Abu Dhabi Country Club will be hosting a free re-launch for their Les Mills group fitness classes this weekend. Courtesy Les Mills
Abu Dhabi Country Club will be hosting a free re-launch for their Les Mills group fitness classes this weekend. Courtesy Les Mills

Your weekend hit list: Free fitness, free spa treatment, indoor food trucks and more



Feel the burn for free

Abu Dhabi Country Club is hosting a free relaunch for its Les Mills group fitness classes on Friday and Saturday. The fitness studio will present the newest releases in the popular programmes throughout the morning. Classes vary from cycling to strength and HIIT cardio. Friday's schedule features RPM 81 (9.30am), BodyPump 108 (10.35am), BodyAttack 103 (11.35am) and Les Mills Tone 4 (12.30pm). On Saturday, get ready for Les Mills Sprint (9am), BodyPump 104 (9.30am), BodyCombat 78 (10.35am), Sh'Bam 34 (11.15am), and BodyBalance 83 (12.15pm). The event is free
to attend. For more details, visit ADCCUAE on Instagram.

A feast for the senses

A veritable foodie haven in Mumbai, Yoko opened opposite BurJuman 20 years ago. It's still a go-to for sizzler junkies, though – think an aromatic, sizzling hot plate with mushed up veggies, fries, meat, cheese and sauces. The menu is entirely customisable – you can choose the popular Chicken Satellite (Dh65) or Prawns Shashlik (Dh80), and get them with full veg or just fries and onions, sliced or grated cheese, and rice or spaghetti. These are at their most delicious scraped off the bottom of the hot plate. The oyster sauce is mild, the garlic tangy and the pepper spicy; a blend of the three, though, transforms the dish into a siesta-inducing delicacy. Call 04 396 8558 (Al Karama) or 04 250 5004 (Al Nahda).

Hail, Caesar

Fresh hotel Caesars Bluewaters Dubai is encouraging visitors to "live like a Caesar" with a day of pampering at the newly-opened Qua Spa. The spa offers a range of services, including facials, fitness, massages, a relaxation lounge, rock sauna, aroma steam room and ice fountain. Until February 10, guests can experience a complimentary 30-minute Iyashi Dome trial session. The treatment uses cutting-edge technology to deeply cleanse the body, and it claims to reduce cellulite by stimulating the body with long-wave infrared rays that apparently burn up to 600 calories per 30-minute to 60-minute session. Book at 04 556 6666, www.caesars.com/dubai

Get a taste for street food

Urban RetrEAT is Yas Mall's indoor market championing local food and drinks businesses alongside homemade wears, set to the backdrop of live music. The concept invites new vendors in every three months, and this week sees the launch of its latest rotation. Local favourites including Berri's and Emirati food house Barzat Al Fareej will be on offer at Urban RetrEAT, alongside Mexican concept Burro Blanco and African Caribbean eatery West to West Kitchen. Each pop-up serves from its own adapted shipping container and communal benches replicate the feel of a traditional street food market. For more information, visit www.urbanretreat.me

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

if you go

Getting there

Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.

Staying there

On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.

More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding