Lynn's Travel Adventures – Page 4 – "To Live is to Travel." Hans Christian Anderson

Another a Busy Day

It started out quiet enough as it was 8am before any of us got out of bed. We had a leisurely breakfast and then headed out to the metro. Today was about seeing some of the more famous Paris landmarks.

Our first stop was the Place de la Concorde only to find out we couldn’t get anywhere near it. The entire area was cordoned off as they complete the viewing area for the 2024 Olympics. The skateboarding, 3×3 basketball, BMX freestyle and breakdance (seriously, breakdancing is an Olympic sport??) competitions are being held there.

This was all the girls were able to see of the famous Egyptian obelisk in the Place de la Concorde. But you can also see the Arc de Triomphe far in the distance.

So instead, the girls had a ride on a carousel…

And played in the playground.

Because we couldn’t walk through the Place to get to the Champs Elysee, we had a very long walk around that end of the Tuileries to get to the other side of the Place and the Champs Elysee.

On the way, Nora got her first good look at the main reason she wanted to come to Paris.

Eiffel Tower. She’ll see it up close and personal on Friday. I just hope it’s not also cordoned off. The beach volleyball will be held there. Fingers crossed.

It was only about 11:30 but we’d already walked a ton of steps because of all the detours we had at the Tuileries. So, it was time for a rest and lunch.

Christina and I both had beef bourguignon, a Paris specialty.

While the girls played it safe with their bacon burgers.

These burgers were gigantic and had melted cheese on the top of the bun. Not the easiest burgers to eat.

We walked off lunch on our 30-minute walk to our Macaron Baking class. This was high on Drew’s list of experiences as she loves to bake. At the beginning of the class I was a little nervous as the baker brought us to the front and showed us how to make the macaron dough. My first thought was that if all I wanted to do was watch someone else make them, I could have watched a YouTube video for free. But once she explained that the dough had to sit for 30-60 minutes, depending on the humidity, I understood why we couldn’t make the dough for our cookies.

Drew dried her hand at forming one of the cookies.

While the dough was resting, we had the chance to make the ganache for the inside of the cookies. We made two kinds, chocolate and pistachio.

Me and Nora mixing the pistachio ganache.

We used cookies previously made to put our cookies together.

Between the 4 of us, we brought home 20 macarons. They are delicious and not terribly hard to make, just a little time consuming. We got the recipes to take home with us so I may have to try my hand at making them.

At the store across the street (where we accidentally went looking for the baking class) we found a market filled with French pastries and bread. The place was incredible. Cynthia, these next pictures are for you.

I have no idea what these are, but they look delicious.

I’m not sure if this chocolate is as good as in Belgium, but it’s probably not bad.

More yummy looking pastries with berries.

Nora picked out a chocolate eclair and I chose the lemon next to it. Haven’t tried them yet.

Don’t these look incredible. I’ll take one of everything please.

Nora and I picked out a chocolate Bobka to take home. We’ll try that tomorrow.

After picking out our sweet treats (a very difficult decision) to take home, we headed back to the Metro for our final stop of the day, Jardin du Luxembourg and sailing boats in the pond.

They sailed their boats for about 45 minutes and had an absolute ball. I sat and watched from the sidelines.

Then it was finally time to go home. To get there though, we had a 10-minute walk to the Metro, a 20-minute ride on the Metro and a 5-minute walk to the flat. The total step count was just over 18,000 or about 8 miles. And, yes, I’m exhausted.

Tomorrow, we’re off to the Palace of Versailles. I’ve already warned the girls that the Palace is likely to be crazy crowded. But our entry time is early afternoon so I’m hoping it will be a little better than early in the morning. We’ll pack sandwiches for lunch and eat them in the gardens before our Palace tour. It should be a fun day.

Beautiful Montmartre

Our Paris host, Horia, went above and beyond yesterday when I asked her if there was a computer store in Montmartre so I could pick up a new charging cord. She didn’t just tell me where the store is, she actually bought the cord for me, so I’m up and running again. Yeah!!

