The Abu Dhabi Project

So I can't really call it the Abu Dhabi Housewife because after living here for three months I don't actually believe that the wives here do ANY housework. So I've decided to call it the Abu Dhabi Project and take a slightly different approach than the Italian Housewife Project!!!

This is the first image in the collection. It is my sister, who is currently living in Saudi Arabia and has to wear an abaya daily.

The idea for this picture actually came from my grandmother Meg, who said that she really wanted a picture of Jenna's brilliant blue eyes gazing out of the black veil, so here it is!!!!!

Back in action

The last month has been a bit chaotic in our household. We had two rounds of visitors and two weeks of spring break, which meant no school and not as much time for me to be on the computer! Therefore, the blog suffered.

Our oldest dog got sick and we made the decision to move from the apartment that we were living in to a villa so we could have a backyard for the dogs. Unfortunately, we lost Henry suddenly in the middle of the night before he got the chance to experience his new backyard. Anyone who has ever lost a family pet knows that the entire family suffers when a pet dies and it takes a while to recover and move on with life.
We've spent the last two weeks packing and moving into our new villa, which is fabulous! You can tell that Cadbury misses Henry but she also seems quite excited about the new backyard.
I have about 500 pictures waiting to be edited and once I've done those I will get around to posting again..........I promise. 

I'm a little tired of the elevator conversation right now

Dear Elevator People,

You know what I'm sick of? I'm sick of people commenting in the elevator about how hard it must be to have dogs while living in this apartment building. Just when I get comfortable with it all and think everything is balanced and zen again, someone has to open their big mouth on the four floor elevator ride and burst my bubble.

Do they think that somehow I don't KNOW how hard it can be?

YES- There are two of them
YES- The brown and white one is old
YES- they have to go out four times a day to pee
YES- There isn't a lot of grass nearby and therefore;
YES- they have to pee on the sidewalk, although I make them pee over at                 the side of it near the potted plants so that people won't have to walk  through it.
YES- I walk them myself. This is usually followed by shock and horror on the face of the asker and the question "Don't you have a maid!?"
YES- I have to pick up their poop in bags
YES- I realize that it is hot and that it's going to get hotter, and that it will be rough on EVERYONE in Abu Dhabi including the dogs. What I want to say to that is that these dogs come from a place where it gets to -40, and yet somehow they have survived 7 and 12 years respectively, obviously we'll take the proper precautions.
NO- this was NOT exactly where I wanted to live but its best for our family right now and frankly I am not going to explain to a stranger why I chose not to live in a villa.
NO-I don't think abandoning them in Canada or Italy would have been a better option and I want to punch the people who think that it is. (Yes Mr. Self-Righteous Australian man in the elevator I'm talking to you)

Also to the tenants who glare at us: If you don't want dogs in your building then I suggest you move to a building that doesn't allow dogs. Its quite simple really.

I was quite sympathetic at first with the people who screamed and threw themselves against walls when they saw the dogs but I have now lost all of my sympathy. Don't get me wrong, the guys out on the street who are seeing them for the first time and are scared, I am still sympathetic towards, and do everything to keep the dogs near me and assure them that I won't let them go. The people who live in this building have seen them enough times now that they should be able to recognize a LEASH when they see one and know that me HOLDING the leash means that the dog is restrained.(just like EVERY other time you've seen them) Screaming and jumping back is only going to rile my dog up more and make it more difficult for me to make her heel because now she thinks you want to play. I want to slap a few people in this building.

But I won't.

Because I'm yoga breathing and practicing the art of biting my tongue really hard. I'm worried that one of these days I might just bite it off!

So to all of you people in the elevator, having two dogs here is trying enough some days without having to answer your questions about how horrible it must be for us. If you'd like to chat about their age, breed, colour or how happy they are that they got to stay with their family during our expat adventures then I'd be more than happy to reply.

Sincerely,
Rachel with a very sore tongue.

