Ahhh, the Weekend

One of the peculiarities of the relationship between the Christian and Islamic weekends is that, even though they are "reversed," Saturday ends up having the same purpose in both versions. As I've been blogging about since the world was young, I've been trying to finalize the establishment of a bank account (which should not be this bloody hard). Today, Saturday, a group of us are heading down to actually, insh'allah, put money in the bank. This will be my third to the bank, not counting the dozens of emails, phone calls and texts. Anyway, I'm heading down today because the banks in the Islamic world are closed on Friday, obviously, just as they are closed on Sunday in the Christian world. That leaves Saturday in both worlds when the bank is open half a day, so we're heading down this morning. That left yesterday for general goofing off, and it was a really nice day. After grabbing a big breakfast - Friday is the only day of the week where I don't just eat fruit, yogurt and mueslix - I worked out for a couple hours and then plopped down by the pool. My friend Liane suggested that we head downtown because she wanted to do some shopping, although I think we were mainly interested in getting off the island. Living at the Radisson Blu out here on Yas Island is pretty sweet, but it is very easy to fall into a routine/rut, and I'm determined to make a more concerted effort to change things up. Anyway, Liane and I caught the 2:00 Radisson shuttle downtown and bounced around the Abu Dhabi Mall for a couple hours, and she was successful in finding some clothes and shoes (as expressed in the picture of her reveling in her purchases).

I did find one of her shirt purchases buried in the back of a rack, so I think I more than justified my existence. After that we caught a cab over to the Intercontinental Hotel to go to the Belgian Cafe, which our friend Tanya swears is the best bar in Abu Dhabi. Here in the UAE it is very rare to find a free-standing bar, not surprisingly, so almost every bar is located in a major western hotel, and the Belgian is no exception. It was a nice place, featuring, as you might expect, Belgian beer and food. We had the Hoegaarden white beer and some prawns, which were really good. After that we caught a taxi all the way out to Yas Island, and it only cost around $18, which I've spent to take a taxi from the Burlington Airport to Shelburne, so that was OK (although I always flash back to the pennies I spent to taxis in India and it seems like a fortune). We met up with the other Remnants for our usual happy hour at the Radisson, and then Tanya, Liane and I walked next door to the Park Hotel to eat at their Mexican restaurant, which was expensive (this is Abu Dhabi, after all) but quite good. And then I collapsed into bed. It was really nice to get out and do something different, although it has left me exhausted. Now, if only the banking excursion is half as successful.