Qsar Al Sarab

Sorry for the delay in blog postings...not as efficient now that I'm working. Sara and I went to a new TDIC Hotel that opened the first week in November. We got to enjoy it at the employee soft opening rate...which is a nice benefit! The hotel is called Qsar Al Sarab; which translates to Palace of the Mirage. It is located about 3 hours from Abu Dhabi in the Empty Quarter. There is definitely a reasons why it has this name. It's located in a pure sand desert. The stars at night are the brightest I think I've ever seen.

We really enjoyed our stay. The hotel, room, pool, staff, and food was excellent. We took a hike to the top of a sand mountain for a great view. You can do camel tours through the desert, dune bashing, archery, hikes, or just hang by the pool. Below are pictures of the hotel and from the top of the mountain.

I have Italy & Switzerland to post and we went on a sail boat with a colleague of Sara's. I'll post more as soon as I can...maybe this weekend.

Pool

View from our Patio

View from the top of our hike!

View from our hike looking back at the hotel!

Aerosmith Abu Dhabi

Aerosmith concert was excellent! They sounded great. It was like they were still 20 years old (except for the wrinkled skin and makeup!). We were very close to the end of the stage again. Stephen Tyler tossed his harmonica to a girl in the crowd that was right next to us. Below are pictures. We got awesome video, but I haven't taken the time to figure out how to post it.

Can't believe we have seen Andrea Bocelli, Coldplay, Beyonce', Kings of Leon, and Aerosmith in Abu Dhabi. The Killers are Dec. 8th right after we return from Switzerland and Italy (leave on Friday this week!) Enjoy the pictures.

This picture is from the big screen behind the band.

Beyonce' Concert Abu Dhabi

For the F1 Race Events, there were 4 concerts. The race was excellent. We have now been to 2 Inaugural F1 Races (Indy and Abu Dhabi). Sara and I got close during the Beyonce concert. We were probably within 15' when she came to the end of the stage. Below are pictures. Hope everyone is doing well.

Dubai September Weekend

At the end of September we took a 2 day trip to Dubai. We stayed at the Le' Meridian Mina Seyah. It's in the Marina District of Dubai and looks onto the Palm Jumeriah where Atlantis is located. These pictures are from our balcony.

With the weather better now (Highs of 95, Low of 80), there are many activities. New blogs to be posted very soon!

You can see Atlantis if you look close!

Overlooking the Pool and the main entrance onto the Palm

Sunset over the marina

Charlie's 1st Arabian Gulf Visit

Sara and I took Charlie to the beach last weekend for his 1st ocean experience. He loved digging in the sand. We took him again yesterday because we didn't have our camera the first time. The beach and water is goregous. This is the beach on my project site. Tomek is from Sara's Poland office. He was in town helping for 5 weeks. This was his last few hours before he flew home.

Tomek and Sara

Back in the Saddle Again!!

As Steven Tyler would say, "I'm back in the saddle again"! I started my new job with Tourism Development and Investment Company (www.tdic.ae). I am the Infrastructure Project Manager for the Saadiyat Beach Villas that wrap around a golf course and next to the beach. It took 6 months to find a job, but believe I found a great company and position. Check out the website.

Cheers! Rodney

Sunset Wadi Dinner

While we were on Sir Bani Yas Island, we schedule our own private sunset dinner in a Wadi. A wadi is an old river bed that only carries water during occasional rainfall. It was very hot during our visit, but the evening in the wadi was fortunately nice. Still hot, but very manageable.

Sara and I really enjoyed our evening. Below are pictures.

Desert Island Wildlife Sanctuary

Sir Bani Yas Island is a 3 hour drive from Abu Dhabi. It has a very large wildlife sanctuary that includes gazelles, arabian oryxs, giraffes, cranes, cheetahs, many birds, and deer. 30 years ago, the desert island was planted with over 3 million plants. Being an island and a desert, it's amazing that 2 million to 2.5 million plants survived.

We took a game drive early Friday morning. Three cheetahs were recently introduced to help stabilize the gazelle population. We unfortunately were not able to see them during our game drive, but people later that afternoon did see them.

There is only one wonderful resort on the island called the Ananatara Desert Island Resort and Spa. Sara and I had a great time at the pool, excellent dinners, and the spa. Below are pictures from our wildlife game drive. We also had private cocktail and appetizers located in a Wadi inside the park.

View from Royal Family home within the park

Images of Istanbul

The last weekend in June, we visited Lacey in Istanbul. It was a wonderful place. The weather was very nice (everywhere is nice compared to Abu Dhabi right now). We stayed in a hotel that had a roof top that overlooked the city and was steps away from a pedestrian street full of restaurants, cafe's, and shops. We visited the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia, a very old coffee shop (Pierre Lotti), Grand Bazaar, and many places around the city.

We purchased a Turkish rug. I don't know why the airline didn't charge us extra because it was so heavy. Haggling with the rug dealers is not our specialty, but we enjoy the rug. I sent many pictures via Snapfish to friends and family. Below are just a couple of the city.

St. Sophia (very old & large mosque)

Typical evening near Iziklal Street

Small pedestrian side street

Centuries old Water Cistern found under our rug shop

View of Blue Mosque and Prince Island from hotel roof

Starbucks and Cars

This is our Starbucks that we can walk to from our condo. There are enough Starbucks in Abu Dhabi to feed our habit. Although our habit has slowed down here because it's too hot to walk these days. Also these are the cars we've purchased since we've been here. Well maybe on Rodney's wish list anyway...less the gold plate. Too much for me.

Convertible Ferrari

GOLD PLATED RANGE ROVER!

Bentley

Audi R8

Wedding Day!

Jordan and Marie Knowles were wed on May 23, 2009. It was a wonderful setting located on Shoal's Bay, Anguilla. I didn't get any pictures of Sara, Misty, Michelle, Nicole, and Ann jumping in the pool with their dresses on, but it did happen! (Of course this was late into the night!)

The Happy Couple

Michelle and Trevor (Maid of Honor and Best Man)

After ceremony dancing...or swatting!

Anguilla Sport Fishing!

For Jordan's last event as a bachelor, a group of us went on a sport fishing trip on the wedding day. Fittingly, Jordan caught the first and largest fish of the day (35-40lb Wahoo). Price and Trevor each caught a barricuda. It was a great day. Here are pics of the crew and fish.

Jordan's Wahoo! (I don't know what is crazier, Jordan's hair or the fish!)

Mak and Jordan bringing in the Wahoo.

Price's Barricuda

Crew: Price, Mak, Trevor, Darin, and Jordan (left to right)

Crew: Trevor, Jordan, Rodney, Price, & Mak (left to right)

Anguilla Water Spouts - 5/22/09

While Sara and I were in Anguilla for Jordan & Marie's wedding there was a storm late afternoon on Friday. We had the opportunity to see over 8 water spouts just off the shore. Mak stated a taxi driver said it was the largest spout he had ever seen. The spouts did not last long (maybe 15 minutes each spout). The storm reached land and it rained with lightning heavily for about 2 hours. Wedding and Deep Sea Sport Fishing blogs to follow soon.

Closest spout to our villa