Monthly Wrap-up - November & Signs

Also linking to Tom's signs.

Saturday 1st - Karina was going to attend the Web-Summit in Lisbon, so decided to take a few days extra to spend with the family, as she could work from home.

She arrived in Lisbon at 1pm, and since she had hired a car at the airport, she drove to Cascais in time for a late lunch at my sister's place.

Monday 3rd - I returned to the dentist to have the stitches removed from the 3 teeth I had extracted and screws implanted the previous week. Everything looked good, so the dentist proceeded to extract the remaining 2 teeth on the left side and insert two more screws.

Tuesday 4th - My sister and brother in law were driving to Vilamoura, in the Algarve (southern Portugal). She is an estate agent and had scheduled a couple of apartment viewings with a client for the following day. Jose and I tagged along. My my face was already slightly swollen, but fortunately I only needed painkillers for one day.

Crossing the 25th of April bridge from Lisbon over the river Tagus. The Statue of Christ the Redeemer on the other side of the river.

From my sister's apartment

Wednesday 5th - We drove to the beautiful town of Tavira, and because I love seeing houses, my sister's client was happy to let me join them. After the visits we walked around the city centre, and then had lunch.

Thursday 6th -  The 4 of us drove to Faro to have lunch with Jose's oldest brother and sister in law who live there. I booked at the restaurant "Há Pátria" , they serve share plates, and both the food and service were wonderful.

Left to right - Jose's eldest brother, Jose, my sister Isabel, my brother in law Jose, me and Jose's sister in law

The delicious share plates

Friday 7th - We left for Lisbon at about 9,30h after breakfast, the trip taking around three hours. When we arrived, we had lunch at my parent's place.

On the way we stopped once for coffee at a petrol station on the highway and I was amazed at the choice of goodies they had for sale - souvenirs, alcoholic drinks, packaged food, packaged desserts, traditional sweets...

They also had a kids entertainment area and toilet facilities.

After lunch, I unpacked and repacked my carry-on, this time with warmer clothes, as my parents, Jose and I were joining Karina on a road trip to Carregal do Sal, a small town in central Portugal where we had lived for 12 years before moving to Australia. 

We left around 4pm, arrived about 7pm, and only had time to drop our bags at Hotel Salinas, before heading to my cousin's house so we could go out to dinner together at a very busy country restaurant. We were almost the last t0 leave!

My cousin V, my Mom, me, my cousin's wife, Karina, my Dad and Jose

Rice with wild mushrooms, meat and fried potatoes, rice with fish and prawns

Saturday 8th - After a very basic hotel breakfast - toast or a ham and cheese sandwich and coffee or tea for me - we visited long time friends of my parents. 

We then had lunch with my friend Rosa at Hotel Salinas, followed by another visit to the recently widowed husband of a distant cousin.

At 8pm, we went back to my cousin's house for dinner so the men could watch an "important" soccer match. It was midnight by the time we returned to the hotel!

Sunday 9th - With our bags packed, we left the hotel after breakfast at around 11am, stopping once more to visit our former neighbour, before starting our journey back to Lisbon.

On the way, we stopped in the town of Mealhada, about 1 hour west, and guess what for? Lunch at Pedro dos Leitões. (Peter of the suckling pigs). 

Pedro dos Leitoes Restaurant

When we arrived at the restaurant, there was a long line of customers waiting, We added our name to the list but still waited for 1 hour before finally getting a table!

The town of Mealhada is famous for its many restaurants that serve roasted suckling pig. I'm not a fan of pork, so I ordered salmon instead 😊. There is always room for dessert of course!

And on to Lisbon finally!

Monday 10th - Jose and I drove to Lisbon to drop Karina off at Hotel Itália, so she could join her boss and colleagues for the Web Summit that was being held from the 10th to the 13th at one of the Expo pavilions. We kept the hire car until our return home.

We then visited the area where we had an apartment in Lisbon, back when Karina was at Uni and Jose was working in a project near Lisbon. Then lunch at Expo.

Seen somewhere in Expo

A painted car with what appears to be tile motifs

Tuesday 11th – I began painting three pieces of furniture in my parents’ guest bedroom. I had brought Fusion Mineral Paint all the way from Perth.

As well as painting, I sorted out my mom’s wardrobe. She had loads of good clothes that no longer fit but were still kept “just in case” she one day fit into them again. We managed to donate 4 boxes to a charity organisation that helps a dog refuge.

