Holiday 2019 Visitors - The Festivities

So as I mentioned in my last big post, the in-laws had arrived, had a good two weeks to get over jet lag, I'd taken Jim birding, and the kids were now on holiday break. So the real fun began. The break began with two meetings of Santa's helpers. One for the Girl Scouts/Cub Scouts with Santa arriving via a fire truck!

The other was the Embassy holiday party with Santa arriving on a motorcycle (I didn't get the arrival but did snap a photo of the kids with Santa).

Yes, Clarissa is wearing tights with Santa cats on them! You'd be surprised what you can randomly find in the stores here!! I had been waiting for the kids to get out of school to take Ann and Jim to Baladna Farms. I have been once before and it was definitely on the 'you have to see this desert marvel' list!!

We timed it so we arrived in time to eat lunch at their cafe (lots of cheese/dairy dishes), took our obligatory 'in the sign' photo (can you find everyone), checked out the art cows, and then head over for milking time.

What? I'm not supposed to milk the fake cow?

The milking parlor with its giant rotary milking system was impressive as usual.

Next we walked over to Baladna Park, this was the highlight for Clarissa. She may or may not have been asking to head over here the entire time!! For only 10QR (so less than $3), we got a bag of bits of greens and vegetables to feed the animals in the petting zoo. There were overly friendly camels.

What did they call this on Seinfeld? Close talker?

There was a sleepy llama (so adorable!) and well as some white ostriches behind it.

There were some miniature donkeys (which totally sounded like 'Donkey' from Shrek in my head) and miniature ponies. The donkey didn't want its photo taken but the pony gave us some goggly eyed look.

The zebra showed off all its teeth when eating the leafy greens.

Clarissa loved the baby bunnies and I think she fed them half our bag of food. They were pretty adorable.

The teen took the time to entice one of the tortoises over to fence to feed it. Tortoises really need to learn better manners and chew with their mouths shut!!

We then took a ride on multi-person bike. The 6-seaters were all gone so we split into two groups (which later changed after this photo was taken).

Taking the race serious.

Some of us were working hard and others were hardly working.....

That evening we got cleaned up to go out to dinner. We had another set of visitors from the States to meet up with!! Richard's cousin/Ann & Jim's niece and her family were flying to Africa on Qatar Airways via Doha. QA has a deal where you can stay overnight at a number of local hotels for a discount. It adds some tourism dollars to the economy, helps travelers with jet lag, and in our case - let us catch up! We met up a Damasca One Restaurant in Souq Waqif for dinner. 

We enjoyed a yummy and entertaining dinner (we had no idea there was live music and a dancer!). He had on a lighted-skirt like thing that he took off and was spinning over his head (and our heads) while dancing and walking around the restaurant. His vest lit up also. I think Clarissa really liked that flashy style.

After dinner, we set up a time to meet back up the NYC cousins before their flight the following evening (did you recognize the kids from the NYC post! They sure have grown a lot). We obviously met back up at Souq Waqif since that is were they were staying and the best place to sightsee! Sparkly objects everywhere....even Ann and Jim couldn't resist a peek.

Of course we headed over to falcon souq because where else can you see beautiful falcons for sale?

We checked out a couple falcon shops and this beautiful falcon that had likely just had or was waiting for a check up at the falcon hospital.

From a class field trip, Clarissa knew a secret entrance into the horse stables. So we took the walkway less travelled.

Jim met a friendly horse.

We also witnessed a camel fight (None of us had ever seen one of those). The video wasn't very good (just like kids, they stopped the ankle bitting when you hit record), but I got a couple photos where you can tell it's not everyday happy camel happenings.

We headed to the playground a bit and then over to the corniche (walkway along the water). Clarissa and I opted to chill by the pearl fountain while the rest of the gang walked out to the very end of the docks to check out the view of downtown.

Afterwards, the weary cousins headed back for a nap before the flight for that evening and we headed home to get ready for Santa's arrival. For a number of evenings we were playing holiday pictionary-type game. We did Christmas songs, movies, foods, objects, etc. I think the funniest picture that nobody could guess was Clarissa's drawing of a manager waving bye aka 'Away in a Manger'. I have apparently failed as a parent...lol.

