Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square meters of indoor ski area. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world.

We lunched while skiers were schussing down the slopes

 

The large white balls on the left side of this picture provided a unique ride for brave souls to roll down the hill.

And there they go, rolling and snowboarding/skiing down the hill!

Next we went to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo ...

... where we saw lots of nice marine life.

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎, "Khalifa tower"), known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft.).

Evening entertainment included the Dancing Fountains of Dubai.

There they go!

Another photo of Dubai at night.



A final lunch for Birgit and Lunch at The Club.

Bougainvillea flowers.

The view from the patio at The Club.

Heading back to Abu Dhabi.

Lois and Andrew at the beach.

The sun setting in Dubai.

A Vist to Masdar City and a Birthday Party in Abu Dhabi

We visited Masdar City and went for a ride on a PRT, which is a Personal Rapid Transit system that combines the advantages of a private car and public transportation.  It runs on lithium batteries, which are powered by renewable energy produced in Masdar and is environmentally friendly.  It uses magnets embedded within the floor surface.  You just get in and it starts running all by itself.  Feels like you are riding in some alien vehicle!  The sign says, "Enjoy your carbon free ride!"

 

Here we are inside the car.  There is no driver.

Well, we all got to our destination.

A quick stop for coffee at the Caribou Café.

Rocks on the patio.  Are they real rocks?

Sunlight on the rocks.

Andrew and Lois take a break.

Inside the Sheik's palace restaurant.

Look up, way up!

This is how birthday's should be celebrated.

The view from our patio table.

OK, those are martinis!

No explanation needed for this picture.

It was a very good year!