A Sunkissed Qatari Weekend

Thursday

Jon's weekend started on Thursday night. It's a little different here, the weekend is actually Friday and Saturday than you start your work week on Sunday! Thursday night we went to the City Center Mall, which is close to our hotel. We did a little shopping and I saw the restaurant Chili's out of the corner of my eye and just had to eat dinner there! It is so weird because Qatar is more like America than Germany, in the way that there are so many American restaurants here. That is definitely a treat for us. I am a little ashamed by my food order, but I have to say it was delicious! First we had chips and salsa, (my favorite thing at Chili's) than I ate the chicken crispers! and Jon had chicken breast, he's Mr. Healthy ;) We were going to have dessert but there was no way I could cram anything else down. I was so happy to eat American food, it had definitely been to long!

Thank you Chili's


After dinner we walked through the mall. This mall is humongous! There are like four levels and it would take you all day to walk through the entire mall. We found a couple of really neat stores but didn't buy anything. There is an ice skating rink inside the mall. The last time we were here there was a hockey game being played at this rink but I wasn't able to take a picture because I forgot my camera. Here is a picture of the rink.



Jon and I


It had been a long day for everyone so we called it an evening and headed back to the hotel.

Friday

We got up early and had breakfast at the hotel. This breakfast is so yummy. It is a buffet so there is so much to choose from. I love fresh fruit so I load up every morning with fresh fruit and usually have granola with milk. After breakfast, we decided to take a stroll along the Corniche, which curves along Doha Bay. Although it was extremely hot this day we did enjoy our walk, seeing neat buildings, boats, shops, and parks. During the day most people stay in doors but we toughed through the heat. Here are the pictures from our walk.

The Museum of Islamic Art

Another view

We stopped to watch this man fish. It was the most interesting way of fishing we've seen. He had a water bottle that he had cut the top off of. He put some sort of fish food and water inside the bottle, than threw the bottle into the water. He watched as fish ate from the bottle than quickly pulled the bottle in, magically catching a fish inside. It was amazing.

A pretty water fountain

A large clam with a pearl inside!

I loved the palm trees

The view across the bay

My awesome sun burn

Poor Jonny! We're both so fair skinned!


After walking along the corniche we grabbed lunch at the city center mall. We ate subway, than decided to see a movie at the movie theater inside the mall.


Burn After Reading. It was a great movie that we highly suggest. Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malcovich! There were so many great actors and actresses. It is a black comedy and there really are some funny parts. We found ourselves laughing through most of it. This is definitely one we will buy to add to our DVD collection.

For dinner we went to a really nice Italian restaurant in the Rydges Hotel near the Corniche. We had a really nice bottle of wine from South Africa, a pinotage, and some great Italian food.

A picture Kevin took of Jon and me at the dinner


Saturday

Zoo Day!!! Jon, Kevin, and I had been looking forward to checking out the Qatar Zoo. It was a cloudy day which we were soooo thankful for, since Friday we all got sun burnt.
Pictures or our zoo day!

Zebras.




Giraffes




Scimitar-Horned Oryx


Red-necked Ostriches!


Pretty Parrot


This shot was so hard because my camera wanted to focus on the fence and not the Lion. This was the only shot I got.


Flamingos




Jon and I in front of the giraffes


Nile Crocodile


A vulture. This guy was huge!


I was impressed with the zoo; being that it is in the Middle East, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. There were several exhibits and I couldn't believe how many animals they had. When I was photographing the zebra's, I counted 15 zebras in the same exhibit.

After the zoo we grabbed lunch at the Villagio mall and headed out in search of the infamous "Singing Sand Dunes." We drove for two hours without luck. I was super disappointed, the directions we had just didn't make sense, so we never found them. Sound is naturally produced from these sand dunes hence the name "singing sand dunes." I am very intrigued by this natural wonder. Maybe we will get a chance to see them on our next adventure to Qatar.

A Souk Night Out

Last night, after a very long day, Jon, Kevin and I went to the souk to enjoy the decent weather Doha was having. Jon and I got a chance to see the souk the last time we were in Doha, but Kevin had never been, so we thought we'd show him around. As I've mentioned before I really enjoy the market. It is so interesting to see all of the vendors and the items they sell.