Meanwhile, José was helping my dad clean out the garage, donating a few things and throwing away a lot of useless stuff!

Two of the pieces of furniture I painted for my parents' guest room

Thursday 13th – Karina came to dinner at my sister’s house to say farewell to the family, as she would be departing for Doha early the next morning. After dinner, José and I drove her back to her hotel in Lisbon.

Sunday 16th – My great-niece K turned six, and my sister invited the whole family for brunch before my niece T took the kids to the birthday party venue where they would celebrate with the school friends.

Cake made by my niece decorated with little K's help

 Saturday 22nd - Our last day in Portugal arrived, we left home at 10,30 to drive to the airport for our 14,20h flight to Doha.

A photo with my parents before we left the house

At Lisbon airport the Christmas decorations were up

Flying over Lisbon - the Expo area (left) and Vasco da Gama Bridge (right)

Sunday 23rd - We arrived in Doha at 00:30am. Passport control and baggage collection were extremely quick—most passengers seemed to be in transit—so our bags were already going around the carousel when we got there.

At the Arrivals hall - ORYX (national animal of Qatar) - 3 of the 8 pieces by Dutch artist Tom Claassen

We didn’t want Karina to pick us up since she needed to sleep to go to work the next morning, so we took a taxi home and had a well-deserved rest.

The street cats having a feed in Karina's street

After she got home at 2,30 pm, she took us to nearby Katara to see an exhibition in Building 10 about an Indian born famous painter - The Rooted Nomad: M F Husain.

                     

Buildings in Katara: 

The Falcon hood - the building houses the  Al Gannas (Falconry) Society of Qatar.

The toy shop and Museum

Karina and Jose in front of the amphitheatre 

The Blue Mosque and Pigeon Towers

The Golden Mosque

 Statues in Katara:

1 - Sculpture at the fountain

2 - Katara the city of Arabic Novel "Alecso" 2023

3 - Qatar National Tree "Acacia" 2021

4 - Minaret of the Bride Mosque 2025

Monday 24th - While Karina went to work, José and I took an Uber to walk around Old Doha Port. I found a couple of murals that I had missed during my December visit. The area was quite deserted when we arrived, but by the time we sat down to lunch there were loads of people. We visited the Fish Market , a beautiful building with stained glass ceiling. Everything was so clean inside, it hardly looked like a traditional fish market...

The pigeon and cats mural

Formula 1 helmet sculpture to commemorate the F1 race the following weekend

After our return home, while I sat by the pool, José and Karina went to see the Under 17's World Cup match between Italy and Austria. Karina had wanted to buy tickets for the Portugal-Brazil game, but it was sold out. They realized why when they saw how small the venue was.

Sitting by the pool and sunset on the lagoon by Karina's house

Since they couldn’t attend that match, after the Austria–Italy game they joined Thomas and I at La Liga Twenty Nine's, a pub on the 61st floor of the Kempinsky Hotel, so we could watch the semi-final between Portugal and Brazil. Portugal won on penalties!(A few days later Portugal would win the U17 World Cup title 1-0 against Austria).

View from the 61st floor

We returned home, finished packing and later that night, we took an Uber to the airport for our 2,40am flight to Perth.

The Golden Falcon in front of the airport

A Formula 1 car inside the airport to commemorate the F1 race being held the following weekend

               

Luckily I had just been upgraded to "Silver" member of Qatar Airways, so had lounge access, and we managed to be a bit more comfortable for a few hours.

                  

Wednesday 26th - We arrived in Perth at 18,45h. It took us a week to get over the jet-lag!

Friday 28th - We visited the "Tiny Homes Expo" in Victoria Park. Such cosy tiny homes...I would have to get rid of a lot of stuff though :)

Sunday 30th - Our Wedding anniversary was celebrated with a lovely breakfast at Olive & Oil Cafe in the suburb of Mount Pleasant.

Wishing you all an extra special holiday season. Happy New Year!

Monthly Wrap-up - October & Signs - Part II

Please check Tom's signs from around the world.

You can read Part I here.

Saturday 11th - Jose and I spent the day at home, and when Karina and Thomas returned from work at around 5pm, we all headed out for the usual power walk around their neighbourhood. The parks in-between the residential estates are beautifully maintained.

