{"id":138,"date":"2010-09-22T13:33:53","date_gmt":"2010-09-22T17:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tuckers.cc\/brian\/?p=138"},"modified":"2010-12-03T05:05:19","modified_gmt":"2010-12-03T10:05:19","slug":"first-full-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tuckers.cc\/brian\/first-full-day\/","title":{"rendered":"First Full Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite being so tired, we each only probably slept about 5 hours our first night. Yes, it was fun to be wide awake at 4am.\u00a0 Rather than try to sleep during the day, we were determined to get our bodies back in sync.\u00a0 So we got up and headed out\u00a0to Marina Mall. Situated right on the water by a boat marina, it’s the biggest mall in Abu Dhabi.\u00a0 Its quite impressive and makes Tysons Galleria look shabby with its beautiful fountains, hundreds of flat screens, ice rink, and severely over-priced European designer stores. In the center of the mall is a huge observation tower that gives a spectacular view of the city.<\/p>\n

Within the mall, we officially found our favorite store so far – Carrefour. It’s a French chain similar to a Walmart\/Target except with a food section that would give Wegman’s a run for its money. We picked up a hair dryer, a frying pan, pot and other odds and ends. It really is like we are starting from ground zero – like just being out of college or something!<\/p>\n

After all the walking, we grabbed dinner at Fuddruckers.\u00a0 Yes, Fuddruckers.\u00a0 Like every other mall, dining options aren’t that great so it was either that or another mediocre chain.\u00a0 However I can report that the burger was pretty good, complete with “beef bacon” (since they don’t do pork).\u00a0 Go ahead, you can make fun of us now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Check out some of the pictures from the day (CLICK ON PICTURES FOR LARGER VERSIONS). The map of Abu Dhabi shows our apartment (point A) and its relation to the Marina Mall (point B) – a 35 minute cab ride.<\/p>\n