Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Well, in case you did not catch the musical reference in the title......it's all about JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!!!!! Of course, no musical guests come to visit Riyadh, however, they hit up the UAE quite often and as soon as we saw Justin Timberlake was coming to Abu Dhabi, a few of us knew we had to go. This was actually J.T's first trip to Abu Dhabi and sounded like a perfect weekend away.
I had never been to Abu Dhabi, and this trip would not allow for a lot of exploring. It was to be a quick weekend trip, flying in on Thursday, concert on Friday, back to Riyadh on Saturday so mostly it would be concert, drinks and a little bit of relaxing on the beach and by the pool. Unfortunately I would also need to do some homework. I did as much of that as possible before we left but there seems to be a never ending amount of reading and what not to be done. Of course being able to read with a glass of champagne did make it a little bit easier.
The Grand Mosque. No chance to visit this time around but hopefully there will be a next time.
The group of us were travelling from two cities to Abu Dhabi. Lola and I were in Riyadh and Jenn and Kathy were travelling from Jeddah. Lucky for us, flights from Jeddah come through Riyadh on the way to Abu Dhabi so we all traveled together. Upon arrival in Abu Dhabi we hit the duty free (as usual) and then it was off to the hotel. Not many plans on Thursday night (food, drinks....that's about it) but it was nice to get into the hotel.
A theme from the evening.
Friday was concert day, but we had most of the day to relax, so we hit the spa (our room came with a few free spa treatments) and the beach and just enjoyed the sunshine.
The hotel beach. That square glass building in the background is actually the new Cleveland Clinic. If you are not familiar with Cleveland Clinic, they are one the top hospitals in the United States. This is a major undertaking in the Middle East as large US hospitals have had trouble finding long-term success in the region. At the time I took this picture, the hospital was not yet open but it is in fully operation now and I have many friends who are happily working there.
My favourite Moet and Chandon on our balcony. I was actually doing homework in this picture.
Eventually it was time to head to the stadium for the concert. One thing we tried to be prepared for was the heat. Even in May Abu Dhabi is pretty hot (and far more humid than Riyadh) but we felt we were prepared. Light cotton dresses. Well hydrated (yes, we had some water) and ready to dance. We decided to get Golden circle tickets, because these got us nice and close to the stage. Previously Lola had attended concerts at this venue with VIP tickets but that section is much farther from the stage.....and we wanted to be close. Here are some pictures and video. Not too many as it is hard to get good quality stuff while signing and dancing, but you get the point.
Yes this is zoomed in a little....but we were pretty close.
A pretty good view of the stage. It was really hot and a couple people actually passed out in front of me. About part way through the concert though the security guards handed out a bunch of bottles of water to fans. It certainly helped.
Not sure how he had a jacket on. We could actually see the sweat dripping off his shirt. It was a little gross but also indicated how close we were to the stage.
This video gives a very good idea how close to the stage we were. The sound is not great but you get the idea.
We waited all night to hear this song. Justin did not disappoint.
Safe to say that this was a great show. Probably one of the best concerts I have ever seen. It was a late night back to the hotel. It was a bit of a wait for a taxi, (as you can imagine) but we did eventually make it back safe and sound.
Saturday was a pretty relaxed day. Another spa treatment and then it was off to the airport. Lola and I did make a quick stop at an area called Masdar City. It is a pedestrian friendly community that is said to be environmentally friendly and mostly self sustaining. We were there for the whole foods store but it was an interesting place to check out.
These little self driving cars move you around underneath the city.
No driver. No cables. No rails. They just know where to go. Super cute and fun.
The pull into their own little parking stalls.
Our shopping trip was quick and then it was off to the airport. The other girls went direct to Jeddah this time so it was just Lola and I on the way back. It was a very quick trip to Abu Dhabi but a great little weekend away.
Hopefully I will have time for a longer trip soon.
Julie
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