We left Brussels this morning and had a short, 90-minute ride to Paris.

Nora entertaining herself during the ride.

It took about 20 minutes to get to the flat where Horia was waiting for us to drop off luggage. It was great not to have to mess with storing it in lockers at the train station until we could check in. Horia is a delightful woman who actually lives in Bordeaux, about 3 hours away by train. She only comes to Paris when she has guests in the flat.

Tell me this living room doesn’t look Parisian.

After leaving the flat, we headed up the hill to the Basilica of Sacre Couer.

It’s a little crooked. I guess I was too tired from my walk up the hill to hold the camera straight.

We first did the 30-minute petite train ride to get a look at the Montmartre neighborhood without walking. Then it was time for lunch in Place du Tertre, the artists’ corner.

Christina loved her spaghetti carbonara and it had been way too long since I had a pizza.

Drew enjoyed her bacon burger and Nora liked her first European pizza.

I especially enjoyed my Porn Star martini made with passion fruit.

After lunch we strolled through the shops until it was time to check in again at the flat.

Tonight, we’re doing laundry, having a light dinner and playing a rousing game of Go Fish. It should be a great time.

One Day in Brussels

Our day started at 5:00 as we left for the Central Station before 6:00. The train ride was uneventful. We all dozed a bit, so the trip went quickly.

After leaving our bags at the Hilton Garden Inn, the girls headed to the Royal Palace while I went in search of a new charging cord for my Surface Pro 7. It stopped working last night and unless I find a replacement, I’ll be without a computer in a very short time. Not a gigantic problem except for the blog, which is much more difficult to do on my phone. So unless I get a new power source. The blog will be mostly pics and less “talk” as typing takes a long time when I can’t use all 10 of my fingers.

After my fruitless search for a computer cable (all 3 stores needed to order the cord) I met the girls in the Grand Place, considered the most beautiful town square in Europe.

We were all hungry and the girls wanted to try Belgian waffles so I found the place Peter and I ate at in 2022. It was a very difficult decision about which waffle to get but we were all happy with our choices.

Yes, they were just as good as they looked. But we only had small plastic forks to eat them with and they kept breaking so Drew found a better way.

While they liked the Belgian waffles, both girls said they like the Dutch pancakes better as they were easier to eat. Of course, that didn’t stop then from eating their entire waffle.

We walked across the square to the galleria where we picked up some Belgian chocolate. We haven’t tried any of our chocolate yet; maybe later.

Our next objective was the famous Manniken Pis statue. He’s actually a bit underwhelming as he’s very small.

He’s dressed up like a bike rider. Maybe in honor of the Tour de France. Isn’t that going on now?

Before heading back to the Grand Place for our Uber, it was time for a little liquid refreshment.

On our way back to the Grand Place we saw another window with some amazing looking treats.

The pastry is much lighter and flakier than the waffles. They look so good.

We thought about going to mini Europe, but we were all tired and it was after 2pm, so we went back to the hotel instead. Our room is a beautiful family suite with 2 bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. Nora and I are sharing the king bed while mom and Drew take the twin room.

Dinner will be sandwiches made from the last of the meat and bread we bought in Amsterdam. We wanted to try frites, but I’m not sure if we have the energy to go back out since we have to go all the way back to the city center.

Tomorrow, we have another early day to catch our train for Paris which was Nora’s city pick. She can’t wait to see the Eiffel Tower!

Art, Science and the Holocaust

Here’s a picture from Christina’s trip to the Heineken Experience yesterday.

She enjoyed the tour but said she still doesn’t like Heineken beer. She had 3 drink tickets but gave two away. The young guys were happy to take them off her hands.

This morning it was cloudy, windy and damp…. again. So, I decided to blow off the museum and church and just relax at home. I’ve been traveling for 3 1/2 weeks and hadn’t yet taken a rest day, so I thought this was as good a time as any. But then around noon, a miracle occurred… the sun came out! Well, it didn’t come out so much as it tried to come out. But I thought this might be as good as it gets for the next week, so I changed out of my sweatpants and headed the to the metro.