Picture yourself being shot like a bullet out of a gun....

...and that's what it feels like to ride the Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster.

   We stood in line for about half an hour watching this thing blast off in front of our eyes so that by the time it was our turn I was actually quite nervous! They give you these stellar looking safety goggles to put on so that you don't get your eyeballs sandblasted during the ride and the ladies wearing shaylas had to wear these tight, grey zippered jobs on the outside so their headpiece didn't fly off!!!!!

  The rollar coaster looks like a Ferrari car...of course. It slowly takes you out onto the track where there are the lights to start the "race" So basically you're counting down to the scary part!!!!

  Then the light goes green and you're off, and by off I mean that you are literally fired from the starting point and reach the speed of 240km/hr in about 4-6 seconds. So now you know why I used the bullet from a gun reference. That is what it felt like!!!!! I closed my eyes for a few seconds so my eyes are squeezed shut in the picture that they took of me. I made myself open my eyes just half a second before we shot up into the air and over the first high peak of the ride. It felt like we were about to launch to mars!

  It didn't really slow down the entire ride, you constantly had the feeling that you were going WAY too fast, up and down and around and around in circles. I can honestly say it was the most exciting roller coaster I have ever been on! Its quite a simple design, up and down and circles, no loops. But its the SPEED that you're travelling that makes this roller coaster so awesome. We got off and I really just wanted to run around and get back in line!!! However, we had to go and collect the three year old so that Auntie Jenna and Kristin could have a turn on the roller coaster. I will definitely be taking my thrill seeking guests out there to try it out!!!!!!

Ferrari World also had some other rides worth checking out, there was a drop of doom type ride but that was closed the day that we were there. Richard and I paid to go on the Ferrari F430 Simulators where you sit in an actual Ferrari F430 which is attached to a large screen and then you drive on the F1 Abu Dhabi track like in a video game. The difference is that the car tilts and shudders depending on how good (or crap!) your steering is, and how fast you were going. I was actually thoroughly nauseated by the time I was done on that simulator but I had a HUGE grin on my face!!!! I crashed six times, mainly because I would just give it on the straight parts to see how fast I could get my simulated ferrari to go and then I'd try to Tokyo drift the corners which I can assure you does NOT work on a formula one track!!!!!!!

There were simulators like at the arcade where you raced 10 other drivers that were free and tilted like the big simulator just on a smaller scale. There was a simulator where you sat in with a formula one driver and raced along with him in the passenger seat of the car. There was a log ride that took you through a Ferrari engine and then spits you out the exhaust pipe for the final drop of the ride, pretty freaking cool.

Reese enjoyed Bella Italia, which is a car ride through a miniature Italy in "vintage ferraris" They did a great job recreating Italy and the cars you ride in are super cool!!!! They have mini F1 and ferrari car go-karts for the older crowd and for the little ones. Reese ran a stop sign, took the roundabout the wrong way and crashed into the wall about eight times but she had a blast doing it :)

There is also another rollercoaster where two roller coasters race on two parallel tracks with all these areas where you're slingshotted forward, it was pretty fun as well but not as cool as the Formula Rossa!!!!!!!!

I highly recommend Ferrari World, if you like scary rides, or even if you're just a fan of Ferraris( and come on.....who doesn't like Ferraris!!!!!)

The signs as you're heading into the MASSIVE building!

The tunnel leading to the ticket area

This is what it looks like from the air!!!!! The top right side of the picture you can see the tracks for the Formula Rossa

Such a cool looking building

Whoever designed this deserves a medal

DROOL!!!!!

Just like the Italians to go hanging cars on walls

The engine part walkway, all lit up

Belle Italia!!!!

In a vintage FERRARI!!!So cool

Apparently these two thought it was a roller coaster 

The F1 Simulator

The Go Karts!

The Track

The F430 Simulator

Oh that's right I'm sitting in a freaking FERRARI!!!! Harder than I thought to drive this sucker on a simulator!!