Christmas came and went in a flash....some flashes had a bit more energy early in the morning and were unable to stay still enough for a photo., while other flashes could barely open their eyes...lol.

If you remember, over the summer, Clarissa and I had picked up fabric and pattern. As you saw, I squeezed in the time to make everyone matching Christmas PJs!

We had the usual chores of grocery shopping for things like cabbages twice as big as your head (luckily we were able to request 1/4 of it), while Ann and Jim were in town (and Jim kindly took care to make sure all our leftovers/goodies got finished off).

We were able to fit in a few more sights and adventures before Ann and Jim's trip ended. One day Richard, Ann and I headed out to Al Zubarah Fort - Qatar's UNESCO heritage site. Jim had tweaked his back on the bike at Baladna and the kids had no interest in old stuff, so they stayed at home. It took us about an hour and half drive to get there.

Al Zubarah Fort and the archeological site at the city nearby is the only UNESCO site in the country. The fort was originally built in 1938 as a Qatari Coast Guard station. 

The fort was built with limestone, coral rock, and mud. It was used for protection and has two floors of soldiers quarters. There was also a deep fresh water well within the fort.

The nearby village (which is what really helps earn the UNESCO designation) has been undergoing archaeological excavation. Al Zubarah (which translates to mean 'sand mounds') has had documentation/history of villages since 1627. This was one of the areas used for pearl diving. So Ann learned all about the country's pearl diving (one exhibits was in the fort and some more in a little trailer). We were told we could walk/drive down to the village and then walk through, but the gate was shut that day. Here's a view of the water from the fort, you can see bits of the city remains poking up.

All in all, it was a great morning. We passed camels, Arabian Oryx and all kinds of interesting scenery on our way.

By this time, we only had a couple days left and our visitors were getting their luggage packed up. There was only thing on their Doha bucket list they hadn't checked off. Due to all the rain, we hadn't gone dune bashing which includes a stop to ride camels. Now Ann wasn't all the interested in bashing dunes, but did want to ride on a camel. I have to admit, I had a great idea! I suggested it to Richard, he agreed it was a great idea....so off he and Ann went (since Jim's back was still not 100% he passed again). They drove out to Sealine - where the SUVs head off-road but have to stop and deflate their tires. So while the drivers deflate their tires there are restrooms, Arabic coffee to drink, falcons to hold, and of course...camels to ride.

Ann loved her camel ride! Mission Accomplished! I am in the process of clearing off a spot on the shelf for my favorite person of the day camel statuette...lol.

Just like that, our visitors had spent a month taking in the sites, tastes, and sounds of Qatar. I think we did a pretty good job of showing them most of Qatar! I put together this little map that showed them where all they explored. 

A few hours after they left, Ms. Isa Lei started demanding to know where her snack dealer was....apparently even the grandkitty got spoiled!

Holiday 2019 Visitors - The Arrival

As I mentioned at the end of the fall post, we had special visitors for holidays! So special that I had to weed through 1500 photos to pick out 150 to edit....we shall see how many make the cut for blog posts (luckily not all of them....and I'll probably split them into a couple posts....lol). Over Thanksgiving week, Mason flew to Texas to enjoy the holiday with his dad and step mom. On the return flight, Richard's parent met up with him at the airport. So though technically he flew back unaccompanied, Mason had travel companions. I think a highlight for my in-laws was upon arrival in Doha, Mason flashed his diplomatic passport and then asked the customs official these are my grandparents, they are traveling with me, can they accompany me in the diplomat line....and the official allowed it (typically just a shorter line for weary frequent travelers with special visa requirements).

Once over jet lag, we took Ann and Jim out to Ipanema, a Brazilian steak house, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Richard and I have been here before. The grilled pineapple is the best (so my non-meat eating self will go and get the vegetarian meal and gorge on grilled pineapple!!). It was a big anniversary this year, which I happened to mentioned when I was setting up the reservation. The restaurant was super sweet and brought a special piece of cheesecake for the couple.

Also, that first weekend after they arrived, Jim gave a presentation to Clarissa's and the other Brownie troop in our local Girl Scout committee on Morse Code. So while getting over jet lag that first week he had to get to work making his sign. The girls enjoyed Jim spelling out their names and other expressions in Morse Code. G.I.R.L. is a big catch phrase for Girl Scouts, so we asked him to spell out 'Girls Rule', have a listen.

