Merry Christmas! Duane and I had the pleasure of spending
our Christmas day with our friend Patrice at the 5*****
Al Raha Beach and Resort in Abu Dhabi. It is a spectacular
location with outstanding views of the Arabian Gulf!
It was a beautiful day by scenery, but also the weather 82*
sunny and a slight breeze......a truly amazing day!
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| The lobby of the Al Raha Beach and Resort |
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| All decked out - put us in the Holiday Spirit! |
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With over 45% of the EXPATS that celebrate Christmas,
a statistic I got from the paper - decorations are all over.
From the hotels, restaurants and of course the mall! |
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| The reception desk....would like to stay here someday! |
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| The lobby floor - an incredible mosaic tile design. |
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Directly above the mosaic floor is a an intricate design
made of colorful stained glass. |
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Outside the patio, beyond the fountain you can see the
pool, it is an infinity pool and in the distance the blue
changes, that is the Arabian Gulf. Just beautiful. |
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Adjacent to the resort is the building known as the
Dirham Building. There is a cool video on line about it's
construction and design purpose. It houses offices and flats. |
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| As you can see construction is still in process. |
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| Another view of the resort....with more rooms being added. |
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| The pool....don't you just want to jump in? |
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| Looks so tropical! |
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| Patrice and Gayle...enjoying our brunch! |
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Duane is smiling because he knows there is an
entire section of just seafood! Time to let him loose! |
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| Where do you look first at buffets? Desserts of course! |
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| All the berry flavored treats! |
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| Some familiar treats and new delicacies! |
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| Okay....this just might be a little crazy! |
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| What's Christmas without a ginger bread house? |
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Still more and the decoration on the table in white is
made of sugar....stunning! |
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| And the desserts were out numbering the people! |
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| You think I'm done and there's more! |
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Theresa this one is for YOU! Towering
rich, decadent chocolate. The best was
to see people's faces as they walked by as
they wiped the drool from their face.
IT was quite impressive! |
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| For me....YUCK, but for Duane.....YUMMMM....oysters. |
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Some seafood....since this does not interest me...but
took the picture to show all that was offered. |
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| The sushi for all the girls.....it was never ending! |
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| JACK POT! Duane was a frequent flyer at this station! |
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Clams, Oysters....something like that - D definitely loved
this .....I think he was just there because as evidenced by the five missing. |
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| CRAB! |
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| Lobster! No bibs provided....you had to eat neatly! |
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| Goose on the best rice I have ever had! |
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| The chef slicing the beef wellington. |
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| The side dishes..... |
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| The veggie and dip table. |
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| The salad bar! |
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| The turkey....artichokes and potatoes.... |
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| Another sugar sculpture....looks like us! |
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| Another sugar sculpture adorning the tables. |
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| A toast! Merry Christmas to all! |
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What is Christmas without Carolers! All hotel
employees - it was enjoyable and a bit of a surprise. |
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Our friend Patrice...super excited as her two daughters
were arriving today from America. |
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| A great day - having so much fun together. |
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I found Santa, he looks a little tired. Could not even get
him to stand up straight for the photo. |
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D and G....wishing you were all here!
Three Words: Merry Christmas Everyone! |
