Heartstrings 33.0: just a normal, average weekend... Except not.

Welp, it's Saturday here folks; which means tomorrow is the start to another work week. I will have to say, I am reallly hoping that these next two weeks go by as fast as this past week went. I have had my share of ups and downs here lately, so I'm hoping that the roller coaster ride of emotions and life in general will subside.

This weekend was a good start for an upswing... I had a friend come over from Al Ain and we had a nice and relaxing weekend. Andrea had never been to a beach here in the UAE, so that was our first goal to check off for the weekend. After finding out that they had opened a new public beach on Saadiyat Island, we ventured that way. The island isn't built up very well and the signs are for crap; so we drove around for a little bit attempting to find the road the beach was off of. After stopping and talking to a guy who was at the gate of some beach villas and getting some non-helpful advice, we finally circled back around and found the road. The beach was quite full, yet surprisingly quiet, for opening weekend and we weren't able to secure a chair/table for this "soft opening" as they called it. Didn't bother us any, we just plopped our towels down on the nice cool sand which was a few hundred feet away from a protected area for some sea turtles that lay their eggs in the dunes. It was 22° outside (72° F) and the water was the same temperature... So needless to say, it was a perfect afternoon to wade in the rolling waves and get a little sandy.

this is what it would look like if it were empty...

the turtles lay their eggs in the dunes up off the shore to hatch

After finishing up our beaching experience, we headed for one of my favorite western places to eat here in Abu Dhabi called Jones the Grocer. It's an Australian restaurant... I had a burger last time, so I decided to go for a chicken burger with guacamole. It was delish... Andrea got some salmon and baba ghanoush which she really enjoyed as well. 

A few hours later, we ventured to Emirates Palace (Abu Dhabi's only 7 star hotel) for a compilation from a world famous Russian ballet company. It was quite a nice show... more intermission periods then we cared for (one 20 minute break and another 25 minute break). This was only my second ballet experience (my first show being in Prague) but I did enjoy most of it... It ended pretty late and we'd driven, so we decided to let the crowd disperse a little. We settled down and had some dessert... in the chocolate lava cake topped with gold flakes form. Best.... dessert.... ever! It was ah-mazing! I wish I could describe how rich the flavor of the cake was and how as soon as your golden fork hits the cake, it breaks apart due to its moistness... but words just don't do it justice. 

heaven!

We wondered around the hotel and you've never seen so much gold in one place at one time... I don't think they know that other colors exist in this place: 

After having my first Emirates Palace experience, I was quite impressed. It was a lovely experience... one I wouldn't do over and over, but a nice place to go to feel a little luxury in life. 

We came back to my place, attempted to sleep in, but ended up leaving the flat early this morning to head to breakfast at the mall (all the restaurants/fast food places/grocery stores are in a mall). We ate a nice hearty breakfast, and Andrea did some shopping... I had previously had my girl moment the week before, so I didn't need to purchase anything. Friends back home, you would be proud... bought 2 dresses, a purse, and some shiny silver dress sandles.

Back to reality today though... and work. I think I've put off doing eSIS (student grades) for awhile now today, so I should probably get back to that for a bit. Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are!