For their first two weeks or so, the kids were in school. So Clarissa got spoiled having a peeled apple in her lunch everyday (mom will just wedge it, but Bajoo will peel it!). Mason had a belated birthday party with friends (we were so busy in November there were no weekends that worked that we had to post-pone it)! At the start of the school year, I signed up to help with the Winter Holiday class party for Clarissa and both Ann and Jim came with me. They got to see the kids' school and Clarissa's classroom and classmates/teacher. I took in a pinterest snack! Grinch fruit kabobs. I totally nailed it too!

One of the weeks, while the kids were still in school, Richard took off a few days to do some sightseeing with Ann and Jim. Of course one of those days we went down to the Rugman of Doha (we had promised Jim we'd take him much to Ann's dismay). Richard and I and had decided we wanted to get a bigger rug also (so we had purpose for going). So we told our parents (both sets) and each other that we'd pool all the gift funds to get a rug. That way we could get something really nice. So we learned more rug history.

I think Jim loved it. The Rugman (Riyaz if you want to call him by his first name) knows so much history and could answer all the questions Jim asked (yes, you take your shoes and socks off so you can enjoy how each rug feels by walking on it). He told histories behind the patterns based on which tribe they were woven by.

We looked at rolls of rugs. Then once unrolled, walked on and admire the beauty of these rugs! So many choices. So many colors, patterns, and so soft!

We finally decided on a silk rug! We knew at some point we would get a silk rug and once you walk on a real silk rug....it feels so soft! You don't want to buy a wool rug anymore. The coolest part of the whole process was the Riyaz's father was in town. Just like older American's like to head south to Florida in the colder months ('snowbirds' they are called), in this instance Riyaz's older parents from Kashmir, India came to Doha to escape the colder weather! Why is this such a big deal? The silk rug we chose was designed by Riyaz's father, Mr. Gulam Rasool Bhat. Mr. Bhat also did some of the weaving on the rug (it takes so long multiple people weave). So to buy a rug and then shake the hand of the man who literally created said rug was pretty amazing!! Here's a picture of us, the rug we choose (it has red and blue....for both mine and Richard's preferred rug colors), along with Ann, Jim, Riyaz and Mr. Bhat!

I did not take a week of vacation, so after that day of fun - I had to work. Richard took his parents out to Katara. Katara is a historical village with all sorts of art, theatre, science, cafes, beaches, mosques, etc.

The weather was nice, warm for Ann and Jim and pleasantly cool for the rest of us!

While they were here we did have a large number of unseasonably rainy days....so many that our Christmas elves spent a day watching the rain....lol.

One day, while the kids were at school and Richard at work. I took Ann and Jim to the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum. Given I'd already been, I let them explore (I sat in the coffee shop and worked on one of the summer blog posts).

After they finished exploring and Jim chatted a while about history to the guy in the coffee shop, we asked him where the Oryx were. The guy directed us where to go. We found not only the oryx but this cute little Arabian Sand Gazelle (it was a heavy sprinkle of rain, so that's why it looks all wet).

We saw a ton of the gazelle and Arabian Oryx. I had read that sometimes the way the oryx turn their head the two horns line up and it will appear to be a unicorn! I snapped a shot of one the "unicorns".

I saw a juvenile and it's momma.

I had a staring contest with this oryx. I liked that the background there was no fencing, so it was more wild looking...and it was happy to pose!

Qatar's National Day falls on Dec 18th, for the weeks prior to the day, the country has all sorts of exhibitions in celebration National day (I mentioned them last year). Given the close proximity, we took Ann and Jim up to Darb Al Saai.

Lots of animals were seen and some were petted.

My horse loving friend from college said the Brown Arabian horse is playing around and either bucking or 'crow hopping'.

Falcons were held!

A maglis tent was sat in, Arabic coffee was consumed, and important decisions were made.

School finished for the winter break on December 17th, we celebrated Qatar National Day the 18th, and then we were in Christmas Break mode. I will wrap this post up here and save the rest of our visitor/holiday break shenanigans for the next post.