Pictures from Abu Dhabi

This is Ikea in a place called Marina Mall. As soon as I saw this I felt right at home!! They have wonderful cafes and shops there and it is only a short walk to the corniche (the beaches). As soon as my Aunt collected me from the Airport, she took me here a bought me a cool and refreshing cocktail. We sat and people watched for a good hour.

This is the house that I have been staying for the last three weeks. I fell in love with the city as soon as we left the Airport. I think that I had imagined as a dry and sandy place that I was just struck mute by the actual place.

This the pet of the house I have been staying at. She is called Tomika and mostly responds to it. She is a cool cat in the day but at night she changes and creeps the hell out of me. She scratches at my door and bangs her head against it to try and open it. She also looks like she is dead when she sleeps at night. I have taken to locking my door at night and putting weights against it!!!

One of my Aunt's friends invited us for breakfast and this is the view from her sitting room. She lives on the 21st floor in a large apartment. She is literally 2 minutes from the beach and gets this lovely sea air breeze from her window. Some people are just blessed.

This is my favourite picture so far in my holidays. It's our local masjid and it proclaims the Adhan ever so loudly. I even hear it at fajr and it wakes me up. I love hearing the Adhan everywhere I go. People turn off music and radio when it comes on. Imagine Trafford Centre and you are shopping - suddenly you can hear the Adhan and shops turn off the music and even close sometimes. It's a wonderful thing.