I have been waiting to make a trip post for weeks but I was unsure how to do it, so I’ve decided to break it up into sections. The first part – food and animal friends!
In March, Matthew and I were traveled on a journey across the world to Doha, Qatar. While there we would be teaching a GIF, VIDEO, ANIMATION, EVERYTHING COOL workshop to students at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. The trip was amazing and so much more. We were in Doha for almost 2 weeks so got to see alot which means I have a ton of pictures to share. Instead of making one looooooong post, I’m going to break it up into sections which will be more concentrated.
The flight to Doha was about 13 hours and thankfully nonstop. We flew with Qatar Airways which had a night flight which worked nice to sleep on. On the flight there and back our row of 3 only had 2 (us!) so I was able to take up to 2 seats, eat some decent airplane food and catch up on nearly the entire season of Downton Abbey.
Our flight landed at around 7PM their time so we got to the hotel around 9PM. I’ll share more about the hotel (Al Bidda in Souq Waqif) in another post, but it was just straight out pimp. On checking in they served us watermelon juice and had us sit down. Already I was in love.
Because we were starving we headed to the hotel’s restaurant La Piazza which specialized in Italian cuisine and had for our first meal…. pizza. I wasn’t expecting my first meal in the Middle East to be pizza but I can’t complain because it was good.
What was amazingly good was this olive dip and variety of breads they served with it. I could eat that dip with a spoon which I might have done.
Breakfast was served everyday at the hotel. It was just a circle arrangement of spices and happiness.
Let’s zoom in so you can see the bowl of Nutella.
Some of the lunches served at the event:
Chili out of tin cans!
Shawarma is where the magic is at. Just taking one of every kind…
Qatar Airways arranged lunch one day to look like we were eating in airplanes, along with stewardesses serving.
One morning we walked into the school and this is what I saw. That’s right umbrellas full of donuts, with screens showing rain in the background.
Even though I already ate 3 croissants at the hotel for breakfast, what’s another chocolate donut before 9AM?
Dinner served on the beach of the Persian Gulf one night.
Dinner at some place I forget.
A large tray of pieces of cake afterwards..
We had to find a noodle shop.. can’t go 2 weeks without noodles!
I tried Ketchup Pringles. They were pretty good.
On our off day we ventured to one of the large malls (there’s a ice rink inside!) and found good ol fashioned food from home. Hello Arby’s, it tasted amazing, like always (don’t hate on Arby’s!).
Now friends…
There were tortoises walking around.
And cats that I would just snuggle with.
Here, kitty, kitty… let me love you. (Cat was totally not devoted to me as I was to it).
But this snuggle bunny loved me.
Thankfully it lived across the street from our hotel so I could get my share of cat hugs in.
Oh yeah, I rode a camel y’all!
Here’s some other camels I fell in love with and visited everyday.
Hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our Qatar adventure!
Kim Henrichs says
I flew on Qatar when I went to Bali and it was an amazing airline!! I hope next time I fly that way I can spend more time in Doha than just the airport (even though that alone was amazing…)
Beautiful pics!!
Pamela says
I loved the airport too Kim! Did you see the animatronic dinosaur?!
dixya | food, pleasure, and health says
i cant get over all these random animal friends!
Koko says
Oh my gosh! This looks like a dream! DONUTS in UMBRELLAS- what!!? Sounds like an amazing trip.
cheri says
Looks like a great trip Pamela, the camels are so adorable…..
Cassie says
Girrrrrrrrrl you’ve been living a dream! What a magical country ๐
Juliana says
Wow Pamela…what a fun trip…thank you so much for sharing all the pictures…indeed lots of food and they look great. The animals…so cute…
Look forward to more pictures…have a great weekend ๐
Anna @ shenANNAgans says
AWESOME! I love it, so different than your normal posts. What a treat. You make me REALLY want to visit Doha. Is that camel in the last picture kind of bald? Do camels normally have fur?
Look at all the food, good to see you were treated so amazingly. The noodles look delicious.
Cant wait for the next chapter. Such fun!
Amy (Savory Moments) says
What a fun adventure and opportunity! I love to see food travel photos.
Susan says
What an awesome business trip! They certainly kept you well-fed ๐ Love the camel ride!
Kelly @ Hidden Fruits and Veggies says
So, I just sent that donut umbrella picture to at least 5 people. That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen!
Pamela says
Hahaha, I know, isn’t it?
Crista says
I see you didn’t starve on your trip – all of that food looks amazing!!!