I walked down to the beach to photograph the sunset

After dinner we dressed up to go to a Candlelight piano concert at the Four Seasons Hotel. The 1 hour performance in the glow of hundreds of candles was calming and enjoyable.

Sunday 12th - Explored the Museum of Islamic Art (or MIA) on the Corniche, an architectural icon designed by renowned Chinese-American architect I.M.Pei, (who also designed the Louvre pyramid) in 2008 when he was already 91 years old!

The gigantic atrium features a curved double staircase leading to the first floor, a circular metal chandelier that echoes the curve. Above the atrium is an oculus within a faceted dome. The patterned floors were inspired by Arabic geometric patterns. 

Across the atrium an impressive 45 metre tall window offering spectacular views across to West Bay.

    

We began our visit with coffee and cake at the Cafe, sitting on the sofas with panoramic views of West Bay's skyscrapers behind us.

Karina and I on the sofas with the West Bay high-rises behind us

Three hours slipped by as we explored the exhibitions on the various floors.

      

We exited into a courtyard from where we were greeted by the glow of the sunset.

On the way to the car park, a driver of the free golf-car rides took us for a loop around MIA Park (next to the Museum), giving us a different view of the museum from the waterfront.

Museum seen from MIA park

Monday 13th - Visited Qanat Quartier at the Pearl Island - a pastel coloured Venice inspired residential area, with bridges and canals. 

Had lunch at "Sushi Ponto" - a tiny Japanese restaurant, then walked around the area discovering its charm.

The Piano staircase

We spotted the Katara towers from Qanat Quartier

Cute villas overlooking the canal

After our long walk nothing better than rewarding ourselves with the most decadent cheesecake I've tasted - with various layers of biscuit and topped with a "real" mango syrup poured right at the table - at "Volume Cafe".

Karina and Jose sitting outside the coffee shop while I took a photo from the bridge

We walked past the "Nine Lives Cat Cafe" where you can pet the various cats while having coffee

On the way home we stopped at a supermarket to buy Arabian sweets to take to my family in Portugal.

Arabian sweets

In the evening, Karina took us to Al-Wakrah Souq - a reconstructed seaside marketplace by the seaside, 19km south of Doha. She had booked a table at Copacabana, a simple beach restaurant known for its fresh seafood. Thomas had gone to a conference in Malaysia so it was just the 3 of us.

The balmy evening inviting us to sit outside - but we soon realized why we were the only ones! A clowder (just learned this word for "a group of cats") gathered around our table. I felt sorry for the poor cats, but I couldn't feed them. They might have been fed by he employees as every time one of them came out they would follow them.

The owner, an Indian gentleman, came out to ask us where we were from and if we were enjoying the food. He told us the story behind the restaurant's Brazilian name - he had been to Brazil to watch a football championship, visited Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, and loved the name, so chose it for his restaurant :)

A couple of older Qataris walking in also stopped to ask where we were from, and as usual, the moment we said we were Portuguese, they would immediately exclaim: "Oh Ronaldo! or CR7!". 

Tuesday 14th - Our last visit for this trip was to Education City - a vast 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) hub of research and innovation inaugurated in 1997, and also home to campuses of eight international universities.

Karina now works from an office at Qatar University (in Education City) in a project to reduce CO2 emissions on sea vessels.

She was finishing work about 3pm, so we took an Uber to the National Library, where we could get internet to let her know when we arrived.

The National Library of Qatar 

She picked us up from the library, then parked the car and we walked to the Convention Centre & the outdoor Ceremonial Court, where significant events such as Qatar National Day are held. On both sides are intricate latticed pergolas with a stage in the centre.

Next we headed to the Hamad Bin Khalifa University and the Education City Mosque (Minaretein). This exquisite building was designed by Iraqi architect and calligrapher Taha Al Hiti. The minarets feature vertical calligraphy sweeping upwards, and the mosque is supported by five pillars, each representing one of the Five Pillars of Islam. 

Outdoors, four streams flow towards the central garden of the building, representing the four rivers of Paradise promised in the Qur'an - water, honey, milk and wine.

View of the Mosque (left) and University building (right) - photo from the net

The two towers adorned with Arabic calligraphy are designed to look like two intertwined ribbons representing light and knowledge.

It's a stunning building, and I loved the very peaceful inner courtyard garden.

Afterwards, we crossed the street into Oxygen Park for a walk -  lots of murals here :)

We then hopped onto the free Education City tram to the Stadium just to try it out.