Richard having a go

Reese's first time driving!

UhOh!!!I crashed my Ferrari!

Showing off her ride

For the first time in my life I will not "Spring Forward"

The UAE doesn't do daylight savings time, so I am now only 10 hours ahead of Alberta, Canada instead of the 11 that I was a few days ago! I did some research to figure out why they don't do the daylight savings time over here and came up with this answer..........

They don't want to save any daylight!!!!!!

The day is fairly consistent here throughout the year with the longest and the shortest day only being an hour and a half difference(compared to Canada where its like a 6 hour difference!!!!)

The reasoning is that it gets so HOT here in the summer that they don't want to delay the sun going down until 8pm, because literally nobody comes out of their houses until sundown when things start to cool off and the shops open up again!!!!! So normally that happens between 6:30-7:15 ish and that gives people the extra hour to do things that they need to get done before they go to bed for the night. To spring forward once a year would just mean that they lose an hour of getting stuff done!!!!!!

During Ramadan they aren't allowed to eat or drink while the sun is up, so why the heck would they delay it by an hour changing clocks around, the people are starving as it is by the time the sun goes down!!!!

So yes.....for the first time in my life I'm not going to lose an hour of sleep in the springtime. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. 

Talk to your taxi driver

If you know me, you know that I never stop talking..........ever! Unless I'm mad of course and then if I've gotten to the point where I'm silent then you're really in trouble!!

So I find it FASCINATING to chat with my taxi drivers here in Abu Dhabi, and most of them are more than willing to share stories, tidbits and chat about life in Abu Dhabi. So this is what I've learned this week.

-The gossip from my Indian taxi driver about his friend who is dating a Phillipino girl but won't marry her(or perhaps CAN'T marry her) my driver was of the opinion that they'd been dating five years and he should just marry her already or break up!!!

-I learned the words in Arabic for fog and penis(yes that's right my immature friends I said penis)  The two apparently sound very similar and my lady driver was telling me a story where she radioed in and said there is too much penis rather than too much fog. BIG OOPS!!!!!( but also quite hilarious!!!) Samoura is fog and Shamoura is penis. Who knew!?

-I also learned the Arabic phrase for F-You...but I won't post that here.

- I got to use my very scarce Arabic when one of the drivers thanked me in Arabic. Shukran is thank you and Afwan is you're welcome.  

-I saw pictures of my lady driver's kids, two of which are nurses and we discussed the HAAD exams that foreign nurses have to take here.

-Also saw pictures of Pakistan and the mountain region which by the way looks quite beautiful!!!! I didn't even know there were mountains in Pakistan so I learned something new that day. 

-Learned the short cut to Reese's dance class which cuts at least five minutes off the drive!

So yeah, talk to your taxi drivers people! It makes the time pass quickly and they have some very entertaining things to talk about :)

This place is weird- The Dismissal

So the other day Reese and I were in a taxi going over to Shelley's house and this SUV pulls up next to us at a red light. There is a well dressed Arab man sitting in the passenger seat and he has a driver. He smiles over at our cab and then makes gestures for me to roll down the window. Thinking that perhaps he wants directions from the taxi driver(sidenote: people do that ALL the time here!!!!) I roll down my window. He proceeds to wave and coo at Reese, big smile on his face. I'm looking at him, then back to Reese(who was blowing kisses by the way!) then back at him thinking.....what the hell is going on!?!?! Then he gets a call on his cell phone and I LITERALLY got the "you're dismissed" hand gesture which I'm thinking meant....." I'm done with you and your adorable child...you can roll up the window now"


WOW.

