Monthly Wrap-up - October & Signs - Part 1

Linking with Tom's Signs. Check this link for more signs from around the world.

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.

                            

"Hello, welcome" in the Noongar language

     

Fraser's - Kings Park Restaurant

State War Memorial

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 ate 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.

Doctors and colleagues around the table

My farewell gifts

At home with the bunch of flowers I received from my boss

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!

"The last showgirl" - a 2024 drama with Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis. 

When the glittering Las Vegas revue she has headlined for decades announces it will soon close, showgirl Shelly sets out to plan her next act. Reconciling the decisions she's made, Shelly decides to repair her complicated relationship with her daughter - ok, but I found it too slow going.

"The Friend" - a 2025 drama/comedy with Bill Murray and Naomi Watts and the amazing Great Dane "Apollo", based on the novel by Sigrid Nunez. A somewhat slow-paced movie that explores grief and mourning for humans and dogs, but it was sweet and enjoyable.

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.

Driving past the National Museum of Qatar View from Karina's lounge - the pool was under repair....

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.

Toub Toub Ya Bahar by Qatari artist Salman Al-Malek ("Oh sea, have mercy on the sailors!")

Calligraphy Sculpture by Sabah Arbilli

                                       

Islamic Art Museum

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.

Dhow boats on the Corniche across from West Bay

  

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.

        

salmon & beef ?

                

Creme Brulee and Pumpkin Mille-Feuille

View from our table over Katara beach

          

All you need is love and dessert

                                       

Karina later left for work (she’s now working with a Start-up saving the planet from carbon emissions), and we stayed to wander around Katara. 

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.

                

The blue mosque and Pigeon towers

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.

                          

                           

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.

In the lift

  

They had an impressive collection of coloured glass containers in glass shelves.

    

       

       The atrium of the Hotel 

 

A short Uber ride later took us to Berenjak, a Persian restaurant, in Al-Maha Island, where we had dinner outdoors. hared plates of entrees consisting of bread, delicious Persian dips - which I loved, so opted to finish them all, instead of having grilled meats.

                    

And the  views over the bay were great too!

Outside the restaurant

Friday 10th - After lunch at home, we walked around Pearl Island.

 

We had a pit-stop for coffee and cake :)  Doesn't it just look so appetizing?

                                    

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, before going to Oktoberfest. The couple provided the guests with traditional Bavarian 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 don't like the taste of beer!).

                            

     

Towards the end a few ladies were going from table to table selling shots of Jägermeister, a herbal liqueur/digestive made in Wolfenbüttel, where both my children were born. Our blogger friend Iris, brought me a few small bottles on one of her visits to Perth.

                                                                 

And this will be all for this week. I've been away from home for 7 weeks, with limited time to blog or read blogs....and it took me ages to get this post done partially on Jose's laptop, and on my mobile phone, no way to crop pictures or make collages...

I will be home Tuesday evening (25th).

😊 Thanks