Weekend Snapshot: Tall Buildings, Treadmills, and Parks

The weekend in Dubai is Friday and Saturday. Fridays are holy days in the Islamic culture, so all offices and schools are closed.

On Friday, mrC and I went to the Dubai Mall to see the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. We purchased our tickets online (about 35 dollars each) to guarantee a spot at the time we wanted. The entrance to the Burj Khlifa is located near the food court of the mall. We printed our tickets at the online kiosk, grabbed a cup of Caribou coffee, and waited for our time slot.

After going through security, we made our way though a series of hallways displaying information about the construction of the tower to the high speed elevator area. We took about a one minute ride to the 124th floor observation deck. The views were amazing!

Afterward we walked around the waterfront and scoped out places for when we return for dinner and to watch the Dubai Fountain show.

Before leaving we walked around the mall a little. The Dubai Mall is huge. In addition to the traditional shopping, inside you will find the Dubai Ice Rink, Fashion Avenue where you'll find 70 luxury brand flagship stores (think Chanel, Versace,  Hermes, Jimmy Choo), a real dinosaur skeleton exhibit, a flight simulator, the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo and more.

With all that walking I hit 10,000 steps on my Fitbit before dinner, but the darn thing is having trouble syncing here in Dubai. Sadly, most of my days look like I have had ZERO steps.

Speaking of dinner, we ate at Texas Roadhouse and I had the best Chicken Caesar Salad. I'm still thinking about it.

Saturday was a lazy day for me. mrC had his check-ride (he passed!), so I went for a run and did some swimming. Since it was already 80 degrees at 6:30 AM, I chose the fitness center. It was much easier than my outdoor run the other day.

My first elevator runfie!

When mrC finished his work, we went to dinner at TGIFs (so many American restaurants!). I had a so-so chicken enchilada. It's nice to eat out and not have to clean up, but I'll be happy when we are settled and have a kitchen of our own.

After another simple buffet breakfast at the hotel Sunday morning, mrC and I took a walk to drop off some laundry and enjoy the local park.

Do you track your daily steps?
What's the biggest mall you've been to?