After only a 15-minute ride, I walked a short distance to the Rembrandt House Museum. Rembrandt and his wife, Saskia, moved into this house in 1639. Unlike Vermeer and Van Gogh who only became well known after their deaths, Rembrandt was a very successful painter during this lifetime which allowed him to buy such an expensive home.

Rembrandt’s House with the red shutters.

Some of the few pieces of pottery that remain from Rembrandt’s home.

He completed hundreds of drawings. This is one of his most complex.

Only a few of them were on display as they are fragile and deteriorate in the light.

Their first 3 children died shortly after birth, but in 1641 they had a son, Titus, who survived to adulthood. But Saskia died in 1642 of TB. Several years later, Rembrandt had a daughter with his maid. He stayed until with the maid until her death, but they never married.

As the years went on, Rembrandt worked less and less but spent a lot of money on his collections.

He was an avid collector. These are just some of the busts he owned.

He also collected drawings and documents by other famous artists, including Leonard di Vinci. These he kept in the leather folders on the shelves.

To earn money, he started teaching. Tutoring just 3 pupils a year would bring in half a year’s wages.

This is the cubicle in which his advanced students learned to paint self-portraits. They would use the small mirror on the left to look at their image while they painted.

But teaching wasn’t enough and eventually he had to sell the house and all his belongings.

This book gave a detailed description of all the belongings and how they were arranged in each room.

Because of this book, the museum was able to perfectly recreate the home as it was when Rembrandt owned it. After selling the house, he moved into a rented flat not far away.

He continued to paint until his death in 1669 at the age of 63.

I really enjoyed the museum and am glad I got out of the house to visit.

Across the street from the house is a restaurant and since the sun was actually out, I decided to stop for a snack.

This used to be a private residence but is now a restaurant. It was built less than 30 years after Rembrandt’s death.

I wasn’t too hungry, so I just had a snack and a beer.

Cheese sticks and a Dutch wheat beer. I prefer a Belgian beer, but this was still okay.

That was my day. The girls started their day at the Nemo Science Museum, which had been high on Drew’s list of things to do.

My scientists are discovering what substance X is; whatever that means. But they look like they’re having fun.

Drew is trying to pull a bubble around herself. She said it kept breaking.

Then she helped little siter pull her bubble.

After the museum they stopped for lunch. The girls decided that they love Dutch pancakes.

This is chocolate with cream and strawberries. It looks pretty good.

Today Nora chose strawberries with a drizzle of chocolate. The white is meringue. She never had it before but loved it when she tried it. I’m so proud of the girls for being willing to try new foods.

After lunch, they headed to the Anne Frank Museum. This was the #1 thing Drew wanted to see while in Amsterdam. She read the book and saw the movie in school. Christina told Nora the story before they left home. She said Nora was interested but got mad at her because the ending was so sad.

There were no pictures allowed in the museum, but Christina took their picture with the statue around the corner.

Anne was 16 when she died of typhus, just weeks before Bergen-Belson was liberated by the British on 15 April 45.

After the museum they headed back to the house where it was time for pasta dinner. That’s when Christina had her first European misadventure. Yesterday she bought the girls a carton of chocolate milk to have with dinner.

Except when Drew poured glasses for them, it turns out it wasn’t milk so much as custard. Not exactly what they planned so they had water to drink. They tried the custard for dessert but weren’t crazy about it, so the rest went into the garbage. That’s why Peter and I always called our trips “adventures”. You never know what’s going to happen.

Tomorrow we’re off to Brussels for one night and it will be all about food and drink… Belgian waffles, frites, chocolate and beer for me and mom. It should be a wonderful day!

Busy, but Fun Day

I’m beginning to think that Amsterdam is the Pacific Northwest of Europe, always cloudy and rainy. This is my fourth time in Amsterdam, and I have yet to have nice weather for longer than a couple of hours. Today was rainy in the morning then cloudy, windy and cold the rest of the day. But that didn’t stop us from having a full and fun day.

