I know, I know, it's the second week of January, everyone is back at work, and everyone is tired of hearing about the holidays. Well, too bad. This is a holiday post.
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| Deal with it |
Although I've said many times there is no Christmas in Abu Dhabi, that's not true. Not at all. Christmas is so ubiquitous here, you can't go to a shopping mall without seeing a tree and a holiday display. Santa Claus and Mrs. Santarina visited my little mall (a slight cultural difference there). There were penguins in parachutes and an elven village in what I would consider one of more "local" malls. Everyone likes Christmas. It's by no means a national holiday (after all, Islam may recognize Jesus as a wise man, but Mohammad never said to celebrate his birthday), but it's still everywhere. That's because Christmas isn't really about Christ anymore. Instead it's a celebration of family, gift-giving, and the victory of the consumer culture. That's why there's Christmas here in Abu Dhabi, because people love a reason to shop. I have no real proof of it, but I would suspect that there's a December celebration involving trees and presents in Saudi Arabia too.
We had a quiet and enjoyable Christmas with friends, and Dan went back to work the next day. I earnestly tried to drink myself into the migraine I could feel coming on (after all, if no one else was going to drink that chianti, I had to), but was unsuccessful at that time.
New Year's Eve was a different story. It was not quiet at all. We went to a black light party on top of the Aloft Hotel next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). We booked a room so we could enjoy the evening and then not have to fight traffic or search for a cab.
Honestly, I did not expect to have as good a time as I did. Usually when Dan and I go to clubs by ourselves we end up dancing for a bit, then sitting around and staring at each other for a couple of hours. This was different. The club has an indoor dance floor and an outdoor lounge area.
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| With a splendid view of the ADNEC building |
That, along with the free-flowing drinks included with admission contributed to a wonderful evening. So wonderful, that Dan was still intoxicated when it was time to check-out the next morning.
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| And that never happens. I'm the drinker in this family Dan! |
And that migraine I tried to drink myself into on Christmas? It showed up on New Year's Day. But it was still one of the best evenings Dan and I have had together in years. Thanks, Relax@12 for having an awesome deal. There were no fireworks, but we got quite a bit of that at Disneyworld, and I promised Dan if we're still stuck here next year, we'll go to see the show in Dubai at the Burj Khalifa.
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| Or we could just watch them on TV... |
I'll deal with the crowds, but he's not allowed to lose me; that's a standard rule when we go anywhere, ever. Don't lose me, and if I wander off, look for the nearest shiny thing. Here in Abu Dhabi, it's probably a Swarovski crystal display. Once, it was this:
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| But can you really blame me? |
