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| The specialty coffee at the Palace Emirates hotel - sprinkled with 23K gold flakes - very impressive! |
Sunday, February 18
As our first stop in Abu Dhabi was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, it was already noon when
we drove onto the main island of AD, past many walled compounds owned by the sheikhs
along the seacoast. We drove to
see the Emirates Palace hotel – built to house official visits by foreign
dignitaries to the UAE, as well as to serve as an elegant hotel. We stopped to visit the interior, as
well as have a bite to eat. Inside
is filled with crystals and gold leaf – it sits across the canal from the royal
palace and you could see a huge yacht parked at the dock in front of the
palace.
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| The Palace Emirates Hotel complex - also an official residence to host state visits and receptions |
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| Gold leaf and crystal everywhere you look |
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| More gold leafed medallions and gold colored marble pillars |
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| Beautifully tiled & painted ceiling in the official state residences - all the floors above the lobby, with no access to the general public in this section |
We had a coffee break at the café. I was a total tourist and ordered the Palace Emirates cappuccino – topped with 23K gold flakes. They also serve ice cream covered in gold leaf, and pastries or french fries sprinkled with gold flakes. Ute says they use 5 kilos of gold in a year for the food and drink offerings.
Ute ordered a camelcino – make with camel’s milk, and Mike had a salmon and kale salad. We spent about an hour drinking, eating, relaxing and visiting a few shops on our way out.
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| Lobby Cafe at the Emirates Palace - surround yourself in gold |
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| Ute ordered a "camelcino" - the top one - which is made with camel's milk - notice the camel decoration made with date syrup. Mine is the Palace Emirates cappucino - with drinkable 23 K gold flakes. Both are served with a chocolate and a date. |
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| Mike is standing in front of one of two large hand made rugs - one of the palace hotel complex in daylight and one in moonlight |
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| Detail of this finely woven beautiful rug |
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| To give you an idea of how massive this rug really is -- hanging over two stories in front of the escalators |
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| Detail of the gold leaf on the ceiling medallions |
Amazing pictures. What does camel's milk taste like? What did you wear to the mosque. Such beautiful work!! The hand woven rugs were also just beautiful! Sally
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