DAY SEVENTY EIGHT - A visit from my "birding friend" Linda

When asked what I needed in terms of an apartment in Abu Dhabi, I requested 2 bedrooms in the hopes that we might have guests during our one-year stay in the U.A.E. Realistically, however, I knew the odds were low that anybody would be able to fly out. It's a very long flight and, let's face it, not cheap, so it would mean a significant investment of time and money. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when my friend, Linda, told me she was coming for a visit in mid-January.

Linda and I go back 29 years to when we were neighbors in Baldwinsville, a town just north of Syracuse, New York, in snow country. Linda was relatively new in the neighborhood and spotted me across the street, 9-months pregnant with Jeff. I was not easy to miss! I remember hearing the doorbell ring one afternoon, and when I answered it there was Linda who, after introducing herself, gave me a little gift for the baby, a small quilted teddy bear in an embroidery hoop frame. It hung on Jeff's door for years, and I still have it tucked away. 

Our children are close in age, so Linda and I volunteered for many PTA events together. We drove our daughters through snow and ice to skate in Fulton, and we hung out at her backyard pool together for many a Summer. Several years in a row we took a weekend Girl Trip: the first to New York City, another to Concord, Mass, and then after Linda had moved to Cary, North Carolina, we met up for a weekend in Ashville. 

Once Linda's girls were in college, she and her husband moved back home to California, and Linda and I continued with cross-continental visits. She came to NYC for a theater weekend, and the next year I flew to Napa and toured the wine country with her. She came back to NYC for another theater weekend, and I flew to San Francisco where she and Randy had relocated. 

In the Fall of 2005 Doug and I and Linda and her husband, Randy, rendezvoused in Paris for a 10-day trip that took us from Paris to London to Tournai (Belgium) and then back again to Paris. By this point  Linda's pastime of looking at birds had developed into a serious hobby. Throughout the trip she was always on the lookout for birds, which amused us all no end. Her excitement drew us in, and it was fun. 

A few years later Linda, now an avid birder, invited me on a birding trip to Panama. She booked a 10-day guided trip with a handful of other birders that took us from the shores of Panama, to jungle trails along the Panama Canal, to the cool Highlands, and finally to a cloud forest on the slopes of the dormant volcano, Baru, on the Costa Rican border. It was absolutely amazing. 

So I guess I should not have been surprised that Linda would, without hesitation, book a flight to come visit me in the U.A.E. As she pointed out over lunch a few days ago, we do have a history of meeting up in some interesting places. 

So without further ado, here are a few highlights of Linda's visit to the United Arab Emirates:

After 24 hours of travel (San Francisco - JFK - Milan - Abu Dhabi) I wasn't sure what kind of shape Linda would be in on her first day here. She slept in, but she was more than ready to go for a walk later in the day. As bad luck would have it, we had uncharacteristically overcast and cool weather for most of her visit, so the water along the Corniche was not as turquoise as it usually is in the bright sunlight. She deemed it beautiful anyway. 

During Jeff's visit a few weeks ago, the two of us spied the cutest little bird along the Corniche, one that was clearly not native to the USA. It took us awhile, but we identified it as a White-Cheeked Bulbul. I was very hopeful that Linda had not yet seen this bird so she could add it to her Life List. As it turned out it was indeed a new bird for her, and we spotted it that first day of her visit. This is a photo she snapped. 

Doug and I took Linda out to eat at a variety of places. Here at Cho Gao we introduced her to a Lemon Mint, which is probably the most common "cooler" in Abu Dhabi. It's basically lemonade that is blended with a whole lot of fresh mint. And I do mean a handful of mint. VERY minty and not too sweet :-)

When Linda read about my trip to the Falcon Hospital with Jeff, she said she just had to go. I made reservations for the morning tour, and as I hoped, it was far less crowded than the afternoon tour Jeff and I had gone on. Linda was absolutely in heaven. Here she is watching the vet clip and sharpen a falcon's beak. 

And of course she got to hold one. We decided this one was a gyrfalcon based on it's size. They are the largest of the 3 breeds of falcons used for falconry in the UAE.

After visiting the Falcon Hospital we went to the Grand Mosque, and Linda loved it. The sun came out enough so that the water in the surrounding reflecting pools sparkled, and the white marble of the mosque dazzled.

