I started my one day in Abu Dhabi with lunch at the Bander Island and tried Nolu's Cafe, an elegant Afghani restaurant. It was absolutely delicious with a nice, neat interior, beach view and great service.
Afterwards, I went to the Etihad Antique and Modern Galleries and the cafe next to them. All three were worth a visit. The Etihad Antiques gallery welcomed me with an abundance of patterns and really pretty collectible Islamic and European arts. The modern gallery included paintings, prints and sculpture. I enjoyed seeing both galleries.
Right beside the galleries, there is a lovely little quirky café called Art House Cafe. It's made from 100% upcycled materials around the tress that are already there. Gas tanks as chairs, old tires as tables, Smoking is allowed inside. That was a little unusual for me because most countries I go to don't allow indoors smoking. It's a cool place to chill.
I followed my gallery visits with a visit to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It was a fun experience and I had a lot of thoughts about the interior design of it. You can read all about it in my previous blog post.
Being in the capital calls for a special dining experience. I tried the 18 Degrees restaurant in the Hyatt capital gate. The building's architecture is quiet special. The elevator only goes up to 18th floor. There is a stair case between that leads to the 19th floor. A small floor that's designed to just fit in the space created by the leaning. I really loved the interior of the hotel. It was contemporary and tasteful. A lot of hotels go for similar looks, but this one was done nicely. The light fixtures were gorgeous. I liked all of them. The food was also really delicious. I tried the duck with pomegranate and I was amazed on how tasty it was.
Very thankful to my friends for taking me around to these awesome places. I met these friends on Art Of Islamic Pattern Study Trip To Fez. Love when travelling leads to more travelling and international friendships.
