Thursday, February 24, 2011

more of oman

i loved the omani wooden doors

juice break for matthew and our driver

friday relaxing and you can pick up a khanjar

or a rifle

view from nizwa fort of the date palms

view of nizwa souks from above

on top of nizwa fort

After touring the friday market and souk we toured the nizwa fort. great views from a top. built in 1600's, is known for its tower and great views of the Hajar Mts. inside rooms were mostly bare.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Nizwa, Oman


view from hotel  room in muscat with island in the background

goat/sheep/cattle market/auction in nizwa
nizwa market
nizwa souk
nizwa souk, bird market
nizwa goat and sheep market /auction
market was very genuine,busy and serious business
unidentified vegetable in fruit and vegetable souk

you can get both the chicken and the eggs!

lemons, potatoes and date palms

we would have loved to bring one of these trunks home
 ropes in the souk
 jabreen castle
fabulous view from our hotel in muscat
view of hotel pool from our room



view of hotel atrium window looking toward the gulf


Flight from Doha to Muscat is about an hour long. We stayed in muscat and went to the Nizwa friday sheep/goat/cattle market/auction. Animals are walked around in a circle by their owners and the public bids on them. Very lively and lots of animals and people.  We also toured the fruit/veggie, bird, meat, fish and objects market before we headed for further tourism





Doha Day One- the Mathaf and a Yemeni lunch

egyptian cat on boat

boat with over 20 sculptures, made from Egyptian pink and black granite from Aswan, 64 blocks of it.sculptor is Egyptian: Adam Henein.

great statue greeting you at the entrance to the maftah (the modern art museum in doha). in egyptian granite, sculptor was Ismail Fattah an Iraqi. Entrance to museum is in the background with the top of it under scaffolding.

better photo of the "boat" at entrance to museum

a bit of confusion at first!






great warrior statue hidden in the "secret room" of the ship

such yummy and big yemeni bread 

 yemani chicken ogda

grilled hamour fish

we visited the newly opened modern art museum in doha on the edge of education city. The photos are from the outside of the museum. Photos were not allowed inside. the space was nice (had been a french school) and we enjoyed the collection. was well organized into different sections: city scenes, landscapes, family section,nature, history etc on two floors.  We enjoyed the art quite a bit, most of it from the 20th century.
Lunch was in the "old-new" souk at the yemeni restaurant Aden. One could eat in the colorfully decorated rooms while sitting or the more traditional way at a table. We all chose the table and enjoyed two good chicken dishes and a very yummy hamour fish with fabulous bread. good prices for good food and company

Friday, February 11, 2011

a French affair, Feb 9th, 2011

 farnese family crested china
roman statue in the gran salone (designed by michaelangelo)
roman statue set up in the outdoor courtyard
reception room with a very venetian feel, great statues

view of same reception room

lovely lighting

roman atlas statue, part of farnese collection

farnese collection-Roman statue

venus with cupid -farnese collection
The beautiful Palazzo Farnese (French embassy) has opened its doors to the public, for a limited time, to display (part of) the Farnese collection of art which it has brought together for this occasion. On display are architecture drawings some by michaelangelo, roman busts and other lovely statuary, paintings of the Farnese cardinals and Pope, Paul III, as well as a painting of a family tree. Many of the pieces came from the Archeological Museum in Naples and the Capodimonte naples museum and from museums in Parma (one of the Farnese was the Duc of Parma). Besides the collection you get to see the incredible Carracci frescoed ceiling and other  beautifully frescoed rooms, one of which shows cities that were ruled by the Farnese. The ambassador's spectacular office is also on display, at certain times and has to be the best in town. Overlooks the piazza farnese, is completely frescoed on the walls (1500's?) with a wooden ceiling which looks like a stuccoed ceiling, truly stunning.  We were very lucky to be able to take advantage of this lovely reception.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Canadian/American breakfast

some Hapi Quebecois maple syrup, the real stuff!

berry pancakes ready to be demolished

pancakes, butter, syrup, veal sausages, mimosas and clementines - breakfast fit for King Christopher!

After Christopher's Italian send off dinner we enjoyed a great Canadian/American blowout breakfast.

trattoria la gensola

nice selection of wines in new room

cerviche which scott and christopher raved about

scallops with eggplant - delicious!

one of our favorites - linguine with shrimp and smoked buffalo mozzarella

Really yummy home-made apple strudel with cinnamon ice cream

side entrance, not normally opened, to trattoria

Had a lovely farewell dinner for Christopher last night before his long trip to Australia. Thought some good Italian food was in order. It was a very delicious meal enjoyed by the three of us. The restaurant has a new room which is more spacious than the others and makes for more enjoyable dining.