But the excursion Linda most looked forward to was a visit to the Ras al-Khor Wildlife Sanctuary in Dubai. We'd Googled "birding in the U.A.E.", and this location came up as one of the best spots to find a variety of birds. Supposedly there was a bird blind complete with a Leica telescope on the sight. We booked a car service for the day, and at 8:30 a.m. the driver arrived to take us to Dubai.

The directions from the website were pretty sketchy as I've discovered is often the case in this part of the world. We had a map we'd printed off the website, but it was not terribly good either. It turned out our driver's English was so-so at best, so we explained as best we could that we wanted to see birds. The driver didn't say a word to that, but I could his eyebrows lift. Most people go to Dubai to shop at one of the duty-free over-the-top malls, and I would bet the farm we were the first clients ever to say we wanted to go to Dubai to find birds. We showed him the map and the directions, and when we said "Ras al-Khor" he said he knew where that was. 

One and a half hours later we found ourselves in Old Dubai along the Dubai Creek. The creek, which is really an estuary, dead-ends in the wildlife sanctuary, about 8 km. from the coast. We knew we were close, so Linda and I were hopeful. We could see gulls gliding above the creek which was filled with the most incredible array of old, wooden dhows piled high with cargo. We drove on, and then, to our surprise, the driver circled around and headed back. We told him to wait, that this was NOT the sanctuary. Clearly he was confused. We pulled out the map once again and pointed, and he told us that "no", that area was all built up. Linda, who would not be denied her birds, declared that she'd seen a bird report from a short while ago, and that there was in fact a wildlife refuge somewhere! 

So off we went along the highway. The driver pointed to the right where the creek opened up into a shallow pond with mudflats. We could barely see anything for the high construction fence blocking the view. He was right about the construction - there was lots of it. We drove on, and I was beginning to despair when suddenly the fence stopped, and I could see the wetlands. Then just ahead I spotted an unmarked turn-off mostly obscurred by trees and bushes, so I told the driver to take it. As we pulled in I saw trash cans with pictures of pink flamingos on them. "This is it!" Linda and I yelled in unison. 

We were so happy to see this sign. We'd just about given up we'd find this place.

It would really have been helpful if this giant flamingo were placed on the highway right at the entrance to the turnoff. It would have made finding this place so much easier. The man in the blue was our driver, and the other person in uniform was the full-time guard who could not have looked more bored.

We could not see out to the water and mud flats very well from the parking area as there was a fence and shrubbery in the way. The entrance to the bird blind was at the end of this walkway. We didn't know what we'd find till we walked through the door.

We walked inside and found a nice-sized room with windows on all three sides. There were stools, and a narrow shelf ran around the perimeter so we could lean on it to peer out with our binoculars and spread out our bird guide and note paper. The promised telescope was in there as well. 

Linda at the scope looking very focused (hah hah - bad pun!)

When we looked out the windows we literally gasped at the number and variety of birds. These pictures cannot possibly do the scene justice. Ducks were in abundance in this photo: Mallards, Northern Pintails, and Green-Winged Teals.

There are flocks of Greater Flamingos and Eurasian Spoonbills in the distance. Closer in you can see herons and egrets (Great and Little) on the left.

Great Cormorants and ducks and herons (Grey and Western Reef) galore.

I loved watching this Black-Winged Stilt. Other shore birds included a Red-Winged Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Common Snipe, and Ruddy Turnstone. Linda also saw two new gulls to add to her Life List: the Common Black-Headed Gull and the Slender-Billed Gull.

Western Reef Heron. Very cool bird. 

We saw a pair of Marsh Harriers skimming along the tree-tops, but the best bird of all for me was a magnificent eagle that flew in and landed right in the middle of all the other birds. I was stunned that its arrival did not cause the others to take flight, but not a single one seemed to care. It sat still for quite a long time, so Linda and I got beautiful views, but we were so enthralled we forgot to take a photo. I am going to cheat and paste an image (below) pulled from the web so you can what this bird looks like.

The Greater Spotted Eagle. It was HUGE. After it sat for a good long while it flew off and circled around so we could clearly see the markings on the top and bottom of its wings. 

All in all, Linda and I saw 29 different species of bird on our Dubai Day Birding Trip, and she added 4 new species to her Life List. 

For her last day, Linda and I mostly talked and talked. We had a leisurely lunch, she shopped for gifts at the Central Souk, and we just hung out. 

