Day in Dubai

So much for sleeping in today. Tom got up at 5am and attempted to go to starbucks (which was closed) but enjoyed a peaceful morning in the hotel lobby drinking coffee and reading the paper. I of course could not go back to sleep so we ate an early breakfast in our hotel and then headed to the beach. We have not left the Beaufort heat behind. It is crazy hot here. The beach here is nice there are chairs lining the beach, tiki bar and a foggy sea view. After trying to cool off in the Arabian sea (which felt very similar to a hot tub) we had a frozen concoction and a dip in the pool. We went to chilis for lunch which was just a short walk from the hotel. We then proceded to take a 4 1/2 hour nap! Now we are at Starbucks and off to find another American chain for dinner.

Thoughts on Dubai: not sure what all the fuss is about - nice but really just a lot of shopping and hotels on the beach. not much character that we've seen. although we did stay cooped up in teh hotel for most of the afternoon. we've never done the tourist sightseeing thing very well.

Highly recommend for future travelers: come a few days early to rest and sleep. We've enjoyed not being on any kind of schedule. We feel like we should sleep when our bodies will let us.

We meet our driver at 5:30 in the am for our flight to Addis. We should arrive in Addis around 11:30.

Happy 4th of July!!
Sara & Tom