Thanks very much price123. Great idea about visiting Atmosphere in the evening. On a clear night, the view must be spectacular.

Thank you shefgab. Yeah, the weather was a bummer but it did keep the temps down.

Thanks very much Fraser. It probably did seem like a great idea 5 years ago. Today, not so much.

Thanks Kagehitokiri.

This. Thank you Anegada.

Thanks so much NoY. What a small world! And how cool to have a place in the Etihad Tower Residences. This was our first proper visit to Abu Dhabi and we really liked it. We thought it was much prettier and more relaxing than Dubai. And better use of the waterfront.

Thank you offerendum.

Thanks nequine. The sand storm was really cool.

Thanks for reading and for the good question. bsagator and BRITINJAPAN3 both touched on the rationale. First of all, we love to travel. We believe that the vacation begins when we leave the house, not when we arrive at the destination. And 16-17 hours in a great First Class product is a wonderful part of the experience, whether the trip is to someplace new and exotic or old and familiar. That's why we go to Paris every year. Sure, there is a desert and great dining in SoCal, but that's just it. It's SoCal, and SoCal is full of Californians. Been there, done that, tired of that. We learn and grow every time we travel abroad, and that's part of the attraction... way more than just staying home or traveling around North America.

Indeed. Thanks bsagator for the great quotes.

Thank you BRITINJAPAN3. Totally agree. We both prefer 16 hour flights to 9-10 hour flights to/from Europe. On the 16 hour flights, you have enough time to enjoy the experience. You eat, drink, watch a few movies, get a full night's sleep and eat again, all the while being pampered. We've been on similar 16-17 hour flights where Mrs. SFO777 has lamented that the flight wasn't a few more hours.

Thank you JohnRain. Your nieces are gorgeous, BTW.

My next Etihad report will indeed be on the A380 Apartments, in the summer.

Thank you very much Seat 2A for your kind comments. Funny you should ask as she did recently say that she wanted to take a break from nonstop travel. I had to remind her that I was upfront about my love of travel when we met, although not to the extreme that we have done the last few years. When we first met some 23 years ago, we flew a mix of Y and F and then only domestic. We always get a laugh when I remind her that she once said "I'd rather fly nonstop Economy than First Class on a connection". Now she says "if I have to fly Economy, I'm not going". I read that as "if I have to fly Business, I'm not going".