Linda took the red eye home last night, and as I type this she is on the last leg of her trip, flying from Amsterdam to San Francisco. I was amused to see her Facebook post from Amsterdam where she said was birding out the airport window, trying to identify a particular gull. 

I don't know when I will next visit with Linda or where it will be. But one thing I can guarantee is that no matter where it is we meet up, some birding will happen.

DAY SIXTY NINE - Jeff and I visit the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital

This Christmas Jeff's present was a tour of the U.A.E.  In anticipation of his visit I read through several guide books for the U.A.E., Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I scanned the current issues of Time Out Abu Dhabi and picked up tourism brochures whenever I came upon them. I booked several all-day tours where advance reservations were necessary, and I also put together a little gift bag full of miscellaneous destinations and activities that I'd clipped from the magazines and brochures. I figured on our "free days" he could pick and choose from this Idea Bag. 

The evening before Jeff's last full day here, he went through the bag and decided he'd like to visit the  Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital. I never would have guessed that the two-hour tour of this facility would end up being one of the highlights of his visit, not just for him, but for me as well.

The hospital opened in 1999, and tours were first offered in 2007. There are several buildings on the grounds, but this is the main one and includes offices, the waiting area, treatment rooms, a surgery, and even a post-mortem room.

It was Sunday and Doug's first day back at work following NYU's Winter Break. Jeff and I headed out an hour before the 2:00 pm tour thinking it would give us more than enough time to get to the place. As is the case with most of the destinations around here, there was no street address to give to our cabbie. Instead the website's directions read as follows:

The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital is located near the Abu Dhabi International Airport. Its premises can be found on the right side along the Abu Dhabi-Sweihan Road 3 km. after the Sweihan Bridge.

It turned out to be a good 35 minuted drive, and the premises were out of sight and far down a long, dirt side road well off the main highway, not on it. Fortunately the local cabbies are unphased with such "directions" and gamely bounce down dirt tracks when needed. 

We walked in the front door, through a lobby, and found ourselves in the patient waiting room. In the center of the room were several low, astro-turf covered perches for the falcons, and around the perimeter were chairs and sofas for the owner/handlers. The birds were hooded which keeps them in the dark and thus calm.

A falcon waiting his turn for a well-visit. On the average 100 birds or more come through each day. I was stunned at the number. Who knew so many people kept falcons?

There was a large crowd on hand for the tour, including several babies in strollers, toddlers and elementary-aged children who were a bit.... vocal. How's that for being tactful? Our group of tourists were from the US (almost all California residents), Germany, Korea, Australia and France. 

Our tour guide was a young, knowledgeable Emirati man with a delightful sense of humor..... and a lot of patience when it came to dealing with the younger crowd. We went into a display room where he talked to us about falconry in the UAE, past and present. Some facts Jeff and I learned:

• The bedouins originally used falcons caught in the wild to hunt for food, primarily hare and houbara (a bird).

• Now falcons are kept for sport only. The ones that are used have been bred in captivity, primarily in Switzerland, Austria, USA, Canada, Australia, and the UAE.

• It is illegal to catch wild falcons.

• Three types of falcons are used for sport in the UAE: Peregrine Falcons (the smallest but fastest, and in fact the Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal on the planet when it goes into a stoop or dive at up to 180mph), the Saker Falcon (pictured on UAE currency), and the Gyr Falcon (the largest and most expensive).

• The females are significantly larger and stronger than the males, so it is the females that are used in the sport of falconry.

• Falcons need a passport to travel from country to country. The information on the passport includes what type of falcon it is, its sex, date of birth, and most importantly the identifying number on its leg band and the microchip that is under its skin. There is no photo as when the bird molts each year, the feathers come back in a slightly different color.

• Falcons can travel uncaged on aircraft, two to a seat. Of course the owner pays for the seat.

• They eat only meat and are usually fed one quail per day to keep them at their optimum weight.

• They are expensive! One current website entry I found quoted $275,000, and prize Gyr Falcons can cost considerably more. Falconry is clearly a sport for the privileged. 

Pictured are five, ten and one hundred dirham bills. The Saker Falcon also appears on the one dirham coin. FYI one US dollar = 3.65 dirham

After the lecture and a juice snack, we were ushered into a large treatment room. I would venture to guess that this kind of tour would never happen in the US because of the fear of a lawsuit. A tourist could get hurt and sue the hospital. Or maybe a bird would peck at or scratch a tourist, resulting in a lawsuit. Or just maybe a tourist would accidentally harm one of the pricey birds. Lawsuit. In the US I am quite sure I'd be peeking through a window, but at this place we all circled the perimeter of the room while a vet and his assistant explained the various procedures they performed in the hospital. 