Our first stop was the Van Gogh Museum. Much smaller than the Rijksmuseum, we saw it all in only 90 minutes.

The girls with the famous Sunflowers painting.

My favorite is Irises.

Vincent and his brother, Theo, though 5 years apart in age, were very close. Theo supported Vincent as the latter never sold a painting while he was alive. So, in return, Vincent gave all his paintings and drawings to Theo. Since he was a prolific painter (over 800 paintings and drawings in only 10 years) Theo had a lot of Vincent’s work.

Theo kept all of Vincent’s paintings, drawings and letters in this cabinet. It was gorgeous.

Nora listening to one of the letters Vincent wrote to Theo.

One of the many self-portraits Vincent did as he couldn’t afford models. We saw one yesterday at the Rijksmuseum.

After the museum, we walked to the Pancake Club for our first ever Dutch pancake. They’re more like French crepes than American pancakes and come in either sweet or savory. The restaurant only has 8 tables inside and they were full, so we ate outside. It had stopped raining and wasn’t too cold, so it wasn’t too bad.

And I had a savory ham and cheese pancake.

All of them were delicious. After our mid-morning snack, we separated. Christina went to the Heineken Experience while the girls and I went to the zoo. These were the activities we were supposed to do the afternoon they arrived when we would have had a ton of time, but their delayed flight meant we lost half a day. As a result, we only had a little over an hour in the zoo before we had to leave for our afternoon activity.

The Amsterdam Zoo is 150 years old and is very pretty. I have to admit, though, that after seeing these same animals in their natural habitat in Africa, it was hard to see them behind fences. I felt a bit sad for them.

I saw tons of elephants roaming the wide-open spaces.

There aren’t any gorillas in South Africa, but I did see this guy’s cousins, the baboons.

We caught up with Christina at the meeting point for our final activity, a half-day trip to Zaanse Schans. It is a small, planned neighborhood just north of Amsterdam. From 1961 to 1974, windmills and wooden houses were relocated here from all over the Netherlands as part of a cultural preservation.

As you can see it had gotten quite cloudy. Luckily it didn’t rain but it was very windy.

We saw how they made cheese and then did tastings in the store. I bought some delicious red pesto cheese.

Many people in this part of the Netherlands regularly wear wooden shoes. According to our guide, Mikey, they’re very comfortable and practical. She told us that in the olden days (back 1,000 years ago), every region had a particular style and color of shoe. So, when there were large gatherings of people, like on market days, you could tell where everyone was from by their shoes.

There were also special shoes.

This pair looks like they could be used as weapons.

No way I was climbing into this.

But I did manage these.

When the shoes were made by hand, it took 3 hours to make one pair. Now with two different machines (one to shape the shoes and one to carve out the inside) a pair can be made in 5 minutes. Of course, then there’s the drying and painting of the shoes but the shoes themselves are made in a matter of minutes.

This is the machine that carves out the inside of the shoe. The machine was moving so the pic is a little blurry…sorry. The sizing is 2 sizes up from your normal shoe size.

The wooden houses were adorable.

This is the backdoor which is the only door that is used regularly. The front door is only used for weddings and bringing out the body when someone dies in the house.

We went into an active windmill that grinds limestone down to powder that is then used to make paint.

These gigantic stone wheels are used to grind the stone.

During the afternoon it had gotten windy and cold, so by the time we were back in the van, I was freezing. But in spite of the weather, we all enjoyed the tour.

After another Uber ride home, we tried to go to an Italian restaurant not far from the flat for dinner. But neither Christina nor I remembered that it was Saturday evening and without reservations, we weren’t able to be seated. We tried a second restaurant but weren’t successful there either. So, we ended up at home for sandwiches. Christina and Drew picked up some frites from the place on the corner, so it was actually a nice dinner.

Tomorrow the girls are doing Anne Frank and the Nemo Science Museum while I visit the Rembrandt House Museum and the Church in the Attic. It will give the girls a chance to have family time and me a chance for a quiet morning.