Now I know some of you would freak out if some strange man started doing that to your child BUT.......let me explain. Here in the UAE they seem to ADORE children, so the Emirate men are always waving at Reese, its just what they do. To be fair, Italy was exactly the same. People were always patting Reese's head or trying to give her treats. Could be because she's the rare blondie in a sea of dark haired people!! It really did take a while to get used to though.
AND...back home I would be irate about the hand dismissal, but here its par for the course!!! I'm a second class citizen here, actually I might actually be a third class citizen and a woman to boot. So I just smile and bite my tongue, REALLY, REALLY HARD. ( those of you that know me well should know JUST how hard it is for me to do that!!!!!)

So today we found out my Canadian drivers license is "ineligible" to add me as an additional driver to Brandie's car. Now we're not sure if this is because I hold a Canadian license and my visit visa is in my British passport, or whether this is just another step that the UAE government has taken to make it harder for Canadians to do anything here after our stupid government wouldn't give them more landing slots in Toronto.  Canada lost Camp Mirage in the dispute and now Canadians have to pay visa fees in order to come here in advance otherwise they can be stranded in the airport(apparently)!!!!
This is only one of the reasons why I travelled in on a British passport.  I know another Canadian here who drives, but come to think of it I think he was here before this dispute even happened so he would have an emirates license. Seriously Canada, I think you need to pick your battles, it seems like we lost this one!!!!

Life Lessons Learned

Anyone remember this story???
How to evacuate with a toddler and two dogs from the 30th floor

Yeah, well I remember it well and so do my calves so I'm pleased to announce that here in Abu Dhabi I am living on a very low floor!!!!! Henry is two years older now and there is NO way he would manage 5 flights of stairs let alone 30, so at least this way I wouldn't have to abandon him during a fire :)

I think I scare the locals

All the locals in my area gave me a wide berth BEFORE the dogs arrived and now they practically run in the other direction. I realize that compared to them I must look very odd and foreign indeed. I'm 5'10 compared to their 5'0-5'4 and I have fair skin and blue eyes. Add to that the fact that I'm a western woman waltzing around their area of town, and I'm walking and carrying my own things. They look at me like I'm a complete freak of nature!!!!
The dogs add a whole other dimension to it, people literally just stare at them while backing up!!!        I know that in many of these people's home countries, domestic dogs are unheard of, and the only experience they have with dogs are wild ones. So, because of this, I'm quite understanding when they practically throw themselves into holes in the wall to avoid the dogs. I even try to keep the dogs on the opposite side of me so that they don't have to go to such extreme measures!
My mother has been asking me if I'm safe in this area that I live in and after walking over the last few days I can definitely say yes. I think if Cadbury growled or barked at one of the locals they might actually have a heart attack from fright.
Cadbury has been having a field day with the alley cats and her walk is not complete unless she gets to see one. If there is a walk where she doesn't see any cats you can SEE the disappointment as she shuffles back inside, longingly looking back over her shoulder. Its HILARIOUS. Obviously I don't let her NEAR any of the cats because the poor little blights already have a tough enough life without having to worry about my gimpy chocolate labrador being overly nosy.
We're also trying to persuade Henry not to pee RIGHT in front of the door to the lobby, we do this by breaking into a very slow jog as soon as we walk out the door so he at least makes it halfway down the sidewalk. Henry is not at all impressed with this new part of his routine.
And if the locals didn't already think I was off my rocker, the vet has asked me to get a urine sample from Henry, so I will have to put on the good old medical gloves tomorrow morning and try to catch his pee.......charming. I hope to god no one is watching me when I do it!!!! The vet offered to use ultrasound and a needle to get some urine but I figure the least I can do for poor Henry is have him avoid that particularly painful sounding procedure.
Wish me luck!!