All these falcons have already been treated and are just hanging out in this large treatment room  until their owners retrieve them.

Most birds come to this hospital for well visits which include trimming their talons and beaks. If a bird is sick, it is treated in another room so it doesn't spread disease. The bird is anesthetized for the procedure so it doesn't freak out and hurt itself or the vet.

In the wild a falcon keeps it talons and beak at the proper length and sharp by scratching and pecking at rocks, much like a cat keeps its claws sharp by scratching trees, posts and (sadly) furniture. But when in captivity, a falcon must have this done for him twice year. The little guy in red was fascinated with all of this.

If the talons aren't trimmed, they will grow too long and actually punch through the foot when the bird clenches its feet, resulting in a nasty infection. After the talons are trimmed, the vet uses a Dremel to shape and sharpen them. And look at how close we were able to get while the vet was working! Seveal times the little boy in the left of the photo reached up and petted the tail feathers. 

Once the talons were done, the vet removed the mask from the bird's head and went to work on the beak before it came to. He quickly trimmed the beak back and then shaped and sharpened it with the handy Dremel tool. It took a few minutes for the bird to come fully awake, but once she was okay the vet hooded her and placed her on a bench.

Anyone who wanted to was able to hold a falcon. Jeff is usually loathe to pose and have his picture taken, but in this case he really wanted to hold one of the birds and have me snap a photo. 

I wasn't planning on holding a falcon myself, but Jeff was insistent. A technician placed this little guy on my arm (and since it's small, I'm assuming it's a "guy"). No glove was needed as the talons weren't so fearsome as on the other birds. It was just a beautiful creature!

The final demonstration in the treatment room concerned feeding. The birds are handled all the time to keep them tame, including feeding time. They asked for a volunteer, gloved her, placed a falcon on her wrist and then gave her a dead, plucked quail which the bird proceeded to munch. And I do mean MUNCH because we could hear the quail bones cracking as the bird fed. Clearly those jaws can exert a lot of pressure. 

After the treatment room demonstrations we went outside and toured the landscaped grounds which included an enclosure for a pair of rescued owls, a large flying room where the birds can molt in air-conditioned comfort, and a ward or dormitory for birds that need to be kept for treatment (they each get their own room rather than a cage). We ended at a building that housed a small museum, gift shop and a large dining/conference room. They had a guest book, which I was only too happy to sign.

A falcon hospital. Absolutely fascinating. 

DAY SIXTY EIGHT - Interlude

When my cell phone alarm went off this morning, I didn't know what it was at first, and then I didn't know why it was going off. As I opened my eyes to the pre-dawn light I remembered. Jeff was leaving for home in San Diego, a taxi was picking him up at 6:45 a.m., and I'd promised to get up and make him a "real breakfast" of scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, toast with jelly, and orange juice. 

I feel like I'm supposed to say that the time just flew while Jeff was here, but that is not true. He arrived Christmas Eve, so we had twelve full days to visit and explore together. We felt neither rushed nor frantic. We went on several full-day excursions (Dubai, the Liwa oasis, Al Ain), we explored the different neighborhoods of Abu Dhabi, saw lots of local sights and sampled all manner of food from fancy to street fare, but we also took the time to sit and relax in the evening, talk, watch a movie together or read books. 

It was good. It was mellow. I cannot think of any Christmas before that was so packed full of "adventures" yet at the same time felt completely laid back. 

When I first arrived in Abu Dhabi in early October I started a list of places I wanted to go and things I wanted to do. Almost all of those items were checked off during Jeff's visit, and now I have so many thoughts and impressions swirling around in my head from all I've seen and done. I will write about them soon - I am woefully behind with my blogging! 

But for now..... I am easing into the day. Jeff's flight took off two hours ago, and soon I will begin gathering a small mountain of laundry which I hope to be able to carry to the cleaners in a single trip. I've given up on the funky washer/dryer combo machine in the apartment except for the occasional load of underwear. I will take down the few Christmas decorations I put up and stash them someplace - maybe in one of the many kitchen cabinets since I have 4 pots and pans, dishes, glasses, a few food items, and that's about it. This place came furnished with just the basics.