Night everyone.

They Finally Arrived!

After an uneventful, on-time departure from St. Louis, the girls’ trip from Newark to Amsterdam was anything but. When they got to their gate, they discovered that the flight was already 2 hours late due to a delayed arriving aircraft. That time extended to 2 1/2 hours. Once they finally pushed back and started to taxi, they had to go back to the gate due to a malfunctioning backup generator. I don’t know much about airplanes, but that sounds like something you would want for a 7-hour flight.

Bottom line is that when they were finally wheels up, they were 5 hours late; and the flight was only 7 hours long. They picked up about 30 minutes and touched down at AMS at 11:35 (instead of 7:15). Within an hour they were giving me hugs in the arrival hall.

We’re finally here!

In about 30 minutes, we walked into our flat just outside of city center. After showers and a change of clothes, we were on our way to the Rijksmuseum.

Christina found a scavenger hunt for Nora to complete as the museum. It was a great way to keep her engaged in her first art museum. She actually found a few of them on her own. The only painting she didn’t find was Lady in White Kimono, which is not on display right now. Christina thinks Nora can get a Girl Scout badge for her work…. very cool.

This was Christina’s favorite painting.

Flower Still Life with a Crown Imperial by Jacob Woutersz Vosmaer.

They moved the Nightwatch to a different spot in the Gallery of Honour.

You can’t get any closer than this anymore. In the past you could walk right up to it. It’s understandable, though, given the idiots that are defacing priceless works of art.

Enjoying the Feast of St. Nicholas by Jan Steen, also in the Gallery of Honour.

After about 2 hours at the museum, we went on a canal cruise. I was trying to think of things to do that would help them stay awake but didn’t expend a lot of energy and a canal cruise seemed to fit the bill. The day was partly cloudy and a bit windy, so the ride was chilly, but we still enjoyed it.

Before the ride was over, Nora was stretched out covered in a blanket and sound asleep.

The Anne Frank museum is the building with the white facade. The house is immediately to its left.

After the cruise, we took a taxi home. It was twice the price of Uber, but the taxi was there, and we were all tired and cold. It was worth the extra $10 to get home quickly.

They called Daddy while I made pasta for dinner. Right now, we’re watching Hamilton on Disney+. They should be in bed within the hour, so we’ll have to finish watching it tomorrow night.

After a bumpy start, we had a great time on the first half day of their first European Adventure. We’re looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.

Back in Amsterdam

My pre-paid airport transportation didn’t pick me up this morning, so I took Uber to the airport. I’ll deal with the credit card company when I get home to get a refund. What a pain in my butt!!

The 6-hour flight to Amsterdam was uneventful. The extra 6″ of leg room in the premium seat was well worth the $40 I paid to upgrade. It also helped that the middle seat was empty, so it felt like I had tons of space.

I’m settled into my Airbnb flat just outside of the city center. The host, Frank, just left. He was very helpful getting me oriented to the flat and the area.

The girls are on the plane and just about to take off for Newark. They’ll have 4 hours on the ground before their non-stop flight to Amsterdam. I’ll meet them at Schiphol, and they’ll be ready to start their first ever European adventure!

Drew (13 y/o) and Nora (8 y/o) ready to take off from St. Louis.

Better Round of Golf

Of course, given how badly I played over the weekend, it couldn’t have been worse. I took Uber to the Doha Golf Club early this morning.

This is seriously the fanciest club house I’ve ever seen.

There are two courses here: the Championship Course where the LIV professionals play, and the Academy Course where the non-professionals (that’s me) play. Actually, I accidently played the 1st hole of the championship course and saw a couple of others. I think I probably could have played it but by the time I finished my nine holes on the Academy course it was already 104 degrees so I would have never been able to finish the 18 holes.

18th hole of the Championship course from the veranda of the club house.

The topography of this course was the same as ours at the ranch with the fairway lined with desert. The best part was…. no water!! There was a pond on the 18th of the Championship course but nothing on the 9-hole course.