There's a first time for everything!- Hospital Visit

Well, for three nights Reese has been telling us that her ear hurts, but she would follow that up with, "a drink of water will make it feel better" so we thought she was just playing it up so she didn't have to go to sleep. APPARENTLY NOT.
Today after MUCH research I took her over to Al Noor Hospital which is about a block away from our house. I was told that they had a dedicated pediatric walk in clinic. So here's how it went.
Stopped at a cash machine on the way because I'd heard horror stories about only being able to pay with cash in the hospitals and took out quite a lot of money just in case. Normally our insurance will direct bill but we haven't got our new SAICO(read PSYCHO) cards yet!!!!
Walked over to the street that the hospital was on, walked into the building that said Al Noor Hospital, except it was a grocery store. The security guard directed me around the side of the building to the back and that is where we found the actual hospital!!!
Went up to the second floor and followed the signs for pediatrics, took a number when we came into the waiting room. Within 2 minutes we were being checked in by admitting, then a few minutes after that a nurse came and got Reese's height, weight and vital signs. After that we were told to go over to the next waiting area to wait and see the doctor. We sat for 5-10 minutes and then we were in to see the pediatrician!!!
She was really nice, Dr. Rimm was her name. She asked me all the questions I would expect and then checked out Reese's ears, nose and throat and diagnosed a severe ear infection along with sinus congestion and cough due to post nasal drip. The diagnosis was exactly what I was expecting and I even got in trouble for not bringing her in sooner!!!!(horrible Mama!!!)
She prescribed a weeks worth of antibiotics, decongestants, nasal flushes and no swimming/beach and we are going back on Thursday for a follow up appointment.
Then we went to the pharmacy where the same routine was repeated, hand in the prescription, take a number. Sit and wait until its ready (5 minutes in our case), get an explanation from the pharmacist about the medications and dosages, take the receipt to the cashier and pay, return to pharmacist with receipt and collect medications. Less than 10 minutes!!!!! Its a highly efficient system they've got going here, or perhaps I just hit it on a good day :)
So far I'm very happy with my first impression of health care in Abu Dhabi!

There's a first time for everything- Fender Bender

Well it was bound to happen here since there are no traffic rules and everyone just drives as they please, yesterday I had my first fender bender in a taxi!!! We weren't going very fast and no one was hurt, I was texting and felt a hard bump on the back of the car with a crunch sound. The taxi drivers got out and yelled at each other for a few seconds and then drove on to a pullout area so they could yell some more without blocking the traffic that had already started laying on their horns in the 10 seconds after the accident!
Apparently they worked it out because they both jumped back in their cars and off we went. Less than 5 minutes. Thankfully Reese wasn't in the car with me at the time or I might not have been as calm about it!!!

Where the *$#K is the recycling!?!

So I am big on recycling, at home in Canada we had a wonderful system and we literally recycled EVERYTHING. In Italy, they had curb side recycling and huge bins and it was wonderful to be able to recycle pretty much anything that came in a package!
Here in Abu Dhabi.......not so much.
I've been researching all morning for a place to take my recycling where they'll actually recycle it and so far I've come up with nothing. Apparently there ARE places, but no one actually ever picks up the recycled stuff and it piles up and then the trash men take it. WTF.
When you've been used to recycling everything it comes as a bit of a shock to have to throw a can or a bottle away, I'm having major guilt!!!! I'm going to keep searching and asking around about it and hopefully I can come up with a good option. Otherwise, we'll have to change our eating habits so we have less packaging, so that my guilt can be tamed somewhat!

Lesson Learned #1-Life in the Middle East

Ok, so some people make it up as they go along! We wanted a coffee maker but didn't really want the one that makes a big pot since we hardly ever drink that much coffee. Enter the single serve coffee maker! Perfect idea for us and the lady assured us that they sold the pods downstairs in the Lulu grocery store, except that they don't!!  We asked at least five different people, most of them thought we wanted coffee filters. Slightly frustrating experience. At the end of it all, my husband marched back upstairs and returned it for a store credit. Lesson learned, do not expect there to be any product in the  Lulu grocery store that match with any of the appliances in the Lulu department store upstairs.

