, I am very intentionally trying new things.


Today's purchases: prepared Fatoush salad, fresh fruit, dates (this is the land of dates!), an Egyptian fava bean dish called Foul, and a cheese I've never heard of before called Hajdu (very good with a mild taste). Not shown is a large container of Fage yogurt, Doug's favorite, which was the most expensive item at 24 dirham. Total cost for all this was 66.55 dirhams (AED) which equals $18.12 in US dollars. Not bad, right? 

Friends back in the States have been asking me about the cost of living here in the U.A.E., and I have to say that, in general, it is less expensive than it is in the United States. At least when it comes to buying most groceries. 

The local fast food joints are amazingly cheap, and the local eateries are very affordable as well. But if you go out to a nice restaurant at one of the many hotels or resorts, you can easily pay NYC prices and more. Much more. Thus our strategy is to eat very modestly most evenings of the week and then to dine out and have a "splurge" meal. It all balances out quite nicely. 

So far, so good, friends. So far, so good. 

















Today


Thursday, December 5, 2013

DAY THIRTY SIX - What I know for sure (about me)

Readers of Oprah Magazine are familiar with the last page where Oprah writes a small piece entitled "What I Know for Sure". She doesn't lecture us from On High about life, the Universe and everything. She talks about what she knows for sure about herself, a lesson she's learned, an experience that's opened up her eyes. Sometimes the reader can relate to what she's saying, and sometimes not. 

A few minutes ago I got back from my second visit to the gym on the top (50th) floor of my apartment building, Sama Tower. Once again I am blessed with a "treadmill with a view". Actually there are views from everywhere in the gym through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

This corner of the gym has several treadmills and eliptical machines. The treadmill in the middle is "mine"  ;-)

For many reasons, some under my control and some not, I fell off the exercise wagon several months back. Hard. I mean after 8+ years of exercising and training with a personal trainer, I came pretty much to a grinding halt. I feel it, it shows, and it hasn't been a good thing. 

So here I am starting a new life in Abu Dhabi. Everything is new once again, kind of like when I moved from Syracuse to Ithaca in 1993, and then from Ithaca to Hoboken in 2003. I seem to be on a 10-year cycle of some sort.....

This time, though, things are wayyyy different. And while I am excited at the opportunity to be here and oh-so-open to new sights and experiences, what I know for sure is that for the sake of my sanity and my health and happiness, I need to be grounded. For me that means imposing some routine on my life. I don't mean filling up every day on my calendar with something. I don't mean I need to schedule in "busy-work" just for the sake of something to do. No. What I mean is I personally need a framework upon which to build my week because otherwise I feel untethered, I feel like I've been tossed into the middle of a large body of water and can't see the sides to even know which direction I should swim. 

And so here I am in Abu Dhabi, and I need to ground myself. I need to ground myself so I can be free to explore and learn and have the courage to put myself out there and meet new people. My first step, and it seems so obvious and natural, is to re-establish a gym routine. 

I was delghted to discover that the main Fitness Center on the 4th floor is staffed with 7 (I think) trainers, and NYUAD offers a FREE 7-week training program to all its students, faculty, staff and their spouses/partners. You just sign up and meet twice-weekly for a 30-minute session. Two days ago I marched myself to the Fitness Center to chat with the director in person, and now I am scheduled to meet with my trainer, Melissa, this Sunday afternoon. I am so psyched!

It's my first step, twice-weekly training, and that will also motivate me to go to the gym between session. It feels so good simply knowing this is on my calendar. Does this make sense? Am I the only person like this? 

Well, I can't speak for you, but knowing I need some structure in my life is what know for sure.

Check this out - adjacent to the top-floor gym is a lovely pool and whirlpool. You can't tell but it's open to the sky and just lovely. I haven't used the pool yet, but you can bet I will and soon. 






Monday, December 2, 2013

DAY THIRTY THREE - Taking things for granted

This evening we concluded our long, relaxing, chill-out-and-do-nothing-special National Day weekend with dinner at Doug's favorite (thus far) seafood restaurant, Finz (a play on the word "fins"). I feel like you must be getting sick of me waxing on about my lovely meals. Just trust me when I say the meals I don't talk about, and that's most of them, are usually salads from the local hypermarket or the Grab-and-Go on the first floor of our building. 

I've been hearing about Finz for ages. When I'd talk to Doug after a long day of packing and cleaning at Dad's he'd mention he'd had dinner at Finz with an NYU associate. I realized Doug was not exaggerating about dining there regularly when we walked in this evening and everyone, from the hostess to the wait staff, greeted him like an old friend. Seriously.

The food was indeed excellent. Finz has a reputation for being the best seafood restaurant in Abu Dhabi, and that's saying a lot in a city that sits on the Arabian Gulf and has a fish market reminiscent of the old Fulton Fish Market. You can see the dhows going in and our of the harbor daily, their nets piled high in the stern. 

Fishing Dhows lined up at Al Meena Harbor in front of the fish market. The Abu Dhabi skyline is across the way.

