A little chuckle.Just to break up the monotony of a million Australia posts, here’s a little something from Abu Dhabi. Before leaving, I made sure to snap photos of two of my favorite signs around town.

The first:

Fish Oasis – pet store on my block

My first year in Abu Dhabi I passed this sign everyday on my way to work. It never failed to make me chuckle. Just look at the range of pets they are offering. You can get anything from a kitten to a panda to a gorilla. And look how naturally all those animals are mingling together in a beautiful jungle setting. Love it.

The second:

Cheese & Pickles – a corner shop between my apartment and Mike’s

A store devoted to my two favorite foods from childhood? How perfect is that? I never actually went inside but Mike popped his head in once. Apparently, it’s just a regular shop. What a let down.

And just for fun, a little bonus:

Butt Sweet House – everyone’s favorite sweet shop

This one’s a classic but I’ve heard they made a sign change a few months ago.

Of course there were many humorous or somewhat puzzling signs around town, these were just my favorites.

xo, jill

We look so young!*A few weeks ago, or maybe over the summer, I came across these photos of Molly and me. I don’t remember seeing them before. They might even be from my mom’s camera. Nevertheless, it was a happy find.

This is from when my mom visited me in Abu Dhabi way back in February of 2010. We went off on a camping trip to explore Fujairah. In these photos Molly and I are sitting on the steps of a fort that was unfortunately closed that day.

xo, jill

*haha, I know. It was only two and a half years ago.

 

Or that time Mike got lice*The first two years I lived in Abu Dhabi I only made a few short visits to Al Ain. I was either visiting the zoo (horrid, horrid place), or staying with a friend overnight before heading to Oman. I didn’t really do much sightseeing.

Finally, with just a few weeks left in the country, I managed to do a bit of proper sightseeing. It was the day I took these engagement photos for some friends. We decided that if we were going out in the dunes, we might as well spend the day in Al Ain until golden hour.

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that the white balance on my camera was set to something funky. The first several photos I took turned out blue!!

Our first stop was Jebel Hafeet, the most well-known mountain in the UAE. A lot of people think it’s the highest mountain (it’s 1,249m), but actually some other no-name mountain wins that prize (it’s 1,910m).

At Jebel Hafeet it was really windy and hot. We didn’t stay too long. Just long enough to get a few photos and to play on the playground.

Next, we visited the Sheik Zayed Palace Museum. You can wander around the compound and explore many of the rooms. The rooms are decorated in the simple and traditional way so it’s easy to imagine what the palace would have been like 50+ years ago. The palace was built in 1937 and Sheik Zayed and his family lived here until 1966.

Our last stop in Al Ain was at the camel souk. This was an interesting experience. One I would not like to repeat. Basically, we drove up and of course were stared at. Normal. Then we were separated and led to different sections of the souk. One man unlocked a pen and ushered us in. Another man was very angry that this happened. We were then led to a different pen. That’s when one man took my camera and proceeded to take the following photos:

Then he demanded 100dhs ($27). We of course were not going to pay that rate. It started to get a bit touchy so Mike held him off with a few dirhams while we ran for the car. Safely inside the car, Mike noticed that his hands smelled bad. Like, really bad. Like, possibly urine. All from handing back the man’s gutra that was placed on his head. No good.

At this point we grabbed a quick bite to eat and raced into the dunes for the photo shoot. I’d call it a pretty productive day!

xo, jill

*Hehe, just kidding. Mike didn’t get bugs!! But he did refer to that photo as, “Oh yeah, there’s me getting lice!”

From last May.Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how much I miss my lovely friend, Molly. I mean, I’m having a wonderful time in Australia… but I definitely grew accustomed to having Molly so close by in Abu Dhabi. I guess I got a little spoiled. But since I’ve been thinking about her and our friendship so much recently, I figured I might as well post a few more photos from our catamaran adventure last May. The instax photos are here.

If you remember, Molly was treating me to a boat trip as a thank you for helping her out with a few school projects. It was a great way to spend a hot afternoon!

Thanks again, Molly!

xo, jill