They sold rock clubs in the Pro Shop just like we do at home. You don’t want to use your good clubs in the rocks.

The bunkers are also like ours with hard packed sand which is much easier to get out of than the 3 inches of real bunker sand at Fairway in Joburg. My clubs were lady’s which helped a lot. They were much lighter and shorter, so I didn’t have as much trouble with my swing.

As a result of all this, I shot a 45 on a par 34 course so I was only 11 over par. That’s a very nice score for me. I really wish I could tell my pals from Sunday. They would have been impressed.

After my round (only took 90 minutes) I went to the beautiful restaurant for breakfast. It was not even 9:00am and all I had before I left the hotel was a Nutella covered donut. It was pretty good, but I needed real food.

The juice was half fresh squeezed OJ and half fresh lemonade. It was delicious. There’s always so much food!

Breakfast was very yummy, and it gave me a chance to cool off after my round. Here’s a video I took from the restaurant veranda.

After breakfast was Uber back to the hotel where I rested for a few hours then it was off to find someplace to ship a box back home. I wanted to lighten my load for when the girls and I are on trains through Europe. The concierge told me about a DHL office in the City Center Mall, so it was back in an Uber. The driver was a bit chatty and asked what I was doing in Doha. After I gave him the Reader’s Digest version of the last 3 weeks, he said that as a solo female traveler approaching 60 (he got an extra tip for that) I was quite brave to do all of those things, especially being so close to lions. He seemed like a nice guy.

At the mall my first stop was to the DHL where I sent back 15 pounds worth of safari clothes and supplies, things I purchased in Africa and my golf stuff. My bag weighed just over 34 pounds in Joburg, so I lightened it by almost half. It should be a breeze for me (or the girls) to lift now.

The mall was ginormous. It reminded me of Mall of America without the rides. But there was a fun zone for the kids.

As well as a giant bouncy thing in the middle of the mall.

Between the 3 food courts, the full-service restaurants, and the other fast-food places scattered throughout the mall, there had to have been at least 70 places to eat.

The food courts were much fancier than ours with different sized private booths.

I decided on the Shanghai Gardens, a full-service restaurant. I hadn’t had Chinese food in ages, so it was a nice change.

The beef and broccoli were delicious but way too much food.

The restaurant had the coolest way to serve food… KettyBot. I was so disappointed when a real person brought me my lunch that they sent my leftovers to me on the robot. So cool!

Packing tonight was a piece of cake and my roller duffle is a third empty. I have a 5:30 pickup (assuming the driver shows up this time) for my 8:00am flight to Amsterdam. The last 3 weeks has been incredible, but I can’t wait to see my girls on Friday.

Talk soon.

On to Qatar

I finally know how to pronounce the name of this country. It’s “CAT-r” with the accent on the first syllable.

Anyway, my travel day yesterday (Monday) was long. I got to Tambo airport in Joburg more than 2 hours before my flight but by the time I got through the lines for VAT refund, check bag, security, immigrations and another line for VAT (couldn’t find the SWIFT code for my bank; have no idea where my money will go) they were already boarding my flight.

The flight itself was uneventful but very cramped. Note to self: it’s first/business class for anything longer than 4 hours but especially for the long-haul overseas flights. I doubt the space was tighter than any other economy seat but after having a private cocoon for the other two long flights, I felt like I was crushed for 8 hours. I upgraded my AMS flight on Thursday to Premium. It’s not Polaris, but I might have a little more space for the 6 1/2-hour flight. I guess I’ll start saving now for my next trip.

Once I got to Doha it was a breeze through immigrations, where BTW, they didn’t even ask about the polio vaccination. I got stopped in Customs and asked why I had binoculars in my bag. Really??? Told them I had been on safari, and they said no problem and sent me on my way.