The two bathrooms need cleaning, dust bunnies are rolling around like tumbleweeds, and the carpet needs vacuuming, but those can wait till tomorrow. Or Wednesday. 

It is completely foggy out today, which is very rare, and it lends a gentleness to things, a softness. The view of Abu Dhabi from my large living room window is as through a stage scrim. As I type this the noon(ish) Call to Prayer is being sung, and it has a mystical, calming quality to it. How perfect in this moment.

Friday evening my friend, Linda, will be flying in from San Francisco for a one-week visit. I will be ready for her. The apartment will be cleaned and aired out, and I'll find fresh flowers to put on the kitchen table and in the guest room. I'll buy some fruit and dates and baklava for a snack in case she's still hungry. I'll be ready.

For now, though, I am enjoying this quiet time, this interlude. 

DAY FIFTY FIVE - Christmas Eve in Abu Dhabi

I honestly didn't know what to expect when it came to Christmas. This is a Muslim country, after all. On the other hand, 80% of the population comes from other countries, some of which are Muslim too, but many are not. So would I "see" Christmas? Would I "hear" it? Would I even know it was "The Season"?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

I find a good way to get the pulse of a city is by checking out their Timeout magazine. There were two Christmas issues in a row plus several inserts. All the resorts, hotels and large restaurants have been advertising their Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners. 

This fabulous tree is in the lobby of the Beach Rotana Hotel. Doug was insistent that I pose in front of it (he dearly loves his "posed shots"), and I acquiesced since I figured I provided scale for this tree

As I strolled the malls most store windows had some kind of Christmas display, and yes, there were Christmas carols playing over the speakers

Marks and Spencer, a British department store, had a very lovely display in their window. Inside I found a Christmas section where I purchased some Christmas decorations. I loved seeing all the British holiday goodies such as mincemeat pies, crackers (the kind you pull apart with a "pop", not the kind you eat), and plum puddings. 

This mall is nearby and is pretty small. Still, they had a lovely and tasteful Christmas display in the center, complete with trees, reindeer and....

Santa!  I did not, however, see any elves

The Abu Dhabi World Trade Center opened up recently, complete with two towers and a huge mall, and since it is only two blocks away Doug and I checked it out. We were amused to see this Winter Wonderland play area for little kids with fake snow, a snowman, igloo and fir trees.

And in spite of this admonition, I saw quite a few older kids and parents in the "snow" too. They were trying to fashion snow balls out of the "snow" which did not work at all!

The malls and hotels had tasteful decorations, but there were plenty of tacky decorations and displays to be found, much like at home in the States. Can you spot Doug in the window taking this photo?

This was my favorite of the tacky displays. For a mere AED1,099 ($300) you too could have this cardboard fireplace with a "tv" fire popping and crackling away. I spotted this at Carrafour, a Costco-like store. Lots of little and not-so-little kids walked up to it and touched the screen to see if it was real.

To be crass, Christmas sells, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the malls and stores and restaurants would take advantage of that. But that is no different from back home, is it? And don't we all love to walk through our town or city and take in all the decorations and lights and enjoy the special food of the Season? 

I for one was delighted that I could find decorations for the apartment. At home in Hoboken I have several boxes of ornaments and decorations, and I love (LOVE!) decorating my home. Since we'll be here for one Christmas only, I didn't want to spend money on things I would not use again. Still, I had to buy something! 

I passed on the plum pudding and mincemeat pies at Marks and Spencer, but I did get this tiny "Charlie Brown" tree. I like it juxtaposed with my traditional Arab coffee pot.

Behold my Christmas philodendron! I mean I had to have lights. I found a small string at Lulu's, but when I brought it home and plugged it in there was a huge PHZZZZTTTTT!!!! and smoke and the acrid smell of fried wiring. Yikes! So I went back to Marks and Spencer and found a set that looked a little more trustworthy

I have a large bookshelf in the apartment but very few books (thus far), so I put out some Christmas presents, a trio of Godiva reindeer (one each for me, Doug and Jeff), and Christmas cards. The shelves will look bare again when I take them away

I have red holiday votives on the coffee table, and I'll have them lit when Jeff walks in the door this evening. And of course the Christmas philodendron will be lit - I can just see him grin and roll his eyes  when he sees it with that "Oh Mom!" look (heh heh). 

One thing I will miss is a Christmas Eve service. I did some Googling a few weeks back, and yes there are some churches in town, but since Jeff is arriving Christmas Eve we really couldn't attend anyway. 

