You know, I thought I was too cool for cruises my whole life. They seemed kind of inauthentic. But especially with Ern Dawg aboard, going to sleep in your hotel bed and waking up with your hotel in a new country is borderline magical.
Abu Dhabi, UAE was today's special.
Their cruise terminal was very nice.
"Union Day commemorates the 2nd of December 1971, when a historic union between the Emirates was signed under the leadership of our late Founding Father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, bringing seven emirates into one."
Lydia and I had both been to Abu Dhabi before for varying lengths of time, so I felt like we were freed up to just follow our heart's content rather than some preordained must-see landmarks. I've been curious about Ferrari World for years. Here goes.
One cool thing about theme parks in this neck of the woods is that it gets so hot that it necessitates making the entire thing indoors. The roof was pretty cool.
I would describe the shape of this place as a sleeping squid's butthole.
Unsurprisingly the entrance featured a large suspended Ferrari.
There was a lot of pretend Italy going on which I appreciated.
Ernie did surprisingly well in one of the cars and turning the steering wheel.
He won the race!
Disappointingly there weren't many rides that an Ernie sized person could ride. Bell’ Italia was one of the rare ones.
"Explore a mini-Italy at leisure in a small-scale Ferrari 250 California, circa 1958. Tour the coastline, famous landmarks and iconic race tracks.
From breath-taking cityscapes to famous landmarks and racing venues, tour the picturesque Portofino and the Amalfi Coast, Monza Racetrack, the Colosseum di Roma, Venezia, and of course, Maranello."
We had a lot of issues. The line was really long and was full of weirdos. One I'm pretty sure took pictures of Ernie without asking which I thought was creepy. There was a fast pass lane but there were a lot of dirtbags trying various scams to use that lane without having the privilege.
Finally we got on. They wouldn't let Ernie sit on Lydia's lap and they wouldn't Lydia ride in the car in front of us to take pictures. It was a bummer, but away we went.
I was a bit surprised how much Christmas was present in a Muslim country. They were very careful to never mention any Jesusy parts of the holiday, though, and stuck to the pagan symbols. Just the name Winterfest is a good example of this.
I was happy to see Toys R Us alive and well in Yas Mall, attached to the theme park.
We stopped for dinner at the mall at the hilariously named restaurant Somewhere.
Ernie was eyeing my Somewhere passionfruit mocktail. I guess he thought he could reach it.. Somehow.
Eggplant Moussaka
Eggplant base topped with crispy bread, yoghurt, and pine nuts
Bao bao bao
Ernie was a pretty big fan of this hummus guacamole.
I had something that I don't think was supposed to look like a giant Winterfest tree.
Beef shawarma beetroot rice
Mix of beef tenderloin shawarma and beetroot rice topped with tahini sauce
I feel like in a way they do Christmas bigger here than in a lot of majority Christian countries. That tree is massive.
Then we said goodbye to Somewhere. Someway, somehow.
It was a win of a day and no one got deathly ill or anything.
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