The trouble began when I got to the arrival hall and couldn’t find my driver. It was after 11pm and I had pre-paid for round-trip private transfer. I tried to WhatsApp the number in the confirmation email I received the day before but got no response. One of the other drivers kindly called the emergency number in the email but the person who answered had nothing to do with the taxi. I waited about 20 minutes then had the airport staff help me get another taxi. I messaged the company this morning to tell them what happened and to cancel my return trip to the airport on Thursday as I can’t trust them to pick me up at 5:30am in time for my 8:00 flight to Amsterdam. As of now (7:00pm), though, I haven’t heard from them. By the time I got to the hotel it was almost midnight and I was exhausted, but I couldn’t downshift enough to sleep. It was about 1:30 before I was finally asleep.

The hotel is lovely. I’m staying at the Doubletree Doha Old Town, and I have a nice view from my room.

That’s the Arabian Gulf in the background. I need to get down there so I can touch the water for Peter. He loved touching the water of all the different seas, lakes, oceans, straits, etc., that we visited. My mom did the same thing.

Breakfast was the usual buffet.

The fresh fruit was delicious. I can’t remember the name of the pastry in the foreground, but it didn’t have as much cheesy flavor as I expected.

Now I’m off to the lobby for an 8:10 pickup for my sand safari. It will be fun to see a “classic” desert with rolling hills of sand versus the hard packed sand we have at home. Got my sunscreen and my hat so I’m ready to go. To be continued….

The safari was a blast. It was a small group with two young guys and me. Our guide, Sayed, wasn’t exactly a talker. He pointed out a few things along the 45-minute drive and answered questions but that was about it.

My companions were Boris (from France) and Leon (from Switzerland). They’ve been traveling for months and are here on a stopover before heading home tomorrow. It sounds like that’s what just about everyone does here. They’re either here on business or a stopover on the way to someplace else.

After about 40 minutes we stopped at a gas station for bathroom break and for Sayed to let some of the air out of the tires of the car. Apparently, that’s important for riding the dunes. While in the bathroom, I found two very helpful signs.

I’m so glad I saw this one as I was just about to wash my legs in the toilet. Seriously?!?

Our first stop was the camel camp on the edge of the Sealine Desert. I rode a camel in 1998 when I was in Tangiers Morocco, but that was for a minute in a circle like at a children’s zoo. This time we headed up the dune but only got about 1/3 of the way. That was far enough for me.

Me, Leon and Boris. Not the most comfortable ride in the world.

I chose not to hold the falcon.

Then we were off to ride the dunes. It was crazy windy, so it was difficult to actually see much but it was fun. It was like riding a roller coaster in the sand.

It looks like we’re hardly moving but Sayed was driving about 30 MPH, which is fast in the sand.

At one point we got out of the car to take pictures. I needed help getting out as the wind kept slamming the door shut on me. You can really see the sand blowing around in this video.

Then the boys went dune surfing. At first Boris didn’t want to go but changed his mind. He had so much fun he went a second time. Not surprisingly, I took a pass. Getting onto the board would have been hard enough but getting up from the soft sand would have been a nightmare. The guys said the hardest part was climbing back up the dune in the sand. I wouldn’t have had to do that as Sayed could have come for me with the car, which is what he did after Boris’ second ride, but I still decided just to watch the guys have fun.

Then it was Leon’s turn.

Our final stop was the beach where Boris grabbed a picture of me touching the Arabian Gulf, a new body of water for me.

The water was quite warm; I bet it would have been a comfortable swim.

I was back to the hotel by about 11:30. Lunch was the sandwich I’d made from the breakfast buffet and a little snack I picked up at the shop in the lobby.

After lunch I walked about 10 minutes to the relatively new (opened 2019) Qatar National Museum. The architecture was quite interesting.

The exhibits in the museum told the history of Qatar, from its earliest days to the present. I didn’t read all the signs like Peter would have, but I still enjoyed looking at the exhibits.

After the museum, I stopped for a little snack before moving on.

Me in front of the museum. Not a terrible pic given that I couldn’t see a thing in the screen.

My plan was to walk to the Museum of Islamic Art and the Corniche, the waterfront promenade. But by this time, it was about 1pm and 107 degrees. The strong wind helped a little, but it was just too hot to walk the 30 minutes. So, I went back to the hotel, only 10 minutes away.

