LuLu's. It is one of the largest and most incredible grocery stores I have ever been in. I admit, I might have drooled a little bit while I was walking around. If you want anything, you will find it. I found coriander spices on the same isle where I found turkey stuffing. There was baklava (which I really wanted to get) at the bakery and any kind of fruit you could ask for. Not to mention yoghurt selection. Holy cow. Words will not describe it (which is why I ask myself why I did not take any pictures). Think WalMart superstore grocery part, but about 1.5 times as big and way classier.
I like food, a lot, so this was a lot of fun. The night after we went to LuLu's we made a lightly stir-fried chicken, zucchini, onion and red/yellow pepper combination with apricot couscous. It was really tasty. Nice and light, though. Yesterday we had chocolate chip waffles with the Self's for brunch. Can I just throw this out there? My all-time favorite things to put on waffles are as follows: unsweetened plain yoghurt, mango, kiwi and fresh strawberries, drizzle on some honey and sprinkle some crushed pecans on top. Does that not simply sound delicious? It's more filling than syrup and probably healthier in the long run. I guess I can continue on the theme of food and describe to you (with the intent point of making my brother jealous) our dinner last night. We got the food from a restaurant called Lebanese Flower. We had garlic labneh which is a garlicky plain yoghurt, hummus and (best of all) shawarma's. A shawarma, for those of you who have not lived in the middle east, is slices of meat (chicken or lamb usually) that have been sliced off of a rotisserie stile pile of chicken on a skewer that just turns and roasts for long periods of time. This is then put onto a flat bread similar to pita bread with some french fries, sliced up pickle spears and mayonnaise. Sounds strange, but is the best taste of home ever. Today, I'm thinking I might just have my usual boiled egg and toast breakfast :) Nothing fancy, but still pretty tasty.
Construction - it's like China! Never stops. I guess there are times when some of the many cranes in the city have fallen down. I feel like if that ever happened in a city, I would never work a job where I needed to be up on one.
There is a hotel in this wonderful city, that is one of the most expensive hotels to stay in throughout the world. It has huge, sprawling lawns, beachfront access, a helicopter pad, tennis courts and more. Anything you could want, for a very expensive price. This is the place where foreign dignitaries like the Queen stay, or actors like George Clooney and Orlando Bloom. Abby went to a Justin Timberlake concert there. Ladies and Gents, this is the Emirates Palace Hotel. This is the thing with the Elite of the Middle East, there is so much extravagance. Luxury and wastefulness are signs of wealth and not being able to worry about anything. A perfect example of this luxury is the Christmas tree in the foyer of the hotel. It is worth 11 million US dollars. We went to see it yesterday, and I was a little bit overwhelmed. Though there were your normal gold and silver bauble's hanging off the tree, there were also pearl, gold, diamond and ruby necklaces hanging on it, also watches and other such glamorous things. It has set a world record for the most expensive Christmas tree.
Also in the hotel was an art exhibit highlighting contemporary Arab art. It was great. So different from any art exhibits I had seen, with some very unique paintings, lent to the hotel by private collectors so that all of this beautiful art work could be shown at the hotel.
Random sighting of the day: a Seattle's Best Coffee. Which I guess isn't so strange because there are certainly Starbucks shops everywhere, but it was still unexpected.
Anyways, today's plan is to go outside of the city, about and hours drive, to the camel fair. I'm not really sure what to expect, but that's ok! I figure I will discover while I am there :) Pictures will come later!
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