UAE Part 2

Well, today I have a very sore throat and feel as if someone has whacked me. So I will be staying in bed or resting on the sofa. Sheryl has gone back to Dubai to pick up her son who was hiking with a group and got stuck somewhere overnight. It was a bit of a worry as initially they couldn't be contacted. But fortunately they are OK.
Back to January 2nd. We had a lovely blobby day which included going for a swim at the Hilton Hotel and having a Creme Brulee Chiller (a drink!) at a mall. Lovely!
Yesterday was another great day out. We started by heading towards Abu Dhabi. The first thing we did when we arrived was visit a mosque, which was just spectacular. We had to wear abeyas and headscarves, and I rather enjoyed that. I like dressing up, but also it felt really cool and in a strange way, quite liberating. The mosque has only recently been built and is still having finishing touches being added. I think that sometimes the decor in such places can be garish to the point of being bizarre, but honestly, I thought this place was beautiful. Over the top, yes, but stunning all the same. After that we went for a bit of a walk along the beach and also had a bite of lunch.
Then we went to the Grand Palace Hotel. It's where all the tennis players are currently staying - those playing in a tournament in Abu Dhabi, including Federer, Nadal et al! We did actually see some guys who were obviously part of the circuit, but we didn't recognise them. I don't think they recognised us either. The hotel is an amazing building. All done out in the most luxurious manner, as you can imagine. I had a look round an exhibition which showed all the proposals and scale models for the development of Abu Dhabi. There is going to be a new art gallery in partnership with the Louvre, a new performing arts centre; in fact a great deal of development in cultural areas. But also there is going to be an emphasis on the environment, and protecting the wetlands and so on. Which is great, as you couldn't really in all honesty say that Arabia is an area that worries a great deal about that. Anyway, we wandered round the hotel and soaked in the atmosphere.
Then we were off to Dubai. All these journeys are a fair distance, but the roads are very good and the speed limit is 120 kph. Which we kept to, as Sheryl's car is leased and if she goes over 120 alarm bells come on! But we were always passed by cars which must have been breaking some sort of land speed records I suspect.
We went to the Jumeira Beach Residences area, which is very upmarket, and visited a friend of Sheryl's who lives in an apartment there. Very nice, but floor 22 is a bit too high up for me! It was dark by the time we left, and we headed off to the Madinat Souk. It was all lit up and looked terrific. It was just great wandering round all the shops there. I could have spent quite a lot really. But I didn't! We were going to have tea there, but it was quite late, and I had started feeling really unwell so we just headed back home to Al Ain and ate some sandwiches in the car on the way. We couldn't get the car radio going so Sheryl asked me to sing! Lol. I sang a large repertoire of hymns, as the Sheik of Kuwait (I think he's from Kuwait)has just died and all the flags were flying at half mast. I hope I wasn't being disrespectful as my renditions were very croaky!
So that was yesterday. I think I will just hop back into bed and have another rest and hopefully I can knock this whatever-it-is on the head. I have tried to add photos - I don't know why they aren't downloading.
xxx