Culture overload

We have had long awaited guests this weekend, our Danish friends Lars and Dorte. I had been looking forward to hosting them here, as we have visited them in Kolding several times during the summers lately; and I also really enjoy visitors who come to the UAE for the first time.

They arrived late on Wednesday night and Thursday it was straight into sightseeing mode, as I had an already booked External Tour in Swedish at the museum. Perfect timing, as they could tag along!

The tour was of the new Cartier exhibit.

It was my first proper tour of the exhibition, and it went really well! This exhibition covers so many different aspects, all from the Islamic art and motifs that inspired the designers, to the many different jewellery techniques, materials and gemmology information; not to forget the famous owners of some of these pieces, and the historical context in which they were originally commissioned and worn. It is a really enjoyable tour to deliver.

After the tour we had lunch and continued the visit in the galleries and the rest of the spaces.

Showing them the Danish contribution to the galleries, the wood bowls by Merete Larsen:

Lars and Dorte only had three full days with us so we had a hectic schedule planned. We continued our afternoon in the city. I wanted them to learn about the beginnings of Abu Dhabi so I took them to Qasr al Hosn.

We even managed to join the Bait Al Gahwa ceremony and get to taste some traditional Arabic coffee:

Dorte enjoyed the visit to the Handicraft Center:

As we were on a roll, we then decided to end the day by visiting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque too; but those photos will fill a post on their own, stay tuned!

December countdown 2023

During the 2020 Covid Christmas season, some friends of mine in Sweden bought this coffee Advent calendar and started posting their tastings on Instagram each day, comparing the coffee, giving their feedback. Not having much to do that winter, I got hooked on following their reports. The following December they did it again, and once again I became a huge fan; and having started a tradition, they continued last year as well.

This year, since I was in Sweden in October, I managed to get my hands on the same calendar - finally! And now, I am going to be part of the tasting squad!
Each day you get your coffee in a small pouch, enough for 2-3 cups (or so it says, but that means one mug for me!), with brewing instructions. There is also included a bit of information about each coffee bean, roasting method, taste and other interesting tidbits about the each coffee. The packaging is really nicely done, and you also get a little booklet where you can rate the different coffee, in case you would like to purchase any specific one to continue to enjoy.

First day, first cup smelled beautifully! I'm now looking forward to my daily December countdown with a new kind of coffee every day until Christmas!

Mmm, tasted good too!

Festive Game Night

Tonight it was time for our last Game Night before the holidays and as it was my turn to host, I promised the girls I would decorate for Christmas. So yesterday, all the Christmas decorations were brought out! It felt early as it's not even the 1st of Advent yet; but then again that's so late this year, so why not!

We started the evening with a Christmas tree shaped cheese board and some festive drinks on the balcony.

I also had set the table extra festive, although the menu was not very Christmassy. We had mushroom risotto with ruccola and parmesan, and lemon beans. Very yummy! I had made a gingerbread kladdkaka for dessert though, so a little bit Christmassy I guess!

We played a new game, about cats... a little bit too complicated for our lot! I think we go back to Mexican Train or Encore next time!

Art Here 2023

November is a busy month in Abu Dhabi, with many events going on across the city. It has also been busy at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, with the Cartier exhibition opening, and also - Art Here 2023.
It's the third edition of the Art Here competition, and this year the installations have been made outside, under the dome.

This year, the theme is 'Transparencies', and the seven shortlisted artists are exploring the dynamics of transparency as well as its material and perceptual significance. Each artist presents their unique interpretation of the thematic, through various mediums.

Zarah Al Ghamdi is using twisted tree limbs, plastic waste, bones and debris for her Antropocene's Toll: A Planet Asphyxiated:

These three stained-glass panels are depicting the streets and boundaries of Al Khuzama in Riyadh. It's called Remember to Forget, and it's by Alaa Tarabzouni.

Hiya (She) by Farah Behbehani pays homage to a 10th century Syrian Muslim woman astronomer:

Hashel Al Lamki's Foraminifera:

Flesh Memory, fabricated in biomaterial made of algae (and unfortunately already broken and under maintenance) by Sarah Brahim:

This is Softbank, by Nabla Yahya, where she uses a three-dimensional cartographic representation of the Suez Canal:

My favourite is this one though, Waterdust, by siblings Sawsan and Bahar Al Bahar. These glass sculptures blend in so beautifully with the Damascus fountain, and I am so attracted to the shapes and colours:

The exhibition is ongoing until 18 February 2024, and the winner of the Richard Mille Art Prize will be named in early 2024.

Pitlane Walk

We've almost lived here 10 years, and I still haven't really been to the F1 properly. I went to the Saturday Family day back in 2019, but that's about it. So this year I thought, time at least to go do the Pit Walk.
I tagged along with Linda, her sister and nephew.

So now I have done it. But no, I will not do it again.
I couldn't see the point of it at all, unless you are a die hard F1 fan. Way too much queuing and way too many people for my liking. Plus, it was a really hot day, so we suffered a bit in the queues where there was no shade.

The crews in the pits looked a bit like they were just there putting on a show for the by-passers. Making a little bit of noise here and there with a screwdriver or tyre pressure machine, revving an engine or just walking about looking important.
Some pits were more popular than others, obviously, so this is all I saw of Lewis Hamilton, ha ha, just other people taking photos and movies:

Same at Verstappen's corner:

You get a good view of the track of course, but for someone who lives here and can go and walk the track, or cycle around it at the TrainYas anytime, this was not really a drawing point for me.

Ah well, now I've done it. There you go.
Maybe next year I'll even try go see the race final..!

Bling-bling!

I came back to work right into the big opening week for the latest temporary exhibition - Cartier, Islamic Inspiration and Modern Design. 
Since I had been away during the last training sessions pre-opening, I wasn't comfortable delivering the opening tours this time, instead I just got to enjoy it, in all its glittery glory!

This exhibition tells the story of over 100 years of sparkling cultural exchange. A story, as it also shows, that is far from over! Well suited to fit in with the narrative of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. It brings together over 400 objects, including pieces of jewellery, pieces of Islamic art, archival drawings, various documents and lots of pieces in between.

The curators have reconstructed the creative process of the designers of the early 20th century Cartier jewellery by doing an enormous almost archeological work digging through the Cartier archives to be able to juxtapose the pieces with their source of inspiration. Like here below:

In the same fashion, the studies for this Oriental Bandeau from 1911, show the various stages of development for this bandeau; where you can see that the first traces came from a wave motif, likely inspired by the depiction of water in a Persian carpet, in a book from the Cartier library:

The exhibition explores the many different ways this new inspiration came into the Cartier workshops, from the Islamic items that came to Paris at the time, when merchants, dealers and collectors started obtaining a large number of art works; from the Parisian museums, focusing for the first time on Islamic art; and from the new books on the subject, many who found their way into Jacques Cartier's private library.
Below you can see one of the many scrapbooks the designers created:

This tiara from 1912, made on special order for a Russian philanthropist initially and now in the Cartier Collection; has calligraphy carved into the rock crystal, borrowed from the Arabic repertoires of motifs.

Lots of beautiful pieces, and quite a few with interesting back stories as well. Like this early 20th century garland style platinum choker from the Cartier Collection, that was worn by Rihanna on a famous magazine cover in 2016.

Or this brooch that once belonged to Elton John:

And a stunning necklace belonging to the collection of Sheikha bin Khalifa of Qatar:

An amazing Coral Bandeau from 1922 is shown together with a cleverly designed projection, that in extreme magnification immerses you in its construction. Super cool!

The Tiger Eye turban ornament from 1937, on loan from the Al Thani Collection.
This has an amazing and extremely unique whisky coloured diamond in the center, of 61,5 carat; and it is set with a highly unusual feature - the central diamond can be completely released! It seems like the maharaja enjoyed taking it out, to hold it and study it under different lights, just for the pleasure of it. Like a true collector he would admire all his gems, even when alone.

This was just a first taste. I'm sure I'll be taking (and showing) many more pictures in the weeks to come!