Completely Covered to Covered in Sunscreen, or Day 84 in Abu Dhabi and Doha

This morning, it was a bit tough to roll out of bed at 9am to go see the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, but once we were out walking in the sun, it made a big difference. And it was worth it.

We met up with Debra, a friend of Maye and Omar's, who just moved to Abu Dhabi last month. We taxied to the mosque, just in time for the tour.

To get into the mosque, women are required to wear abayas, a black cloak, and a headscarf, called a shayla around here. It was my first time donning the abaya, and I had some difficulty getting the slippery headscarf to stay on my head.

Michael was wearing shorts, so they sent him back to put on a thobe too.

Sheikh Zayed Mosque just finished construction inside, after about 9 years of work. The gardens are still a construction site, but the dazzling white domes and minarets are blinding.

The tour, done by a guy named - what else - Mohammad, was very informative. The white marble (though very hard to look at in the sun), reflected the light so it stayed cool. The inlaid mosaics had stones from 21 different countries. The seven chandeliers, made in Germany for a cost of $3 million, had colors picked by the Sheikh himself. The carpet in the main prayer hall was shipping from Iran in about a dozen pieces, then stitched together to create the largest carpet in the world.

We took some pictures and wandered a bit before heading back to Maye and Omar's and waking them up.

They ordered supplies for breakfast, and I got my first taste of "South Park," their passion. Those two and Michael were comparing favorite episodes and trivia about the show that makes from of everything that moves and everything that doesn't move.

It was beach time! I love the juxtaposition of being completely covered this morning with being able to walk around in a bikini just a few kilometers away and a few hours later.

The corniche in Abu Dhabi has beaches right along it, so we sat in the sun or the shade, then swam out to a sand bar where we could stand and watch the Air Race that was going on.

The races were fun to watch, and every so often the announcers voice from the VIP beach would drift down to us.

Michael told me later that some of the planes got disqualified for reckless flying, like being just a meter about the water. Others cut the inflated, giant cones that they we supposed to be navigating around.

Maye and Omar invited us back for a lunch-supper of pasta and steaks, and I got exposure #2 to "South Park."

It was about an hour and a half before Michael and I had to be at the airport to catch our flight back to Doha, and an urban planner from Abu Dhabi that I met on a plane highly suggested going to the Yas Hotel on Yas Island to check out the view. It was practically on the way to the airport, so we all piled in the car one last time and took a trip.

Yas Island is man-made, and centers around a Formula One racetrack. They are building "Ferrari World," which isn't open yet, and I'm not sure exactly what that is.

But this hotel was recently opened, though, as we found, there is still a bit of construction going on.

The sleek, modern design meant that when we took the elevator up to the first floor, we entered a positively blindingly white room, looking like something out of "The Matrix." We were shown through a few different bars and rooms, but got told that the roof wasn't completed yet.

Once we stepped in the elevator, Michael hit the top floor button anyway. A sneak up some stairs, and we got to see the pool on the roof and some workers doing construction.

The building is divided by a bridge, which crosses over the racetrack. We wandered through the bar above it, but the tilt of the glass made it hard to make out how people would watch the racing.

We got the car out of the garage (we had picked it up from valet parking, then parked it again because we had missed a section) and easily followed the signs to the airport.

A flight that I completely slept through (take-off, turbulence, landing) and a taxi ride later, and I'm back to sitting on my couch in Doha, blogging.

Michael and I were comparing notes on the weekend, and both of us loved the hosts we stayed with. Not only were they convenient, living close to where we wanted to be, but they were also incredible and toured around with us, allowing us to fit so much more into our weekend than I thought possible... first experience with couch-surfing, a complete success.