The restaurant is part of the Rotana Beach Resort but sits apart from the main complex. It's a relatively small structure set on the beach, A-frame in design, and surrounded with decks. 

Finz Restaurant

The interior is simple but elegant with a vaulted ceiling that exposes the structural beams and a polished wooden floor. Mood lighting, soft music, and the gentle sound of lapping waves set the mood.

We sat inside at the table in the far left-hand side of this photo, tucked into the corner by the windows. This is an old photo because the small barrier island across the way now houses a huge Cleveland Medical Clinic plus other skyscrapers. The view to the Gulf is completely obscurred, which is sad. Still the ambience of the place is warm and lovely. 

"Nice", you say, and you'd be right. But it turns out this restaurant, this structure, is unique in Abu Dhabi. 

"Unique?" you say and look again at the pictures.

It turns out that Finz is the only building in Abu Dhabi made completely out of wood.

When I first read this in a travel guide of the region I did a bit of a double-take. I took a pause and digested the information. Upon reflection it made sense to me. In a country that is mostly sand and has very little vegetation, much less trees that can produce lumber, it makes complete sense. 

I spent the first 60 years of my life in the Northeastern United States. As a child I lived in New York State's Hudson River Valley with its view of the Catskill Mountains purple in the distance. I lived most of my adult life in Central New York with its green rolling hills and Finger Lakes, and finally I lived in Hoboken. Even in Hoboken we have trees! Though I knew better, I pretty much took trees and, by extension, wooden houses and buildings pretty much for granted. Yes I knew in some parts of the country, even our our Southwest, that wood houses were less common. But still I was taken aback to learn that there is one, and only one, totally wooden building in Abu Dhabi. 

I think it's a good thing indeed to be reminded that many things in our lives that we take for granted and don't think twice about are pretty darn special in other parts of the world. 


Sunday, December 1, 2013

DAY THIRTY TWO - Thanksgiving in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is a country of ex-pats. As I mentioned in one of my first blog posts, 80% of the population comes from other countries. Surely then, I reasoned, some of the restaurants would provide a Thanksgiving dinner for the Americans because, if for no other reason, it would be good for business. 

I did some Googling and came up with a list of restaurants. I was calling at the last minute, so I struck out with my first few restaurants. To my relief 55th and 5th, a restaurant at The St. Regis Resort on Saadiyat Island, had openings for two at 7:30 p.m. Perfect! According to the website the British chef had "created a special menu for the occasion", and although I couldn't find the menu itself listed, I trusted that it would be good. This was the St. Regis after all, right?

At 6:30 we hailed a cab and off we went. Darkness had fallen, and in anticipation of the upcoming National Day I could see buildings brightly lit with the colors of the U.A.E. flag.


These building were a blur as we drove by, but you get the idea. Lots of red, green and white (black is the other color on the flag, but it's kind of hard to have black lights). When I first arrived Doug told me with a note of surprise in his voice that the city was decorated for Christmas. This didn't sound right to me since it's a Muslim country, so when I found out about National Day, the decorations made sense. 

I wished it was still light outside as we drove up the long, winding entryway to the St. Regis. I could see lots of palm trees and flower beds, and I'm sure it was spectacular. It sits on the Arabian Gulf side of the island, so in daytime the views out over the water must be beautiful.

The St. Regis Saadiyat Island, United Arab Emirates

We found our way to the restaurant, and as it turned out it was not crowded at all. The maitre d' showed us to a lovely table tucked into a niche which felt nice and private. Then she handed us the menus - the regular dinner menu as well as the Special Thanksgiving Menu. I opened up the latter, my mouth already watering in anticipation of a lovely turkey dinner with some creative sides. To my utter surprise I saw Whole Roasted Yellow Chicken with a Bread & Lobster Stuffing

What?!?!? I read it several times because I thought surely this could not be right. I'd no doubt this was a lovely dish, but it was NOT turkey! I looked at Doug, and it was clear he was thinking the very same thing as me. 

I put the Thanksgiving Menu aside and picked up the regular menu because really, if I couldn't have turkey then I was not going to settle for a chicken. Whole. Yellow. Roasted. Stuffed with Whatever. It was still a chicken. 

Our lovely server explained the regular menu, and we learned that 55th and 5th specializes in Wagu beef. I am not normally a beef person, but at this point I figured if I wasn't going to have turkey then I should go for the specialty of the house. We decided upon Chateaubriande with Bernaise sauce, and it was absolutely melt-in-your-mouth juicy perfection. 

Our gracious server presenting our dish.

Here is my meal. It came with house-made potato chips (crisps) which were very thin and light, and roast shallots. I got a Caesar salad on the side as well, and Doug opted for the potato puree (aka mashed potatoes).

Alas there were no apple or pumpkin dessert options on the menu, so we "settled" for a warm chocolate souffle with hazelnut ice cream and all those beautiful and edible garnishes. Not a crumb was left :-)

So while I did not have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, I still had an absolutely delicious meal. And most importantly, I got to spend it in Abu Dhabi with Doug. No complaints. None.