Last adventure :(...for now!

*** NO MORE PICTURELESS POST! ***

I finally got around to finishing the blog! Pics are now all uploaded for all to see!

My last day in Bahrain :(...and still adventures to be had!

We hired a driver today to do our last bit of sightseeing. We went to the famous Tree of Life and the A'ali Burial Mounds. The Tree of Life is a large thriving tree in the middle of the desert with no known water supply. How it sustains itself is a mystery. Interestingly, there is an ancient Islamic village that is currently being excavated surrounding the tree...take a look!

The TREE!

A neat thing about visiting the Tree of Life is that it has been left as is...there are no roads leading to the tree - you see it and drive towards it! There is no parking lot, no souvenir stand...though there was that ice cream truck!

There is literally NOTHING nearby!

The excavators digging away...

One sad thing about the tree - there is a ton of graffiti on the branches :(

On the way to the burial mounds, we passed through a very affluent, green and landscaped area...where the King and his royal family dwell...

The A'ali Burial Mounds caught our interest while at the National Museum. Once someone dies they put his or her ashes in a clay pot, which is placed in a mound of dirt. In A'ali, there is a large field of these mounds. They are also dispersed randomly throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.

Check it out! It was mound after mound after mound...

Well, we did all that we set out to do during these two weeks! After a nice Mexi lunch at Casa Mexicana, it was back home to relax and pack up before my flight home late tonight.

Stay tuned ...there may be more adventures to come in October! Thanks for reading!

BIKE RIDE BAHRAIN!!!

Today we headed out early and literally rode across Bahrain! Mike was very excited for the ride he could hardly contain himself! I was excited too...but didn't want to get out of bed! Our goal was to ride to the Bahrain Fort and Barbar Temple. Here we are at 6:45am, out the door, and on our way! Check out all that we saw!

Cool bunch of flags...

The first pit stop...already HOT and sweaty!

A famous Bahrain site...the Pearl Roundabout...remember the Hard Rock mural???...

We made it! Way to navigate Smokey!

Us and the fort in the background...much bigger than Arad Fort! Check it out!

UH OH...poopie stance again!!!

Looks beachy, but not so much...

Now, onto the next destination!

Interesting roundabout encountered along the way...

Found it!

We saw this temple at the Bahrain National Museum and were excited to see it...but it wasn't quite what we expected...but proud of ourselves for seeking it out!

Mission accomplished! Now time to get home and in the pool!

Pit stop at the beach...

Interesting site along the side of the road...

Bahrain royalty...not sure which of the three is actually in charge!

Aaaahhh back at home in the comforts of AC!!!

Laying low...

With Mike working all week, it's been relaxation time for me! Not too much to write about or photograph...but here's a look at what we've been up to!

Homemade nachos! Guess which pan was mine?

Mike loved it!!!

Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe...with this cool mural depicting the sites of Bahrain...

Some night time sites during our after dinner walk...

Candy shops GALORE!

Another mosque...

The Grand Mosque through a speeding taxi window! It was the best I could do!

Mallrats!

Mike came home from work early...so we headed out for an afternoon outing to the Bahrain City Center - a huge, super modern shopping mall! My mom and sister would love this place!

We had a nice lunch and then walked the entire mall! We also did some grocery shopping so Mike could stock up on goods! Normally, he shops at the base, but can only buy what he can carry in his backpack and pedal home...but today we took a cab and he had me, so he went on a shopping spree!

The Bahrain City Center - full of shops, a movie theater, a waterpark, and restaurants!

A peek inside...

Hey Renee - remember this store?

MANGO in arabic...

The nicest mall bathrooms ever!!!

And they had PINKBERRY frozen yogurt! YUMMO!

We both enjoyed our cool, but pricey treat!

In case you ever needed to know "taxi" in arabic...

Some of the sites outside the mall...we had to step out every so often to warm up! They keep that AC blowing strong in there!

Construction everywhere!...

A "hypermarket?"...

The Bahrain World Trade Center from below...

Tomorrow will be a pretty mellow day. Mike actually has to work a full day! But we'll be back with more adventures soon! Stay tuned!