Wander With Nada

Sunday plans: brave the International Museum Day crowds. Actual Sunday: discover that every other human in the country had the exact same plan. The Saadiyat museums were packed wall to wall. We circled, weighed our life choices, and pivoted. Plan B turned into an impromptu road trip across the city. Focaccias at Barbassi 🥪 and ice cream 🍦 at Mina Creamery that fully justified the U-turn, then a cool hangout with some genuinely wonderful people in another corner of town. Turns out the best days are the ones you don’t plan for. 🩵 • • • • • • • • #inabudhabi #abudhabitourguide #abudhabifoodie #abudhabieats #abudhabihiddengems [Barbassi Abu Dhabi, Mina Creamery Abu Dhabi, International Museum Day Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi, Things to do in Abu Dhabi, Where to eat in Abu Dhabi]

Art Dubai 🖼️ is back, and I wandered over today for what is now my umpteenth visit. It’s happening until May 17 at Madinat Jumeirah (MJ). My 2 fils before you go: - Skip the parking saga. Traffic at MJ was hitting critical mass and self-parking at Sahar Al Qasr is limited. Just taxi it, or park at their paid lot and hop on the free shuttle bus 🚌. - Block off 1.5 to 2 hours, minimum. Expect a wide spectrum of art across the galleries, from paintings and sculptures to digital, abstract, and pieces that are genuinely difficult to categorize. You might walk out with a new favorite artist, or walk out mildly confused. Either way, it’s intriguing to see. - There’s also a lovely pop up store by local creatives, a listening music bar, and Unwritten Poetry sessions tucked into the loveliest rooms. - Pull up the Art Dubai app or check their site for the full events calendar. There’s loads happening across the 3 days on site and elsewhere, from live poetry writing to book launches to DJ sets, and you’ll want to plan your wander around whatever calls your name. - They also run free guided tours at select timings if you want a little context with your wandering. Wander often, wonder always

Wandering 🚶🏻‍♀️‍➡️through a neighborhood near my hotel in Abu Dhabi, I stumbled into a bakery. The name? Wendering Seagull Bakery 😍. Tell me that’s not a sign from the universe. Inside: Afghan bakers doing professional-grade dough yoga, a piping hot tandoor, naans of every persuasion (cheese, zaatar, potato, labneh, Nutella), and the 3 kindest souls. Came in for a zaatar naan to go for AED 3.5. Left with the widest smile on my face ☺️. Filed under: signs from the universe that arrive in carbohydrate form. 📍 Wendering Seagull Bakery, Abu Dhabi • • • • • • #inabudhabi #abudhabitourguide #abudhabifoodie #abudhabieats #abudhabihiddengems [Afghan bakery Abu Dhabi, Hidden bakery Abu Dhabi, Cheap eats Abu Dhabi, Where to eat Abu Dhabi, naan Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi travel guide]

‼️ FREE ENTRY: 3 museums. 3 days. From May 16 to 18, Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Natural History Museum, and Zayed National Museum are all offering complimentary admission for International Museum Day 🏛️. Free Saadiyat shuttle 🚍 from Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be running too. If you have been putting off a Saadiyat visit, the universe has officially run out of ways to hint 😏. My 2 fils: be at the door before they open ⏰ . And if you are around earlier in the week, Louvre Abu Dhabi is hosting Cannes Film Nights from May 12 to 16, 7pm. Lineup includes The Count of Monte Cristo, Sweet Bean, Said Effendi, Sentimental Value, and Flow. PLUS catch the Picasso 🖼️ exhibition, here until end of May. Full guide + my top tips to all Saadiyat museums and Cannes Film Nights details. Link in bio 👆🏻 • • • • • • #InternationalMuseumDay #inabudhabi #SaadiyatIsland #AbuDhabi #abudhabitourguide [International Museum Day, Free things to do in Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum, things to do in Abu Dhabi ]

Yabba Dabba Louuuuuvre 🥳 (proud of this one) This stretch of Louvre Abu Dhabi art bootcamp? Officially wrapped. My brain 🧠 needs a nap 😴, possibly a long one. Grade 🪪 pending. I came in an art person and left an even bigger one. The level of detail you uncover when you train your eye like this is on another planet. and being a student again? Genuinely loved it. Mornings in a classroom, notebooks open, learning purely for the love of it. Bonus: an old friend I hadn’t seen in years happened to be sitting right there with me 🥰. @miriamburger So yes, that’s me mid-air. Just because the studying 🤓 is finally over and museum was magical to visit so many times. Now if you’ll excuse me, a self-awarded dessert is about to happen 🥳 🍪🍦 🧁 • • • • • • • #LouvreAbuDhabi #InAbuDhabi #SaadiyatIsland #abudhabi #abudhabitourguide [Louvre Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi Tours, Abu Dhabi Tour Guide, Museums in Abu Dhabi, International Museum Day]

