Getting about a busy city

Finally the weekend came after what seemed like a very busy week. We decided to go out for dinner on Thursday night and I booked us a table at the Rodeo Grill at the Beach Rotana. I hadn't realised that the whole of Abu Dhabi goes out on a Thursday night and my newly discovered taxi call centre number was continually engaged. We thought we might get a cab on the street (dream on!) so plumped for a bus. There just seemed to be one bus for the whole city that night and even when you might think the bus was full more and more people kept on piling on board. It was quite a squash and took ages so we arrived a little dishevelled but on time and laughing about the experience. We had a lovely meal and then, although we had to stand in quite a lengthy queue at the Abu Dhabi Mall we did manage to get a cab home.
Friday morning is always very quiet with all the shops shut and people preparing for Friday prayers but we've got into the habit of going out for the papers and then chilling out over a coffee during the morning. It's a bit like having Sunday before Saturday so you end up with something of an upside down weekend but I'm sure we'll get used to it!
Friday afternoon we headed for the Mall where the shops open at 2pm and guess what? So does the whole population of Abu Dhabi! Once again we were squashed on a bus for quite a while a long with most of the island. It's really time we sorted out this transport thing! We bought a desk for the study (hooray) I can work and blog without wandering around for a signal or sitting on the floor. Also a table and chairs for the balcony, now that it is getting cool enough in the evening to sit out for an aperitif. They are coming on Tuesday evening which will be great.
Saturday morning we finally took the plunge and went to buy a car. We'd seen some great offers on Jeeps and the garage is just a few minutes walk from here so we thought we'd go and take a look. I can't imagine driving a Jeep at home, but here it somehow feels right. I took one out for a test drive - the first time I've driven in Abu Dhabi so I was pretty nervous, especially with John (some teeth sucking but not too much!) and the sales guy in the car offering advice. I enjoyed bowling up and down the Corniche in the test Jeep and we decided to go for it which I'm thrilled about. It's a silver Grand Cherokee with all the bells and whistles - not just parking sensors (which have to be a must when you're used to driving a 3 series BMW) but a camera as well, so there's no excuse for backing into a pillar! It also has sat nav, though without postcodes, I'm not sure how that will work and enough room in the back to bring no end of furniture back from the Mall. I'm picking it up on Monday morning and can't wait to feel I have the freedom to go around the city on my own. I'm also pretty terrified but I'm sure I'll soon get the hang of it. No more buses for us for a bit. I was impressed by how well organised it all was. Because it's a new car, the dealer is organising the registration for us, which sounds like quite a pain if you have to do it yourself and he has also sorted out the insurance, which is a percentage of the purchase price. We had a bit of a hiccup there, as I'd managed to leave the paper copy of my UK licence in the car in Manchester and you need to be able to prove that you've had a licence for some time in order to keep the insurance down. Fortunately John had his or it would have been an expensive mistake.
Saturday we went to the Emirates Palace for lunch to use the voucher that I bid for in Maria's charity auction when I was here in June. It was a buffet (and you know my aversion to buffets) but with just the two of us and a lovely seat by the window, overlooking the gulf and the Emirates Palace beach we had a super lunch.
Back to normal today and a bit less manic this week so far, but I'm sure this will soon change with the careers exhibition later in the week, a dinner tonight with some more prospective candidates for Masdar Institute and a reception on Monday night at the Australian embassy.
Most exciting of all I hope to be on the road by tomorrow morning.