the sun is finally shining...whoo hoo!!!!!!!!!!

the greatest thing after days of rain is seeing sunlight shine through the cracks of the curtains when you wake first thing in the morning (okay, maybe not first thing for me, hehe). we have sun!!!! yippee! still pretty cold out there but we will take the sun over rain any day!

nothing much new to report today. i spent most of the day sitting outside bundled up reading. i also went for a walk along the corniche with jen and her 2 boys later in the afternoon. the thought was great at the time but once we got down there it was close to 4:30 and the sun was starting to set. brrrrr, the wind and shade made it really chilly! the corniche is a waterfront trail that is about 13km long and stretches along the gulf. i have attached a picture of one stretch of the corniche. there is a plan to build a covered bike path along the corniche that will be cooled and sprayed with mist! amazing how much money they have here!


below is a picture of the diplomat area where our condo is located (it is one of those many buildings). can you see all the cranes? this is the newest part of doha - totally booming...we will be living in the middle of a construction site for a while. by 2020 the city's goal is to build 600 skyscrapers in the west bay area!!!! i think we are going to see many changes during our time here. definitely an exciting place to be living!

below is a picture of the 'working palace' of the amir of doha. this grand building is located right off of the corniche. the picture and lighting doesn't do it justice, it is a stunning building...

moving on, i think i have a slight addiction to the pickles here (or 'wallies' as the british call them)!! so far in the 9 days that we have been here i have eaten 3 jars of kosher dill pickles all to myself! before you all ask, no i am not pregnant!!! i guess being deprived of proper dill pickles in the uk for so long is making me eat them like they are going out of style. i must get mike to drive me to carrefour to get some more before i start gettin' the shakes... ;)

tonight i attended my first tae bo class. it was held at the gym in the qatar foundation (q.f.) campus. typical class to what you would be used to but could have had a better music selection - but a good workout nevertheless. we plan on going again on sunday.

i have been asking mike to contribute to the blog - i haven't been hogging it honest! i think at the end of the day his brain is just toast. perhaps this weekend he will write as he as an 'interesting' experience to share when he had to get his qatar entry physical...that should keep you reading...

good night xo