There are a number of restaurants throughout the market, so we walked along trying to decide which one we should try. We chose a restaurant by the name of Le Gourmet! They had a large variety of things on the menu, but Jon and I chose to share the grilled lamb. I am still trying to acquire a taste for lamb, but I have to say, it was pretty good.

After dinner we continued through the souk, trying to walk off some of the dinner! We stopped at a falconry shop so Jon could show Kevin the falcons! Jon has become obsessed with falcons and falconry. He bought a book online the other day that had something to do with owning, breeding and hunting with falcons! Can you imagine us with a falcon. I told Jon if he wanted a falcon than I was going to get my Irish Wolfhound. That would be interesting. A pet falcon and the biggest dog in the world. We're so weird.

Here are some pictures of our evening.

Here I am, Jon was trying to get the lighting right! He got me an amazing SLR camera for Christmas, and I have yet to learn how to use it! I love photography as you can probably tell from this blog, but I need to take a class so I can learn to capture better quality pictures.

Arriving at the souk

Kevin hiding behind Jon

Le Gourmet

Jon, Me and Kevin

The view from the balcony of the restaurant

Walking through the souk

We thought this building was very neat and beautifully illuminated so,
of course I took a picture.

They use these wheel barrows to cart items from the souk to vehicles.



I thought this guy was too cute. They have donkey rides for small children. Jon really wanted a ride, but I think he is too big for this little guy.


Happy Thursday!

What a Morning!

The most embarrassing thing happened to me today!! If this has happened to anyone,I am sure you will understand my complete and utter shock/embarrassment.

I had just gotten back to out hotel room from a run and HAD to take a shower due to the fact that I was covered in sweat! I didn't even think twice to lock the door or put the "Privacy Please" sign on the outside of the door, because our room had already been cleaned while I was at the gym. I am sure you can see where this is going!!!!

I always take a shower with the bathroom door closed. I think I have seen too many scary movies where a woman is attacked in the shower, so for this reason, I close and usually lock the door if I am alone. After turning off the water to the shower, I grabbed my towel and dried off. Than I wrapped my towel around my head to suck all the water out of my hair. Needless to say I was stark naked except for a towel on my head. I opened the bathroom door, and just as soon as I did a man working in the hotel walked in and saw all of my "wobbly bits" as Bridget Jones so lightly puts it! I screeched, ran back into the bathroom, slamming the door and he ran out the door apologizing several times as he left!

Oh but that's not it. I waited in the bathroom because of my sheer embarrassment and threw on a robe! When I slowly crept from the bathroom what did I find, the sweet little mini bar re filler man! He was replacing a package of crackers we had eaten from the minibar! COME ON! Why did it have to be at the exact moment in time, that I was leaving the bathroom naked as a jaybird! He handed me the crackers and neither of us looked each other in the eyes! lol
The things that happen to me! I should write a book.

Well I don't know who was more embarrassed, me or the minibar man. But at least this is something we both won't forget for a long time!

Hope someone gets a bit of laughter from my awkward situation! I know I'm laughing now, why not, I feel sorry for that poor guy!

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Tickled Yellow

Meaning of the color yellow= "Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colors and instill optimism and energy, as well as spark creative thoughts."

Today I was on Better Homes and Gardens website and decided to take a color personality quiz! It was an 8 question quiz.
Here are what the results said:
"Like yellow's strongest symbol, the sun, you radiate warmth. Others love to be around you because you have a gift for always looking on the bright side, and your ready smile can be infectious. Chances are your calendar is packed -- yellow lovers tend to be always on the go! Your signature color indicates someone imaginative and creative, so don't be afraid to express yourself through the way you dress and the way you decorate your home."

I do feel I have all of these qualities! For a while now I feel like I haven't been the best person I can be. I have been through so many changes lately, with my step father's stroke, getting married and moving to Germany. I have noticed I am not the happy Steph everyone knows me to be, but I am working harder to be a better wife, friend, family member and a better person all around.
I am definitely creative and imaginative and I love being around people and spending time with my friends and family. I enjoy making people smile and laugh. It's what I have always been good at and love to do. I thought this was a really neat quiz and it made me happy today.