Look out Abu Dhabi!!!!! We have arrived :)

Short post today, we have arrived in Abu Dhabi and aren't quite into our apartment yet but hoping that we will be by this afternoon!!! So far we've had one Reese meltdown and one Mama meltdown, Daddy has stayed calm, stoic and neutral throughout which is what the English do best :)
Once we have a permanent home I'm hoping to make this blog into something more than it currently is, but right now I just thought I'd send a big online shout out saying.......

WE'RE HERE!!!!!!

Our "Reconnaissance" Mission to Abu Dhabi

Well it was an enjoyable week in Abu Dhabi! The traffic was better than I expected, I never had a cab without a working seatbelt, I didn't get ridiculously lost and I got to go to the beach in NOVEMBER!! For this Canadian that was a first :)

Here are some reviews of the places we stayed and things that we did. First off, our hotel. The staff was absolutely lovely, they really made the whole experience positive for us. I was quite disappointed in the hotel because when I think Hilton I think of luxury. This hotel is clean, and I can't complain about anything  because it had comfortable beds, a fridge in the room and all the right amenities, it just wasn't what I was expecting from Hilton!!!!
The concierge is truly a wonderful man, he helped us catch taxis and relayed messages for us and made our entire experience easier on our first trip to Abu Dhabi. The breakfast buffet was NOT included but it was fabulous :)
There was a pool which we didn't use, we decided to head to the parks and the beaches instead.
Overall I was happy with our stay in the hotel but I think they need to update their internet and I always get annoyed when I have to pay for it at a hotel!!!!!
Hilton Corniche Apartments

Onto restaurants, ahhhh the restaurants. I never thought I'd say this but I'm sick of eating Italian food!!!! I ate Thai, Mexican, Lebanese and Indian when I was in Abu Dhabi and I was thrilled :) I also had Italian one night! So here are a few places that we ate.

Boccaccio Italian Restaurant at the Intercontinental Hotel
Well the food was good, but not as good as here in Italy. But definitely a forerunner for the Melton/Grier/Burwell Pizza night!! Since it was at a hotel you could have the necessary glass of wine or beer with your meal. The setting was magical with the marina right there and the low lighting. What kind of ruined it for us though was the shisha bar next door, the fumes kept wafting into our table with gave two of our party headaches before the end of the meal. Perhaps indoors next time??
Boccaccio

Next up is Tiara
Tiara is located in the Marina Mall at the top of the tower. The restaurant revolves and so you get the entire 360 degree view over the course of your meal. And what a gorgeous view it was!! The Abu Dhabi skyline at night is quite stunning. The food was absolutely fabulous and the staff was friendly and efficient. The only downside: not licensed. It was a bit strange to have such a nice meal without the glass of wine after living in Italy!!!!
Tiara

The Mexican Restaurant in Khalidiya Mall- CANTINA LOREDO
I ate here twice during my visit because it was THAT good!!! I had spinach salad with raspberries both times and the second time I also shared the *very unhealthy* Loredo Fries which are to die for but you can feel your arteries clogging as you eat them :) They make some kick ass guocamole there as well right in front of you at the table, its delicious. The only downside is the AC is freezing since its in a mall and they are unlicensed so no Corona to go with your fabulous mexican food!!!
Cantina Loredo

Abu Dhabi: First Impressions

Well first of all, we flew with Air Emirates in Dubai and Air Emirates was FABULOUS! My daughter got a backpack full of goodies and the service was great. My husband's company booked us into the Dubai International Hotel at the Dubai airport overnight as we were taking a car to Abu Dhabi in the morning. Well the hotel is back BEHIND security so we weren't allowed to leave and get our bags! We had to sleep in our clothes, buy diapers for Reese etc, it was kind of annoying!!!!!!!

Made it to Abu Dhabi and so far the traffic here is not nearly as bad as Italy. The drivers here are all over the place, but no more than the Italians, and to be fair I think they actually drive BETTER than the Italians, and I never thought I would say that about anywhere in the Middle East!

Monday was spent going to look at villas and apartments and the Canadian School with our lovely driver Balan. We're trying to decide between two places right now and I'm still going on tours of all the playschools.