Four museums 🖼️ . One island 🏝️ . Saadiyat went from a day trip into a full cultural marathon 👟 . Home to Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum, and teamLab Phenomena, all within sight of each other. A fifth is coming. May 🗓️ starts tomorrow, and with it comes International Museum Day on the 18th 🥳🥳🥳, with free entry at some museums for UAE residents. I put together a full guide covering all 4, what to see, tickets 🎫 , hours, free transport, and a few personal favourites. Time to wander🚶🏻‍♀️‍➡️. Link to guide in bio 👆🏻 • • • • • • • #InAbuDhabi #SaadiyatIsland #AbuDhabiMuseums #InternationalMuseumDay #abudhabiculture [Abu Dhabi Museums Guide, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Zayed National Museum, Teamlab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi]

Wanderers, just fyi: Louvre Abu Dhabi’s offering free tours until the end of April 🗓️ (UPDATE: Now until end of June). Yes really. (Ticket 🎫 still required, AED 70, no sign-ups, just meet at the Mona Lisa 2.0.) 2 days left. Today’s was nearly full house, sooo set your alarm ⏰ or accept your fate at the back of the group. Lineup: 1. The Ain Ghazal statues, 8500+ years old discovered in Jordan (insanely cool because they’re basically the first human figures) 2. La Bella Nani holding court in her blue velvet, eternally mysterious 3. A Monumental Lion that has out-lived dynasties 4. A Damascene fountain + quote I 🩵 5. Few others plus what I look like when I’m planning a travel trip. See if you can guess which one. Also, small life update: I just passed round 2, exam 1 of the Louvre Abu Dhabi licensing program. I now know more about oil on canvas and Ramesses than I ever planned to in this lifetime. I’m getting some ice cream 🍦 today! Swipe through →​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ • • • • • • • • #inabudhabi #artlover #thingstodoinabudhabi #abudhabitourguide #abudhabiguide [Louvre Abu Dhabi, free museum tour Abu Dhabi, things to do Abu Dhabi, La Bella Nani, Saadiyat Island, Jean Nouvel, Visit Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Tours]

Wherever I land or live, a local bookshop 📕 or library goes straight onto the itinerary. Venice, London, Auckland, New York, Sharjah, Dubai. Shelves I’ve lost hours to, ladders 🪜 I’ve climbed, authors 🪶 I still can’t quite believe I got to meet. Magical 🪄 . Today I flipped open a blank notebook I’d bought from Sharjah’s House of Wisdom a few years back, and found a story written on the cover. In 2003, looters set fire to the library at the College of Fine Arts, University of Baghdad. Over 70,000 books turned to ashes. Over 20 years later, students there still study from what little survived. The notebook ends with a line: knowledge is a gift that keeps on giving. Scan to gift it to those whom it has been denied. A good day to be grateful for every book we get to read. Here are a few of my favorite 📕 spots. Happy World Book Day 📕🤓 • • • • • • #worldbookday #visitdubai #mydubai #visitsharjah #bookworm [World Book Day, Sharjah House of Wisdom, Bookworm, Bookstagram, Bibliophile, Wafaa Bilal, Libreria Acqua alta]

Splendor Fields patio weather is a limited time offer and i’m taking full advantage 💚. Fav 3-cheese 🧀🧀🧀 sando (post-11am, learned the hard way), coffee ☕️ , greenery 🌳 , breeze plus (not pictured) today’s tini-preneurs market, aspiring mini CEOs out here closing deals. Wander often, wonder always 🧡 • • • • • • #MyDubai #VisitDubai #DubaiTourGuide #Dubaieats #WanderWithNada Splendor Fields, Dubai eats, best breakfast places in Dubai, outdoor cafes in Dubai

Another day, another wander 🚶🏻‍♀️‍➡️ through Old Dubai. Here’s the photo roll 📸 - Souks with aisles of things you didn’t know you wanted - Al Fahidi wind towers pulling 200-year shifts - Al Seef with my Cool Aunts Club tote - Abras ⛵️ crossing the Creek and a friendly captain 👨‍✈️ waving hello - Mazmi, perfect ☕️ + 📕 + 🍨 date - Dinner at Ostadi Special Kebab, + walls = hall of diner fame. Younger me up there with Majeed. Older me, same table, same order. Wander often, wonder always 🧡 • • • • • • #MyDubai #VisitDubai #DubaiTourGuide #OldDubai #WanderWithNada Old Dubai, Al Fahidi, Al Seef, Abra, Mazmi, Ostadi Special Kebab, Dubai eats, where to go in Old Dubai, Dubai souks, Dubai Creek

Wandering to Neighborhood Food Hall and excited by the new joiners to the ‘hood. I lasted all of 5 seconds before I was lured to the Sandwich Nerds counter. Opted for the honey 🍯 drizzled chicken sando on buttery brioche with pickles 🥒 . ambitiously stacked and delish. 🥪🤤 Got my wandering eyes on their Cubano beef for the next sando run. • • • • • • • #visitdubai #dubaifoodie #dubaieats #mydubai #FoodiesInDubai [Neighborhood Food Hall, NFH, Dubai Eats, Dubai Foodie, Dubai Eats, Dubai Restaurants, Dubai Eateries]

Abra cadabra-ing ⛵️ across Dubai Creek 🌊 , rain ☔️ edition • • • • • • • #visitdubai #mydubai #dubaitourguide #dubaicreek #dubaiskyline [Dubai Creek, Dubai Skyline, Old Dubai, Dubai things to do, Dubai weekend ideas, Dubai Old Souks, Dubai Spice Souk, Old Town Dubai]