After my parents precedent setting escorted flight, Adam's parents were inspired to come visit with an with such a provision. With this making them much more comfortable, Adam chose to align this with his annual trip back to Pennsylvania, since hunting camp is a yearly non-negotiable and much needed trip. And early December is actually a wonderful time of the year to visit the Middle East because the weather is so perfect!
Unfortunately, I did not get all of the days off that Adam did to spend with them, but he had an absolutely wonderful time and I think that they did as well. Going through the photos, it became very clear that most of the picture taking during this time period was captured by Dad Mayer because I don't have much to share :(
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| Snowy view of Iran from the plane |
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| Of course mom found a baby that needed to be cuddled! |
Adam was wonderful host and tour guide, showing them all of our favorite and the classic UAE sites and sights.
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| Mom Mayer enjoying Qasr Al Sarab |
Adam ensured that they enjoyed the desert and did a dune bashing adventure!
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| Qasr Al Sarab and the Empty Quarter: So majestic |
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| Qasr Al Sarab |
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| Qasr Al Sarab |
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| Qasr Al Sarab: BABY CAMEL!!!!! |
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| Qasr Al Sarab |
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| Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque |
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| Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque |
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| Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital |
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| Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital |
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| Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital: Meet the next Mayer pet! |
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| A wonderful evening with the Mayer parents |
One of the things we love sharing the most with visitors is the wide array of cuisine, and we ensured that they experienced the spectrum. The best part, like my parents, they were pleasantly surprised and willing to experiment. One of the quintessential UAE experiences is the Friday Brunch, so of course we ended up at our favorite place: ZUMA! Coincidentally enough, the Dean of my nursing school happened to be visiting the area to speak at a conference, so she and her husband joined us for brunch.
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| All fancy and ready for Zuma brunch! |
Now it's time to eat with your hands. I still have to thank my Uncle Neal for introducing me to Ethiopian cuisine!
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| Ethiopian cuisine at its finest |
And come the final day, tired from the journey (the jet-lag is a killer and last more than a week, no joke), and being out and about all day every other day, we opted for the final day be spent at home. A day spent enjoying wonderful company, wonderful libations, good food, and playing games. It was simply awesome.
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| Mom and her favorite oldest child |
This is one of the parts that we love best about living abroad/places away from our family and friends, it gives us the ability to support their travels being easier and cheaper, by providing free food, transportation, and accommodations, it makes it a lot more cost-effective and encouraging to do!
