Peregrination

Rainbow chickens.... no words. Tajine - Moroccan Cuisine Very hard not to buy one of these gorgeous lamps! Camel. I'd recommend it, but not this particular dish. Souq Waqif, Looking towards the Cultural Centre (the spire). 22/8/11 The boys and teacher entrance to Al Jazeera Academy. Last night we went out to Souq Waqif (above) which sells all manner of traditional items and is beautifully organised into areas (fabrics, spices, jewellery etc). We left about an hour after sunset and it was still unbelievably hot. After an interesting experience with the taxi's we made it to the souq and picked a Moroccan restaraunt 'Tajine' for dinner. I tried eating camel but it was not overly exciting, and tasted similar to lamb. Unfortunately, i imagine it would have tasted better if it had not been overcooked. After dinner we wandered around the souq. The animal section was fascinating. They were in cages that were too small and the...

Rollercoasters, Icecream and Shops; A Pictorial Tour of Villaggio Mall, Doha Qatar

So there is a roller coaster in the mall. Yeah. A roller coaster. In the mall. Ludicrous. Villaggio Mall is the premiere mall in Doha, and I finally had a wander around most of it. The mall is styled on The Venetian Hotel In Las Vegas, which I find ironic. It looks Italian, but it's based on an American hotel. The mall is beautifully presented and is split into sections - such as food or the high end shops. We were too intimidated by the Lamborghini parked outside the entrance to the shops like Burberry, Fendi, Bugalri, Valentino, Tiffany & Co, Cartier etc to actually go into the expensive part, but I will one day! Once inside we went to the fair ground. There were carousels, and a roller coaster and various rides (This was about 11.30 and they were still busy with children and young-at-heart adults). You can catch a gondola down the middle of the mall. They are motorised, though, and the punter just stands of ...

Settling Back in to the Motherland

Happy December everyone! It just occurred to me that I have not treated you to my linguistic stylings since February and Barcelona, and in the tradition of "Christmas Letters" I thought I might give you the modern equivalent. There is a prize at the end, a reward for reading my ramblings. Leaving Qatar and coming home was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. I haven't kept it too secret that my time over in the heavily Islamic country was professionally demoralising, and I was so glad to return to a semblance of normality. I have probably said this to most of you; but it is not something I regret for a second, but I am very, very glad it is over. In between organising for my liberation, I had some great farewells with the fabulous people who help get me through the tough times. Synchronised putting at the End of Year Golf Tournament. Yes. Golf. One of the last brunches. Afternoon Tea at the Grand Hyatt, daaahhhling. My awesom...

Tori and Alex's Indian Odyssey: Part Two - Delhi to Varanasi

Welcome to Part Two! I'm aiming for one a weekend, so bear with me. This week was good in Doha - took my kids on a school trip to the Souq and didn't lose any of them - so job well done, I believe. I even got a sneaky pic of the policemen using my children as decoys. Here you go: I can't show you the one from the front as my kids are in the shot, but you get the idea. They look so awesome in person - really majestic, and the horses are a total handful and they handle them like bosses. I have been busy decorating the apartment with my India purchases and it is not going well. The concrete walls are fairy impenetrable, and i don't have enough photo frames or flat surfaces for my gorgeous knickknacks, but I will persevere. I have bought a Kindle - I was never that inspired by them before, but since I have been in Doha I have been hit by the huge lack of books and missed reading hugely, especially as I am keen to read 'The Hobbit' agai...

Kraking on with Summer!

Tori’s European Escapade Summer 2012 July 2/7 – 5/7 Krakow - Poland Leaving Doha… Actually embarking on my big trip proved to be a feat in itself. Over the last few months the staff at my school have been plagued by administration issues that have been confusing, trying and stressful, but I maintained a generally positive attitude by hoping I was accumulating a whole bunch of good karma that would be used during my holiday. However, when the school managed to loose about 10 staff passports (including mine) on the last day of school, forget to process the exit visas (we have to have permission to leave the country!) and not pay us the 2 months salary we were owed, the stress levels were at an all time high. Luckily I was not one of those who had to miss their flight, as my passport was found in time. So I found myself at the airport late on the 1 st of July, with a meticulously packed suitcase and all the required documents in hand, with ...

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