So yes.... I am mostly ready for Christmas. I used my funny little apartment oven for the first time this morning and baked Doug's pumpkin pie. It looks absolutely perfect, I am happy to report. I had to go online to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius so I could set the oven temperature properly. Jeff's brownies are also baked - he's not a pie guy, so I make him a big brownie sundae with ice cream, fudge sauce and whipped cream. Later this afternoon I'll assemble a French Toast Breakfast Casserole which I'll bake Christmas morning when Jeff wakes up (and after all his traveling, who knows when that will be!).

The afternoon Call to Prayer is happening...... so I will take this moment to send a prayer to all of you: Peace and Joy this year, my friends. And much love. Always! 

Blessings. 

DAY FIFTY THREE - My Annual Christmas Letter

Dear Friends & Family,

As I type this letter, this is the view I have from my desk - Abu Dhabi and the Arabian Gulf in the distance. To say this has been a very interesting year would be an understatement.

It started off on a rather somber note as Doug's father, the Rev. Francis Carlson, passed away shortly before Thanksgiving of 2012. I had been asked to be the Executor many decades ago, so now it was time to settle the estate which included selling his house in rural Connecticut. I'd never done this sort of thing before, but I made it my priority and just dug in. I decided I needed to put auditioning for acting projects aside for the time being, but I did not want to abandon it completely - honestly, I just couldn't. So I signed up for semester one of a two-year professional Meisner acting program with The Brooklyn Training Ground, a new school founded by my long-time acting coach, Roger Manix. It  proved to be THE most challenging and rewarding acting class of my life. Boy was it tough and did it ever stretch me, which was the point after all. 

Between the Meisner class and working on the estate paperwork, I was kept pretty busy through the Winter, and as usual Doug's work at NYU commanded his attention. In late March my nephew, Sasha, came for his 2nd solo visit. Activities included exploring Central Park (he loves climbing on the rocks) and South Street Seaport, and we saw "Peter and the Starcatcher" Off Broadway. 

Sasha at South Street Seaport

In mid-April Amandine, our former Belgian Rotary exchange student, returned for another visit. She was planning on relocating to Santiago, Chile, where she had lived as a student many years ago, and she decided to make a stopover with us first. While in Hoboken she signed up for several dance classes in NYC, and she even realized her dream of participating in the New York City Annual Dance Parade. Doug, our friend Nancy and I waited for her dance troupe to pass by at Union Square.

In spite of it being a rainy day, Amandine was just pumped to be in the Dance Parade

I had to look at my calendar twice to verify that Amandine was with us for almost two months because it simply didn't seem that long. As always when she visits, the time flies. I went to my photo album and was reminded of all the things we did together.

We went to the Metropolitan Opera and saw "Rigoletto"

We had lunch at The Standard Grill and walked along The High Line. Amandine brought her new iPad everywhere as she was experimenting with photos and taking videos

Of course we had to go to the newly opened World Trade Center Memorial

She even managed to fly to Denver for a long weekend and visit with Leah and her fiance, Jorge. Amandine loves Blue Moon beer, so they took her on a Coors brewery tour.

Amidst all the activities surrounding Amandine's visit, I was also hard at work planning a vacation to Italy. Doug and I had talked about going for years, and we'd been accumulating frequent flyer miles to use "some day". Since this year Doug and I both turned 60, we decided that "some day" had arrived. 

Amandine left for Chile on June 3rd, and one week later Doug and I left for Italy. We flew into Rome first  and spent several days exploring all the must-see sights, including the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, and more. Much more. And of course we ate lots of fabulous food. How could we not?

Doug looks very relaxed, doesn't he? When it came to meals we sought out little cafes and tried to stay away from the touristy areas.

Making a wish just before tossing a coin over my shoulder into the Trevi Fountain. They say if you do that, you'll return. I figured, "why not?"

We walked and we walked. Doug had a new pedometer app on his phone, and one day we walked over 12 miles. I should mention it was pretty warm while we were in Italy. Thank heaven for gelato ;-)

After 4 days we took one of the high-speed trains to Venice. And oh my...... we loved Venice!

Hotel le Isole

Based on TripAdvisor reviews, I booked us at the Hotel le Isole, and it turned out to be the nicest place we stayed. Just charming. That is our room right over the walkway with the iron balcony and overlooking a canal. The building was old, but it was completely renovated on the inside. Like so many places in Venice, you could easily walk right by the entrance and never know it was there. We had breakfast every morning in a courtyard in the back and then went exploring.

