Lazy Day

Today we drove into downtown Abu Dhabi and went to their big mall. UAE knows how to build malls! This one was large- 3 storys with two parellel shopways with stores on both sides of each walk way. It took us almost an hour to just walk end to end on all 3 floors and we still missed alot. The food courts are above average. The are McD's, Hardees, KFC's and Subways everywhere here but the other food court offerings are unique. Jimmy had Greek and said and it was better than he expected; I went to a different place and had grilled chicken and rice. It was good; a little dry but the seasoning was good. The portions are enough to feed two. Unfortunately Jimmy & I have very different preferences so splitting is not always and option. The cost for my food equaled about $11 with the drink. A little pricey for mall food court but like I said-it is way enough for two. If I have learned anything at all so far it is that the world truly is a small place. There were families, teens and regular folks just going about thier business; shopping, laughing, kids screaming. Just like you see in Madison Square Mall. We are all just people on this this planet; striving to be happy and live each day in peace. Very cool. Tomorrow is a big day- I hope. If all goes well we can do the walk through on the apartment and move in Monday. Otherwise it will be Tuesday. I am anxious to get settled. I am now able to Skype! I have Skyped with Tara 2x-seeing her face and hearing her voice was salve to my aching heart. Can't wait to see my Angel and my Baby and my mom. Take care of yourselves and each other. I love you all so very much. J&M

Lifes a Beach!

We drove back to Dubai today- it's an hour drive. Had a lovely lunch on The Walk and walked down to the beach. Atlantis Dubai is visible from the beach but was too far for my camera. Later we found a supermarket called Spinney's that has PORK! I didn't realize how much I missed ham and bacon. We came back to the villa in Abu Dhabi and made bacon and eggs for dinner- yum yum! Can't wait to get into our apartment and be able to cook dinner and settle in. It's bad enough not being with my babies and family, but living out of a suitcase just intensifies the feeling of being away from home. It will likely be Monday before we can move in-I must be patient. Jimmy is finally feeling better-thank goodness! Remember pull tabs on soda cans? Thats what they have here- so retro. Otherwise all is well. Hope all is well in Bamaland. PS - shout out to Carole- so glad you are following! And a special shout out to Jacob-  I miss my biking buddy! Peace love and happiness to all- J&M

Beach 31 Mar

Beach 31 Mar

Beach 31 Mar

Jimmy on the beach

Parasailing anyone?

Dudes about to paddle boat

Glad to hear from you!

So cool to see Sarah and Crystal are following! Crystal- Jimmy & I are doing wonderful. He has been so great to get us into a location he knew I would be happy with-he spoils me! Please tell Wayne to check out the site-we would love to hear from him, too. You are welcome to visit us anytime. You have always been supportive of us and a good friend.  Tell your precious girls we said hi. Please be sure to keep in touch! Sarah- so glad I got to give you hug good bye. It was very sweet of you to make time to come by the house and wish us well. Be a good girl ;)!

Pics!!

I have finally accepted the fact that I can't just wish the pics from my camera onto the site- there is some technology involved. Thank you to my fabulous tech support team- Jimmy! Unfortunately I was so overwhelmed with the amazing views from our apartment that I only have one pic inside. The pic does not do the neon lime green walls justice! Like I said earlier, The Walk is almost 2 miles long; it would take way too long to post enough pictures for an adequate reprentation of how awesome it really is. Missing my friends and family so very very much :(! Hope ya'll enjoy the pics! Love, love - Jimmy & Michele PS It takes at least 5-7 minutes to upload each picture; as you can see I have been doing this for a while!

                                                               View of The Walk

View of The Walk

Fabio Lombardi in our apartment

View of the Arabian Gulf from our apartment!

View of steps leading to our building from The Walk

Closer view of the steps on The Walk leading to our apartment building

View of the Arabian Gulf from the steps leading to our apartment building

Outdoor seating at an Indian restaurant located at the top of the steps leading to our apartment building

Just past the Indian restaurant are more shops and restaurants right outside out apartment building

Main entrance to our apartment building.

Fabio Lombardi- our agent who found our cool apartment. he is from Naples, Italy and has been in Dubai 8 years. Great dude!

A Place of Our Own!!

We met with Fabio today. He took us to see 8 apartments. He saved the best for last-it's GREAT!! Two br 2 bath, fully furnished, balcony LOOKING OVER THE ARABIAN GULF!! The views are all wonderful.  It's on the 11th floor. When you go to the ground level you are on the Marina Walk- right across the street is the BEACH!! The Marina Walk is appr. 1.5 -2 miles long filled with restaurants, cool shops and cafes. People stroll along the wide walk way; families, couples and even skateboard dudes. The beach is right there. It is amazing; I know we will be very happy there. After we signed the paperwork we walked a little way down and had a lovely Italian dinner outside on the Walk. So cool!I'll post somepics tomorrow. What a great day! Just wish Jimmy wasn't sick-all that walking and going from place to place was exhausting.

Monday Morning

What a special treat to wake up see a message from my Angel, Dara. Now I have all three of my precious girls blogging me! We are driving into Dubai today to meet with Fabio and find a place to live. I'm so excited to finally see the city where we will be living. Wish us luck! Maybe I can learn how to post pics sometime soon, too! :)

Today in Abu Dhabi

I am on my own today-Jimmy had to go to the office. I went to the mall and wandered around and got a few groceries. It's good to have some fresh fruit  to snack on. I won't go into detail but the cost is pretty comparable to home. I've seen more women in burquas than I thought I would. I wore a tye die skirt (goes to my knees) and a short sleeve t-shirt- no cover up and I was perfectly comfortable. Didn't feel out of place or stared at. I think I get more attention because of the blonde hair than anything else. The people are friendly and warm. Went through every channel at the villa we are staying in and we have 40 english channels! Not bad but I don't have a single news channel- thank goodness the Internet isn't too bad. Skype appears to be blocked-major downer; I really wanted to see my girls. I hope it isn't blocked in Dubai. Feels close to 90 degrees today but it is breezy so it isn't too bad. I feared the language barrier would be an issue but not so much. Almost everyone speaks english and are really friendly. Turns out learning the money is the hard part! I'm ok with the paper money but the coins are a challenge. Can't wait to get started looking for a place to call home. Hope all is well in Bamaland. I'll check in again soon- ya'll leave me comments and keep me updated. Peace, love and happiness!