Abu Dhabi is FANTASTIC!!!!! I came here wanting to live out in Raha area and I've now decided that I simply MUST live near the Corniche! Its a stretch of gardens/parks/beach/paths along the water front and it is absolutely stunning. Today we went to the beach and yesterday Reese and I played in a local park which was clean, well maintained and beyond amazing.

The food has been great, they actually know how to make really tasty salads here(unlike in Italy where you get some iceberg lettuce, maybe a cherry tomato and some vinegerette!!!)

Fell and dragged Reese down with me on a gigantic hole in the sidewalk tonight, to be fair there are holes everywhere and you'd think I'd be used to that after Europe.

There are lots of things for the kids to do, it seems to be a very family friendly place. Haven't been out to the actual desert yet and will probably hold off on doing that until we move here. Trying to sort out logistics and have time to relax/play right now which is keeping me fairly busy :)

Where in the world is.......Abu Dhabi!?!

So I've been getting asked a lot lately where Abu Dhabi is. Here is my little tutorial about where in the world the United Arab Emirates exist. I'll show you with pictures!!!!

This first one is a zoomed out picture to show you where the UAE is in relation to Europe(top left section) and in relation to Africa(right next door to Saudi Arabia there) The UAE is right across from Iran on the Arabian Gulf.

 This second one is to show you where Abu Dhabi is in the United Arab Emirates. You can see Dubai to the north of Abu Dhabi which is only about 90 minutes of driving apparently. Bahrain, Qatar and Oman are near and I hear they are wonderful to visit. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is directly to the west of it which I might get a chance to visit since my sister Jenna is currently working as a nurse in Riyadh!!!!

The first post on the new blog

So I have this weird thing that every time we move places I have to design a new blog. I'm sure I could tstick with the old blog and just change the name but I don't want to. So here is my Abu Dhabi blog, it will run simultaneously with the Italy blog until we move. We are heading out to Abu Dhabi for a visit next week so I thought I should start chronicling on this blog the chaos and craziness that is sure to be our move to the middle east!

So far its been a bit chaotic but that is only because my husband's work has been a bit slow in organizing things. We are very thankful that they have decided to let us go on a married status and that means our housing is paid for in the city.

Now comes the craziness of where to live. Do we choose an apartment in downtown Abu Dhabi which is near to everything, and would likely be beautiful but which would require me taking the dogs out 3-4 times a day to pee??? OR.... do we get a villa off island, closer to the Canadian school, which would be much bigger, with a yard, but then far away from the city and my friends who are also there and living downtown? *sigh*

I guess we'll have to wait and see what we think when the real estate agent shows us around. They are supposed to be arranging a tour of the Canadian School as well so that we can decide if its worth us moving all the way out of the city to be near it as R would start pre-school next fall!!!( insane I know)

We have to fly direct from Milan- Dubai and then stay the night in Dubai and get the fancy bus or a taxi to Abu Dhabi in the morning. The flights in and out of this country are a bit insane....like you could have a flight leaving at 1 or 2 am!!!!! This is apparently normal.

I'm looking forward to checking it out and getting a better idea of where to live, what to do, driving situation etc etc. I think we'll be staying down near the Corniche so it will be like a mini vacation as well.

We've got two separate companies working on the dogs, one guy from Rome(American) who runs an export company here and has been absolutely FABULOUS so far. If all goes well I'll blog his name and company info just in case anyone else needs it in Italy!!!! Then we are currently working with the British Vet Clinic who will pick up the dogs in Abu Dhabi and clear them through customs and vet checks before boarding them at the kennels for two weeks. Poor dogs!!! Well at least we're taking them with us right!?!

We arrive on the Sunday morning to Abu Dhabi which is the last day of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix!!!!!!! Should be absolutely insane around the Corniche!

And as always, I'll take a TONNE of pictures :)