Aaah ... The Duomo Brunelleschi's Dome, The Baptistry Doors, The Uffizi, Michaelangelo, Santa Maria Novella, Fra Angelico, Pallazo Pitti Vechio Palace, Borgello The, The Academy ... the Land of the Medici, the land of the Renaisssance ..... the list goes on. An artists dream in Florence .... We arrived to sunshine but cold in Florence, a welcome change from Abu Dhabi's Desert heat. A novelty to be wearing winter clothes again. All style in Florence, fashion & flare on the cobbled streets as everyone is rugged up in their fur coats, boots and scalves.  I love Florence, a majestic, solid, ornate [View Full Entry]

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Ah Venice,...... were we really there? I have to pinch myself, yes we were, it wasn't just a dream, but a dream in reality! Every view is a postcard photo... each worn paint surface, beautiful building, heavy wooden shutter, reflection on the canals,bridges, gondolas, ornate balconies, narrow streets, exquisite shops & restaurants... too many photos are never enough. Just to wander the streets is enough.. and to keep wandering. Let alone all the wonderful Renaissance art within the gallery & church walls..... Okay, so here are some more photos adding on from my last blog "Venice with Snow"....in our brief [View Full Entry]

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Wow Venice in the snow!........ Venice at the best of times is beautiful..... but to see it with snow and also some flooding was extraordinarily beautiful! For this treat, we had to endure some freezing weather...but after living in the desert, that only made it more exciting and adventurous. We enjoyed the novelty of rugging up. Myself...I wore three thermal tops, thermal leggings, two pairs of gloves, two pairs of socks, thermal beanie, jacket and coat!! We were happy to retreat back to our hotel for a hot spa bath at the end of each day! Wandering the narrow back streets, [View Full Entry]

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What brought us from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi....... Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, and is the largest and richest of the seven Emirate states. It has a population of approx. one million, with an 80% expat population. Its origins are in a nomadic desert community with pearl diving and date plantations. However all that changed with the discovery of oil, and it developed into a city of skyscrapers and luxury shopping malls. Tourism now seems to be the direction for its future and the development of "Yas Island", as the Formula One Grand Prix circuit, with its accompanying [View Full Entry]

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November 19-22...The international art world rolled into Abu Dhabi! "Abu Dhabi Art" : Held at the stunning Emirates Palace, over four days, we were treated to an array of high class international galleries. Highlights included, Sean Scully, Gerhard Richter, David Mach, Miro, Jeff Koons, Dennis Hopper photographs, Alexander Calder, who had a whole gallery as well as outdoor sculptures, photographer/film doco, JR, Louise Bourgeois, Fernando Botero plus many more! Prominent artists/ designers/ gallery directors/ curators/and academics...headed a series of panel discussions & lectures on collecting/ artist profiles/ Guggenheim Abu Dhabi/ Museum patronage/ interpreting art/ and Art in the Middle east. Speakers [View Full Entry]

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Abu Dhabi's brand new Yas Island Marina circuit...The Formula 1 Grand Prix from Oct 30 to Nov 1: Spread over 4 days, the Ferrari Theme park, located next to the grandstands, was the venue for the after race international concerts, with Beyonce, Kings of Leon, Jamiroquai & Aerosmith. This exciting array of nonstop entertainment came on the back of a month long YASALAM festival of free beach concerts & outdoor cinema plus more.... & prior to that , The International Middle East Film Festival. So it has been non-stop entertainment in the usually slow city of Abu Dhabi.....looks like a more [View Full Entry]

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YASALAM : A festival of beach concerts, outdoor cinema & Grand Prix Concerts....Abu Dhabi comes alive!! Abu Dhabi came to life in October with a month long festival of free beach concerts & entertainment in the lead up to the first Formula 1 Grand Prix at Yas Island. Slowly we emerged from our extreme heat & humidty hibernation of a Middle East summer and Ramadan. The previous months had seen many flee the extreme heat to cooler shores, and with Ramadan, the town was very quiet...not a lot to do except stay indoors by the air con or in the pool! [View Full Entry]

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Al Ain, is the oasis town in the centre of the United Arab Emirates, where for many years, tribes & locals from Abu Dhabi & surrounds, who worked on the coast for their fishing/pearl diving & trade, travelled inland to this oasis in the summer months for some cooler relief. What was once a long arduous camel ride is now a 1 & 1/2hr freeway drive from Abu Dhabi island. It nears the border of Oman, surrounded by the Hajir mountains which divides Oman & UAE....so that's a bit of background! We headed off, zooming down the freeway, passing turban clad [View Full Entry]

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The weather!.... At the start of September, AD was still unbareably hot.....like 45 degrees every day!..with high humidity.....so it was an effort or stupidity to go outside much during the day. The dash to your car or waiting for a taxi was a debateable scenario...do you bother or not? I am pleased to report that by the months end, the weather has pleasantly changed! We are still in high 30's, but that now feels like a cool day...and there is a breeze..which you dont often get. There has even been the odd sighting of a cloud or two.( seriously...we usually don't [View Full Entry]

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Tall towers of air conditioned comfort, generally shield us from the approaching desert on our doorstep. Abu Dhabi island is surrounded by desert, once you are near the edge of town, behind the smaller buildings & bitumen roads lies a vastness of desert, which links each city here. Driving to Ras Al Khaimah (Northern coastal Emirate of UAE) we pass a deepening orange sand spreading out into dunes, revealing groups of camels searching shade. The odd hut pops up in amongst the dunes providing relief for its owners, as relief for most of us travellers is in the comfort of our [View Full Entry]

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