Qatar

We spent the past weekend in Doha....home of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. I am so thankful that we have been able to travel around and visit so many countries that are close to us. We left around 4:00 PM on Wednesday and it took us just under 5 hours to get there. I am starting to feel like all Middle Eastern cities are looking/feeling the same. Doha had the same feel as Bahrain just a little newer. They are busy revitalizing/building and prepping for the World Cup so there are bunch of unique skyscrapers being built. But like Bahrain, Saudi and even Abu Dhabi...there is not much heritage/historical sites to see. Mostly it is shopping mall after shopping mall. However Doha did have a recently renovated to look old souq which was fun to wander around in.

Thursday morning we woke up and headed to Rics Kountry Kitchen.They have one as well in Bahrain that we visited so we knew we could get some good Texas sized portions. I got a delicious breakfast burrito! I miss big Texas food!

After Graham devoured his first taste of pancake....we then went to the Souq and looked around. We let Peyton be our guide and pick which alley to go down and enjoyed seeing all the textiles,animals, birds, souvenirs and experiencing the souk atmosphere. The picture below was of the restaurant/cafe alley....loved the architecture and feel of the old Middle East.

I had my hair appointment a funky salon called Dados Beauty and was able to get my hair cut and colored. I still think it is kind of silly that I have to go to a whole new country for a decent hair cut but at least it gives me a trip away from Saudi!

We then we went to the Intercontinental for dinner. I had found a highly rated Mexican restaurant...too bad you have to be 21 to enter! They did set us up in the lobby/bar area and we were able to order our margaritas, fish tacos and still enjoy the food portion of the evening. It kind of worked out since Peyton was tired and cranky and both kids needed bathroom breaks so John was stuck on potty duty which was no fun.

The next morning I had a massage which was a wonderful break! I am really starting to think that for Christmas I want a spa day/night away! We then we went to find some lunch at a cafe in the Villaggio mall...which is an Italian themed mall complete with Gondola rides on the indoor canal. Good trip away and although many people use Doha as their weekend away from Saudi place, once the protests in Bahrain we will stick with Bahrain. It is just too far of a drive with the kids!

Our next trip (after our trip back to the states) is hopefully Oman in early February...I am going to start looking into that and if we can get some time off for John we will be heading there (flying not driving) before his 60 day turnaround starts at work.