I hung out in the room and napped for a little while. Then it was time to go out again as I wanted to check out Souq Waqif, the market area. It was still 104 degrees, but it was a much more comfortable 20-minute walk than earlier. It was still hot, but the 3 degrees made a difference.

I passed this along the way. I’m not sure what the building is, but I thought it was interesting.

The market was easy to find and had some interesting architecture.

This was one of the markets.

I spotted the police on patrol, keeping us safe.

The long corridors reminded me of the Covered Market in Istanbul, but this was much smaller with very narrow walkways.

As you know I love local handicrafts. I saw a couple of things I liked but one was made in Iran and the other in Syria. One of the shopkeepers said he’d engrave my name in the box and that would make it from Qatar. Yah… not so much. I walked home empty handed.

Have no idea what this is all about but thought it was interesting.

Was the James Bond movie “Goldfinger” filmed in Qatar? I have no idea.

Finally, it was back to the hotel for dinner. The dining room was the temperature of an ice box, so I just got a pizza for room service.

I must have been hungry as I ate the whole thing.

Tomorrow, I have a 7:20 tee time at the Doha Golf Club Academy Course. I should be done with that by mid-morning. After that, maybe I’ll head to the Corniche for lunch. My afternoon task is finding somewhere to mail a box home. It’s the stuff I bought in Africa plus the things for the safari I no longer need. It will greatly lighten my roller bag.

Have a great night everyone!

Reflections of a Safari

Today was a wash, rinse, repeat from yesterday. It started with a delicious breakfast, followed by hanging around in my room for a while before it was time to play golf. That’s when things changed a bit. When I checked in with the starter, I found out that not only was I playing with 3 other people (no problem), I was also playing in a TOURNAMENT!! I’m not a terrible golfer but given that I was playing with clubs that were too heavy and too long, and that I was totally unfamiliar with the course, a tournament was not on my agenda.

My partners, Trevor, Bradley and Keith were 30-40 years old, and while they said they didn’t play well, their handicaps were in the high teens. OMG!! While I don’t have an official handicap, if I did, it would be in the low 30s, so I was totally out of my league with these guys. But they couldn’t have been nicer. They were very patient as it took me 2-3 swings to catch up with their tee shots. I didn’t really hold them up, though, as they were walking and I had a cart. So, I just rode ahead until I hit my ball far enough to finally get past their first shot.

Another beautiful course. That’s Trevor in the distance. Not only did he walk, but he carried his clubs. That’s just being an over achiever.

After the first few holes I relaxed a bit but still had a horrific round. Seriously, I haven’t played that badly since my first year. But it was nice to be out as it was a beautiful day.

I made it across this stream but lost two balls in one of the others. I actually made it over but both shots took a bounce back instead of forward, so I lost both of them. Given how much water there was to play over, losing only 2 balls was an accomplishment.

I was in the sand…. a lot! And, unlike our bunkers at the Ranch, which have fairly low walls, these suckers were deep. By the back nine, I had so much practice that I was actually getting out with only one shot. Yeah!!

This guy was hanging out at one of the bunkers. He was beautiful and I bet very soft.

After golf I went to the sports bar for dinner and then it was back to the room for a shower and a relaxing evening.

Chicken salad sandwich and chips. I only ate half the sandwich. I may eat the rest later if I get hungry, but I doubt it. I’m pretty full.

Tomorrow, I leave Africa for Doha, Qatar on the Arabian Peninsula. It’s only a 3-night stopover on my way to Amsterdam but thought it was a nice way to see something different. It was either this or yet another 11 1/2-hour overnight flight from Joburg to Amsterdam. No thanks. Two of those were enough for one trip.

The last 2 weeks in Africa have been incredible. The only thing that could have made it perfect was to have my sweetie by my side as I experienced these amazing places.

Everyone who has been on an African safari told me the same thing – it’s a wonderous experience. And it truly is. I had seen all of these animals in the zoo, but to see them in their natural environment is hard to describe.