Wednesday 1st - my first day of retirement! After a stressful couple of months, I treated myself to a 1h relaxing massage, and then an hair cut.
Friday 3rd - I visited Kings Park, Perth's iconic botanic gardens. I had just missed the Spring Festival held during the month of September, but the wildflowes were still in bloom. The park was also celebrating it's 60th anniversary.
I walked to the famous overhanging balcony, which offers a stunning view over the city skyline.
At the top of the park sits Fraser’s Restaurant, and close by is the State War Memorial, honouring the soldiers of the Great War (1914–1918). Kings Park has over 50 additional memorials, plaques, and honour rolls, making it one of Australia’s most significant memorial parks.
I also went to this overhanging balcony from where you can get a view of the cityscape.
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| "Hello, welcome" in the Noongar language |
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| Fraser's - Kings Park Restaurant |
That evening, Jose and I met friends at Perth’s Regal Theatre to enjoy an ABBA tribute band — a fun night of singing and a little “dancing” too!
Sunday 5th - My boss organised a wonderful farewell lunch for me at Numa Italian Restaurant, in Manning, attended by the Doctors, my colleagues, and even Jose 😀.
I chose Pasta with prawns followed by a delicious Tiramisu. After lunch, a couple of Doctors, as well as my boss, gave heartfelt speeches. I then read out my own farewell speech.
I was spoiled with beautiful gifts: wine and champagne, a cabin travel bag from colleagues, a gold necklace with a diamond pendant from my boss and a silver bracelet with a Broome pearl from the two original Doctors I worked with.
Back home, we finished packing for our trip the following day.
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| Doctors and colleagues around the table |
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| My farewell gifts |
Monday 6th - a friend/neighbour who is looking after our house drove us to the airport for our 10,45pm flight to Doha, Qatar.
Tuesday 7th - During the flight I watched 3 movies:
"Bob Trevino likes it", a 2024 comedy/drama -A lonely 20-something Lily Trevino accidentally befriends a stranger online who shares the same name as her own self-centered father - loved it!
After an 11h flight, we landed at Hamad International Airport at 5AM local time. About 1h later Karina was there to welcome us and take us home, where we rested for the reminder of the day.
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Driving past the National Museum of Qatar View from Karina's lounge - the pool was under repair.... |
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| Inlet of water, from West Bay just below the pool, and to the left the 2 tall towers are in The Pearl |
Wednesday 8th - Jose and I took an Uber to the Al-Sadd district to photograph some murals, then had lunch at a nearby shopping centre. We continued by train to Corniche Station and walked along the waterfront admiring the statues and buildings.
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| Toub Toub Ya Bahar by Qatari artist Salman Al-Malek ("Oh sea, have mercy on the sailors!") |
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| Calligraphy Sculpture by Sabah Arbilli |
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| Islamic Art Museum |
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| Corniche - Spiral Mosque, next to Souq Waqif (market) |
Jose, who was getting tired of walking and was easily persuaded into a dhow trip across the bay to West Bay — and we ended up being the only passengers onboard, which made it even more enjoyable. The sun was setting behind us as we sailed, so it was quite magical.
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| Dhow boats on the Corniche across from West Bay |
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| Arriving in West Bay |
After alighting, we walked to Costa Coffee, had a coffee, and used their wi-fi to order an Uber home. Outside, the city lights were coming alive, ideal for night photos.
When we arrived home the bright moon was peeking at the end of Karina's street.
Thursday 9th - Karina invited us for lunch at Boho Social in Katara - a beautifully decorated restaurant overlooking Katara beach, with great food and service.
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| Salmon |
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| Beef? |
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| Pumpkin Mille-Feuille |
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| Creme Brulee |
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| View from our table over Katara beach |
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| All you need is love and dessert |
She later left for work (she’s now working part-time with a start-up!), and we stayed to wander around Katara.
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| At the Katara amphitheatre - it has capacity for 5000 speftators. |
Soon after, a free golf-cart tour picked us up and droves us around for a while.
I then asked if we could be dropped off at the Golden Mosque, which I had missed on our December visit. The mosque which only allows Muslins inside is covered in tiny golden tiles.
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| The blue mosque and Pigeon towers |
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| The Blue Mosque |
We then wandered into Snan Food Hall, a glass roofed high end shop where you can find foods from all over the world.
Jose sat down for a coffee, and I went around the corner to take photos of the red "gift box" building - a toy shop and a kids museum.
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| October - Breast Cancer Month |
Around 4 PM we took an Uber home to get ready. By 5 PM, Karina was driving us to the Provok Bar, on the 33rd floor of the Fairmont Hotel in the iconic Katara Towers at the Lusail Marina, for pre-dinner drinks at sunset.
Thomas joined us shortly after. I was once again blown away by the décor and the panoramic views.
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| In the lift |
The atrium of the Hotel
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| Outside the restaurant |
Friday 10th - After lunch at home, we walked around Pearl Island.
The Pearl Mosque at sunset - will need to visit this one next time.
That evening, we returned for drinks on the 19th floor apartment of one of Thomas’s colleagues - great views again! The couple provided the guests with traditional German outfits, and Karina and I dressed up.
The group then split into three Ubers and headed to the Oktoberfest held in a huge tent, somewhere near an hotel.
There was plenty of food: cheeses, crackers, dips, pizzas, a hot-food section and a dessert area overflowing with German treats.
We sang along with the fun band, danced on the benches, and had a wonderful time — and no, I wasn’t drunk 😆 (I only drank juice — I hate beer!).
Very well done on getting this post done and published... I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels home.
All the best Jan