Hostaria da Franz

I planned it so that we were in Venice for our 39th anniversary. The concierge booked reservations at this wonderful little restaurant, Hostaria da Franz, a few blocks away. The food was very Venetian (lots of seafood) and amazing.

And yes, we took a gondola ride in the evening just before going out for our anniversary dinner. We had been advised to take a gondola ride through the smaller back canals rather than on the busy Grand Canal. It was excellent advice. It was so quiet and peaceful - I felt like we'd slipped back in time.

My only regret about the Venice visit was that we did not stay long enough. I would go back in a heartbeat. In. A. Heartbeat.

From Venice we took the train to Florence, our last stop. It was very warm when we first arrived in Italy, and as the week progressed it got even warmer. By the time we hit Florence, it was just plain HOT. 

One of the highlights of our entire trip was booking a full-day guided tour of Tuscany. Our friend, Susan, recommended a tour guide she and a group of friends had used the year before, Monica Iris. Monica took us to hilltop towns and little vineyards such as the one above. 

I felt like I was walking through a postcard

There is lots of prosciutto in Tuscany! Doug is chatting with Monica at a butcher shop in her home town of Greve

It was a wonderful vacation, and I could bury you with photos, but I won't. It was wonderful to see Doug actually put work behind him and really and truly relax. He doesn't do that often enough. But.... once we returned it was back to the office for him, and I turned my attention back to the estate work. The Connecticut house had sold, and the closing took place at the end of June which was a huge weight off my mind. Now I was in the home stretch and could tie things up. 

Doug and I also turned our attention to Leah and Jorge's upcoming wedding which was scheduled for September 1st in Denver. Leah and I spent much time emailing back and forth and talking on the phone, and of course there were clothes to buy for the event. In addition to the joy of knowing Leah and Jorge would be married, I was excited because so many of our family were planning on gathering in Denver for the event. Jeff was flying in from Denver, my sister and niece were accompanying my dad from Maryland, my brother and his new wife, Katherine, were flying in from Idaho, Doug's brother was coming in from New Jersey and his sister and her husband flew in from Dallas. And if that weren't enough, Amandine was flying back from Chile for the wedding too.

The day before the wedding, Leah and Jorge hosted an "I Do" BBQ at their home in Denver. They thought it would be a nice, casual setting for the two families to meet each other. Jorge smoked and grilled meats, his Aunt Gabby prepared all kinds of wonderful side dishes in the kitchen, and a wonderful time was had by all.

The wedding took place outside at the Denver Botanic Gardens, and thankfully the weather cooperated. It was casual and relaxed and fun..... just like Leah and Jorge. 

Doug, Leah, Jorge, Kathi

The reception was at Leah and Jorge's favorite Denver restaurant, The Kitchen. I caught the two of them having a quiet moment together. 

It was a wonderful time. And most importantly, Leah and Jorge had a wonderful time. Or so they said! They'd planned the BBQ and wedding from start to finish, so the events were very personal and a true reflection of the two of them. I liked that.

Once home we had a few days with Amandine before she headed back to Santiago, and then Doug was off for a week to Shanghai on business. I used the time alone to push my personal "re-boot" button. The lawyer was finishing up the last of the paperwork so I could close the estate, and my Meisner class was due to begin again in a few short weeks. After all the craziness of the past few months, wonderful craziness that it all was, I relished having some time to myself to simply exhale. 

Doug was home from China for less than a week when a situation came up at NYU's Abu Dhabi campus, and he was asked if he would be interested in going over. To live. For at least a year. He asked me what I thought, and I said, "Go for it". 

And so it happened that exactly two weeks from the day Doug was asked if he was interested in moving that we found ourselves en route to the United Arab Emirates. Within a few days of arriving I started a blog to keep friends and family up to date. Rather than repeat the details of the trip and our experiences in Abu Dhabi to date, I will refer you to earlier posts in my blog. If interested, of course. 

I pause as I write this and look out the window again. I've been here almost two months now, and still at times it doesn't seem real. Never in a million years would I have imagined myself living in another country, much less here. You just never know, right?

With Love & Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Joyous and Peaceful New Year,

Kathi (scribe) and Doug

P.S.  We have a guest room should you find yourselves in our new 'hood  ;-)