The system includes 3 lines, 24 stops, and 2 Metro stations serving the Education City area.

Jose inside the air-conditioned tram stop, a tram stop, Education City Stadium

"Come Together" - 12mt high Sculpture by Korean Choi Jeong Hwa - for the 2022 Fifa World Cup

Then it was time to head home! Jose cooked dinner for our last evening at Karina's- Prawn and Fish Curry.

Prawn and Fish curry

Various stray cats around the estate where Karina lives. In the first photo was a young mother that had 3 kittens (2 of them in the photo, one under the car). There are people that feed them and I also bought kitten kibble as they looked too scrawny.

Wednesday 15th - Karina drove us to the airport for our 11 AM flight to Lisbon. Fortunately check-in is mostly done at the self-service machines in a couple of minutes. After weighing the bags and dropping them at the conveyor belts, we were ready to head to the Departure lounge. 

We had enough time to visit the "Orchard", the indoor tropical garden, for a bit of relaxation before our flight.

        

Various aspects of the Orchard - "Falcon and Glove" by Gillie and Marc 

We came across this very quirky 6-ton bronze sculpture - "The Wild Table of Love in Doha" by Gillie and Marc (British and Australian artists) showing endangered animals sharing a table.

We boarded our flight to Lisbon and with 7 hours to spare I watched 3 movies:

Heads of State - Action/Comedy from 2025 - the UK prime minister and the US President become targets of a global threat, and their rivalry turns to teamwork to stop a conspiracy. With Idris Elba & John Cena.            A big tick from me!

You are cordially invited - Romantic Comedy from 2025 - Two weddings are accidentally booked for the same day at the same venue and each bridal party is challenged with preserving their special day. With Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell.                   A bit too silly for me!

A Royal in Paradise - Romance from 2023 - A writer struggling with writer's block after a break-up takes a tropical holiday in the hope of finding inspiration and meets Prince Alexander, who needs some distance from his upcoming duty to marry royalty.                 Simple but enjoyable

 

We landed in Lisbon at 17h00. My sister and brother in law picked us up and drove us to my parent's place in Cascais.

Later that evening the whole family went to dinner at a Thai Restaurant in Cascais where we met up with our Australian friends Lido & Wendy. Before heading home we stopped for ice-creams at the famous Santini's.

Thursday 16th - I had my first dental appointment in Cascais. Unfortunately the clinic had suffered a hacking attack and my file had disappeared, so I had to redo the scan and discuss the procedure again. 

It was decided I would return on the 23rd and instead of removing 5 teeth at once, the dentist would extract 3 on the right side first. Then, if everything healed well by the time I returned to remove the stitches, she would proceed with removing the remaining two teeth on the left side.

Saturday 18th - The whole family drove to Lisbon to visit the 3D Art Museum. It's a small museum, but it was great fun, and not just for my little great-nieces, every adult had a smile on their face!

Time for lunch, and we headed to Parque das Nações (Park of Nations) also commonly known as Expo - the former site of the "Expo 98" and settled for "Rucula" an Italian restaurant.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge and the Expo cable car

The Portugal Pavilion (below) for the 1998 Expo in Lisbon, was designed by Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza, and featured a large suspended concrete canopy over an open public plaza.

Various sculptures at Expo

I had wanted to see this sculpture by Portuguese artist Bordalo II - the Iberian lynx, is created from plastic waste, and is part of the artist's "Big Trash Animals" series, turning trash into environmental art.

We ended the visit with a ride on the cable car! It was fun :)

Friday 31st - We got a ride into Lisbon with my sister and brother in law, and they dropped us at Colombo Shopping Centre, one of the biggest in the Iberian Peninsula with over 300 stores, 60 restaurants, 8 cinema rooms, etc.

The aqueduct of Aguas Livres on the way to Lisbon 

We were meeting up with a friend of one of our friends in Perth, to deliver a gift. We met the elderly gentleman, had a lovely conversation with him and walked around the shopping. Then we had lunch traditional Portuguese food at one of the eateries - Codfish in cream sauce for me, and Duck rice for Jose and couldn't resist dessert - Creme caramel for Jose and Biscuit pudding for me.

We returned to Cascais by train and it was already  turning into quite a stormy day!

And that again another avalanche of photos from our trip to Qatar and Portugal.

More to come for November.