A trip to Oman

After a couple of days in Doha we went on a quick trip to Oman to visit our friends Gosia and Szczepan. They've been there for over a year and because we miss them a lot and because Oman is a stone's throw from Qatar (and most of all because I have the kindest and coolest brother who got us the tickets), we just had to pay them a visit. After just a few days in Doha we were pretty stunned at how different Oman is. We knew there were mountains but their size and colour...yeah, mostly size...made our jaws drop. The photos below don't give a true impression of magnitude of these mountains. 

We were in Oman for only 3 days but thanks to Szczepan (Gosia had to work during the day), we managed to see a lot and every place he took us was really amazing. We are so grateful he was willing to show us around, we could as well just stay at home and indulge ourselves with some good food they ordered from a local restaurant. (we wouldn't mind either). 

On the first day Szczepan took us to Jabal al Akhdar - Green Mountain, Oman's second highest point. The views were breathtaking. 

The next day we saw a place that pretty much looks as if it were painted by an artist with too much ambitions. An oasis in the middle of a desert. It's called Wadi Muaiden, a valley full of palm trees, streams and tiny waterfalls. It all looks magical and made as feel like on a movie set. If it weren't for the fact that we had our 7 month old baby with us we would have surely discovered more of this incredible place Indiana Jones style!

Another incredible place we were taken to was Misfat, a village that was built on top of solid rocks, above a forest of palm trees, with houses built on several terraces. It looks more like a caribbean plantation and it is a self-suficient village with their own traditional irrigation system of falaj (water channel), carved through the rocks, that keep the village lush and green. Apparently, there are still people living there and relying on the water system. 

We wandered through the maze of alleys and admired the architecture. We tried to take w few pictures but it was a but tricky since we were carrying Lara. Thank you so much Szczepan, it's definitely one of the views we will remember for a long, long time. 

 It was even hotter in Oman than it was on Qatar but boy was it windy. Here is our little trooper almost on the top of Jabal al Akhdar.

In the evening, just when we thought the day couldn't get any better, Gosia, Szczepan and Ewa took us to see one of the most beautiful sunsets, that we watched from a hill just above a palm grove.

No, no, we didn't call it a night after coming back home. We sat outside, ate great food, played games and felt so good. It was a short trip but thanks to our friends it's a trip we will never forget. Thank you so much guys! :*

Holidays in Qatar - Part One

We are finally home after the best holidays in a long, long time. We still can't believe we were there just a few days ago and it makes us weep a little that we had to come back. We miss the hot weather (it was just perfect, hot, but not too hot), we miss the food, walking barefoot on grass, going to souq in the evening and spending our mornings by the pool. We miss absolutely everything. We are so grateful to my brother Andrew and Ela for having us and putting up with us for so long :) 

Here is part one of the massive photo overload that's coming, hope you enjoy it. 

Doha beach, surprisingly empty.

This lady had the time of her life in doha, more on that in a whole new post.

My eyeballs literally hurt when we left the flat for the first time in the morning (we arrived at night time). Hats and sunglasses were a must.

E.T not go home yet, it was very windy at times and we didn't want her to catch a cold.

Obligatory visit to one of the many, many shopping centers in Doha

Isn't this marvellous, Venice in Doha :)

My big girl, looking up to her cousin Stella all the time

First visit to souq. It was amazing. We've been to souq in Marrakesh before but it was totally different, old, crowded and a bit smelly. 

We decided not to take Lara's pram with us. The wrap was more than enough. 

Dinner at a turkish restaurant, our taste buds went crazy. 

Ela, testing the wrap.

They both seemed to love it at first...wrap

So many beautiful things

Traditional bread baking oven

And the most delicious flatbread, hot from the oven.

Doha downtown at dusk

An elevator selfie of the six of us. We miss you guys!

No desription needed. 

Pigeon house in Katara cultural village. 

A golden Minaret.

Museum od Islamic Arts

The cutest and pretiest little bird Stella 

Picnic

That's it for now. We are really excited to share these photos with you. We are so thrilled that we got to go on such amazing holidays. More random photos from Doha coming soon.