WOW......It has been forever since I have been able to blog, but I'm BACK! Jon and I feel a little out of the loop here, for the fact that we have been without internet or phone for two and a half weeks. It is a bit sad how dependent we can be on technology. But most importantly, we miss staying in touch with our family and friends. We actually won't have internet or phone in our apartment until October 24, but we are back in Qatar at the moment so we are able to use the internet at the hotel. Thank you Doha! Jon has an audit here and wanted me to tag along seeing as how his business trip is two weeks long. I enjoy traveling with him, getting to see new and interesting places. During this trip we plan on seeing the Qatar Zoo and might possibly go four wheeling through the sand dunes! eeeek.

Some very exciting news, we have finally moved out of the American Arms hotel and into our apartment! It is unbelievably wonderful to be out of that hotel. I can't express how happy we are, and we don't have to share our home with cockroaches anymore ;) It is actually a funny story. We were so worried that we would bring a couple of the little guys a long with us to our new place, so right after we unloaded the vehicle and brought all of our suit cases from the hotel into our apartment, we set off a bug bomb to kill anything that might have stowed away. I would hate to think that we brought a family of cockroaches along to start a new colony in our home!!!! Thanks to the bug bomb, I think we were successful. (although Jon told me cockroaches can survive a nuclear bomb.) I still think that bug bomb did the trick! Whatever helps me sleep at night :)
I forgot how much work went into unpacking and getting everything in order! We still have so much to do and not much time to get it all done before my parents come to visit in November. I guess you don't realize how much STUFF you have until you start putting it all away. I am really looking forward to my parents coming! My mom is an excellent interior decorator and she is going to make our place look amazing. While I think of myself as being a good little decorator, she is tons better!

Our house has a large living room, dining room that leads to a balcony, kitchen, guest room and guest bathroom, master bathroom and bedroom and an office. We also have a cellar which is a perfect place to store wine. Believe it or not, none of the rooms have closets! I have never experienced anything like this before. We had to buy free standing wardrobes! (and still need several more to put everything away.) Also, there are no cabinets and no drawers in either of the bathrooms, so we are having to work around that little issue. Oh and we just got a German washer and dryer from housing, which takes twice as long to do laundry. I'm not even kidding when I say this. It takes an hour to wash one load and about two 1/2 hours to dry the load. But I'm not complaining! We really do enjoy our new home and love the street that we live on. Trees line our street, it is so beautiful! Especially this time of year, (which is my most favorite time) the leaves are turning orange, red and yellow. There are leaves all over the ground. It is very romantic.

We are in walking distance of a grocery store, a wine bar, a pharmacy, a lovely park, and only about a mile or two from downtown Wiesbaden. I am thankful we found a place close to the downtown area, because I really enjoy walking there when the weather permits it. I love to get fresh fruit, vegetables and meat from the market. Now that we are finally able to cook it makes the food taste so much better. I really enjoy cooking a lot! Back in Oklahoma I never had time to cook, because my work schedule had me extremely busy and Jon was always the better chef!

Back to our place, I have taken some pictures of the apartment with nothing inside.
Here is the outside of the building. We live on the second floor. (The center balcony.)

Another angle



Here are pictures of the inside. It is hard to get a feel for the place with nothing in the rooms, but it will give you an idea.
This is the main hallways as you enter the front door.

To the left of the hallway, the living room



The next room to the left of the hallway is the dining room

With the balcony

The third bedroom to the left of the hallway is the guest bedroom

Back at the beginning of the hallway as you enter the door to the right is the guest bathroom

The kitchen



The second room on the right of the hallway is the office

The third room to the right of the hallway is our walk through closet leading into the master bedroom. (I am inside the walk through closet taking a picture toward the main hallway.)

Our bedroom

The master bathroom at the very end of the hallway




I will be adding more pictures as we get our place in order. We've already gotten so much done and decorated. Things are coming along quite well. I'm proud of us. It's slowly starting to feel like home. I think Qatar will give us the rest we need to get right back to work when we get home.

Have a wonderful Sunday!