Last Day in UAE

Today was our biggest day out in Abu Dhabi. We started out the day with a morning visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It was stunning! The entire mosque was made out of marble and I think we needed sunglasses for the mosque as well as the sun. The detail inside was even more beautiful. There were columns with inlaid marble flowers, beautiful chandeliers and in the women’s prayer hall the walls were covered with marble flowers done in a relief style. Pictures don’t do it justice. There was a huge food hall and we sampled Dubai chocolate (chocolate with pistachios inside, which is a huge thing here) and sat down at a restaurant that I had actually planned to eat at in Dubai, but we ran out of time. We had hot and cold apps that included delicious hummus, labneh, mutabal (basically baba ganoush), tabouleh and a beet salad, wings, calamari and shrimp. After lunch we headed to Qasr al Watan, the presidential palace where the president (leader of UAE and Abu Dhabi) and vice president of UAE and leader of Dubai, and the crown prince all have offices and receive foreign dignitaries. Incredible mosaics, gold and marble everywhere and exhibits about their contributions to science and medicine.

After the palace we headed to Corniche beach and let the kids play in the sand while we enjoyed our last day of sun for a while. We walked along the boardwalk to the grand souk so that the kids could get last souvenirs. We found a Lebanese/Italian (weird mix) spot for dinner and the owner really spoiled the kids with free desserts. Came back home and packed up for our flight in the am. This has been such a great trip on a new continent, filled with adventures and family time, which is what we really love the most. We definitely recommend a trip to the UAE. The people have been super kind and welcoming and there is so much to do!Read more