We stayed in the city, in the area of Al Bateen, in the iconic Intercontinental Hotel which is one of the veteran Abu Dhabi landmarks.
This is one of the 'grand old ladies' of Abu Dhabi, built already in 1980. It housed the very first Gulf Cooperation Council Conference, and has since its construction received presidents, celebrities and royals - this is where Charles and Diana stayed during their visit to Abu Dhabi in 1989.
We had booked in for two nights in the hotel, to really get the feel of being "away".
We were not the only ones with the same idea, considering the borders of Abu Dhabi are still shut (even to Dubai), a lot of people do staycations and it was rather busy at the beach club. I guess people also visit with day passes, but still, you wouldn't know there is a raging pandemic going on. All preventative measures were in place though, so we felt very safe.
We enjoyed the pool, the beach, the sun and just relaxing all day.
Lovely sunset views from our room:
On our second evening we had Asian food at the Cho Gao restaurant, on nom nom.
Yesterday it was the UAE National Day, something always celebrated with grandeur here. Decorations in red, green and black on every light in town, on the bridges, on every skyscraper - each one bigger and more impressive than the next! 2020 marks the 49th National Day - I'm already looking forward to next years celebrations..!
I even managed to follow my Uni-lecture, from the shaded restaurant. Someone started the chat saying "Hello all, coffee, gingerbread cookie and art chat - what could be better?"... Well, I was enjoying this view and an ice-cold Coke, but I didn't want to be that person... ha ha.
As the afternoon drew to a close we packed up and checked out. We parked ourselves on the grass outside the hotel while we waited for the announced Al Fursan aerobatics team to do their fly-by. And we waited... and waited... and - got fooled! Apparently it got canceled last minute, booo.
Anyway, it was a lovely few days, energising and relaxing at the same time!
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