Simon says

It's been so nice to have Lucas here most of July. He had planned to go back to Scandinavia after a couple of weeks to go on a camping trip with his Danish friend Simon, but in the end - Simon ended up coming here for a bit of a holiday instead! His first time in the Middle East.

Now, July might not be the most perfect time to visit as it is way too hot to really do any outdoor activities. It didn't stop the boys from sightseeing the mosque (in kandoras, as Simon had said - that's how it needed to be done), going to the pool and going karting. All outside...

They also went for nice meals, this seafood feast at Off The Hook looked amazing! Simon is a chef, so of course we also had to go and taste the whole menu at Craft, both the food and the beer.

Lucky for us, he cooked for us a couple of nights, with the help of his trusty assistant.

Indoor fun is more the thing this time of the year, so they also came to see me at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, twice in two weeks for Lucas; and went to ride some world record roller coasters at Ferrari World.

 

They also had a lot of fun without us, nights out with Lucas' friends of which I haven't been shared any photos..! Ha ha! All in all a very good week. Simon said, he will come back!

#USABMNT

The USA Basketball Men's National Team has been in Abu Dhabi the past week to warm up for the Paris Summer Olympics. The star-studded team came to play two exhibition games, one against Australia and one against Serbia. Lucas was lucky to get some cheap tickets from a friend, so he brought Ben on Monday to see the USA-AUS game. Best timed BeReal in a long time!

The players were invited to soak in the emirati culture while staying here, and they were spotted visiting the SZGM, playing golf at Yas Acres, riding the roller coasters at Ferrari World - and of course, we had the honour of a few of them visiting the museum as well.

I did several tours this week with different people from the NBA, starting with Bam Adebayo. I wonder if I got the tour because I'm the tallest mediator in the team... ha ha!

He was so very kind to all the fans that approached him, and in the end when I told him that my son had really enjoyed the game the night before he said: "Give us your phone and we'll take a photo for your son then!". So this happened:

I also had the pleasure of giving a tour to NBA legend Steven Smith.

These type of tours are always a bit special. Not because of the celebrities themselves, they are always lovely and generally very interested and inquisitive, like Mr Smith. It's more because of everything around them, the fans, their entourage, the extra security sometimes and in this case, the media team that is there to document. Pressure! We were filmed and photographed from every angle, and I actually ended up on Visit Abu Dhabi. (See those movies on my Instagram @scandinavianguideabudhabi)

An exciting morning

Admittedly, there is not an awful lot going on at the museum in the middle of summer, when it's crazy hot outside and not many tourists come. Sure, we do a few tours and there is a summer camp happening. I've done a few External Tour Guide assessments and caught up on some research and studying; but the tempo is rather slow.

Yesterday though, we had a really exciting morning! The team got to go up into the dome, for a dome walk!

I love seeing this areas that is normally off limits. It is really enlightening to see how it all looks from another point of view. We talk so much about the construction of the building and the dome above all, during our tours. It was really nice to get to experience it like this, up close.

I was so fascinated! The light was amazing, and the view of the piazza, the Presidential stairs and all the buildings from up top was so special!

We walked the whole circumference around the dome along this platform. A 565 meter long walk. See my smile?? I looked like this the whole way.

The view of our neighbours was amazing from up here too. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is coming along well.

Happy to share this experience with Kathleen.

The rest of the Space Camp team:

In awe:

Down the rabbit hole

Ever since the Turners moved here to Abu Dhabi, I have been looking forward to our kids reunion, and finally, yesterday it happened! Look at them! How time flies!!

Ben normally lives in NZ where he goes to boarding school, and is about to start on his last semester; and Hannah is studying in Bath in the UK, but they are both out here for a couple of summer holiday.
Linnea and I are back in Abu Dhabi for a couple of summer weeks too, and on Sunday night Lucas came as well, so our family is also in the same place now for a bit (which is super nice!).

These kids have known each other since our very first day in Brunei, when they were 3,5, 3, almost 2 and 1,5 years old. Ben and Linnea ended up in the same class, and Lucas and Hannah as well; and they stuck together as besties all our time in Brunei.

Of course I had to go looking for a few old photos, and here are some I found down the rabbit hole, with all four of them. Starting a very long time ago in Brunei, on the boat our families owned together:

Hannah's 7th birthday in 2011:

One of many, many sleepovers, in 2012:

Our last big party together, New Years Eve 2013, just before we left for Abu Dhabi:

They soon came to visit us though, this is April 2014 in Abu Dhabi:

We returned to Brunei to visit in 2017:

Last time we met up was in Singapore in 2019:

But now that Will and Tash live here, we are happy we will hopefully see them both more often!

The Horsham Art Trail

Horsham really is a town where a LOT is going on! All the time it seems!
This weekend, there was also an Artists Art Trail set out all over town, and its surroundings. This was the last weekend of two, so I was lucky to time it with my visit.

Linda and the girls left early, early Sunday morning; so for the last few days it was just Anna, Maya, Linnea and I. We decided to go explore the Art Trail together, lured the girls with fika along the route!

Anna had a map, with all the places where we would find artists. Some we could walk to, like this amazing garden in the Causeway in central Horsham, where there was 4-5 different artists showcasing.

The rest we had to drive to, but I am happy to say, the girls were ALL into it. They kept track of the map, and were curious at each new place we stopped at, to see what we would find.

Some places it wasn't just the artists works we could admire, but the gardens! Like this one for example, out in Mannings Heath.

We did find fika, luckily!

There was all sorts of artists, sculptors, printmakers, jewellery designers, up-cyclers, ceramicists, textile artists and photographers. So much inspiration!

It was such a nice day out! Driving around the countryside, and just enjoying ourselves and the admiring the surroundings.

I did get myself a small souvenir! This little vase was labeled 'Spring Bunny' - but I kind of think it looks more like a cute sheep! (Ears too short for being a bunny!). I really love ceramics, I think its my favourite form of art, especially that I enjoy bringing into my home.

Isn't he cute?

The Big Gig Festival

Anna had sorted tickets for all of us for the big event in Horsham this weekend, the Big Gig Festival. It's clearly one of the highlights of the summer, as all the 3000 tickets were sold out. Luckily it was held at the Cricket Club, which is only about 150 meters from Anna's house!

We set up with chairs and blankets - and a jug of Pimms! What else?

Since it went on from 2pm until 10pm, we had brought a picnic. Although being so close to home was very practical of course, because we could just pop back if we needed something. Or to go to the toilet, rather than use the portaloos.

Group photo of all the girlies!

There was several bands playing throughout the day, 'Murdochs Crazy Act' which I really liked, 'The Ezra Experience' and the 'Fleetwood Mac Legacy' which I thought were more so-so.

The Pink tribute - 'Almost Pink', was one of my favourites:

But the best was 'Kieran as Ed Sheeran', the headlining act. The girls were all the way up the front dancing the night away.

We all had such a great day - and night!