Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

On February 15, a Thursday, Mulberry Bush Nursery had its yearly visit to Doha Zoo. There were 55 children in all, ages ranging from 1 1/2 to 4 years. I and a few mothers and nannies had the privilege to go with the children on this special trip. Although joining them didn't mean that I was merely my daughter's guardian and photographer. I was also there to assist the staff of the nursery in making sure that everything was in order. All the other guardians who were there also helped achieve that.

It's Mr. Snuffleupagus

The children had a great time seeing a lot of animals. For some who have been with Mulberry Bush since last year , this wasn't their first time to visit Doha Zoo. This was Xianelle's 2nd time at the zoo, the 1st time was the visit that we made last year. It was fun to see kids seeing the animals in the flesh.

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Residents of Doha were greeted this morning, not by a warm, bright sunshine but rather by a very thick fog. Although it wasn't that cold, there was nothing to see but fog once you set foot on the streets. I was the first one to go out of our building and the first thing that came to my mind was whether or not it was safe to drive. When my husband finally came down with my daugher, I instantly asked him if I could drive under such conditions. And almost instantly, he gave me a reassurance that I sure can, that I only have to drive slowly. At least it was comforting to know that Tian has confidence in my driving.

I drove all the way from Ras Abu Abboud, down to C-Ring Road, Mamoura Complex and back. You bet there was fog all over the city. On the contrary, it wasn't that scary. I think drivers in Qatar have never been so careful till today. A lot of cars were using the hazard lights, most of them have their headlights on, and most of all, everyone was really cautious and driving at a minimal speed. I guess for the first time since I started driving here, no one was in a hustle. No one tail-gaiting another car, egging someone in front to either step on the accelerator or simply stay out of the way. Everyone just drove at a safe distance. Even the usually aggressive 4X4-car drivers are unusually well-behaved.

I looked outside the window, the sun has already shone and the fog is definitely gone. I just wish that fog or no fog, drivers are always in their "cautious" mode so that accidents can be prevented from happening. I hope the same coolness in driving that I saw today is always there even on a bright sunny day. 

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We finally got to see I-Spy Bookshop yesterday. I don't know if a lot of people at City Center knew about it already because when I asked the staff of Applebee's they didn't know about it. Luckily, we dropped by ELC, Early Learning Center and the guy there knew where it was.

From afar, you'll see a big, brightly-lit signage that says "I SPY BOOK SHOP". The store is bright yet cozy inside. It was bigger than I had imagined it to be. Although it is relaitvely small in comparison to the huge Jarir Bookstore, I would say that I-Spy is spacious enough that people can actually move about while inside. There are other customers visiting the place already. During our visit most of them have children tagging along. The reading corner is already in place. It is surrounded by bookshelves with children's books, with an area rug and 4 bean bags. Xiane's dad read about seven small books for her while I checked out the books they have. There were a lot of nice books for kids but I was more interested with activity books for our daughter. We actually bought her 2 books today. I on the other hand got myself my favorite magazines, Ahlan! and People. I've been reading a lot of magazines lately. I like Ahlan! because at QR5, it is really cheap and if you're into the Hollywood buzz, it will definitely keep you updated. People on the other hand gives you a wider scope of news and information. Back to I-Spy, adult books include novels and practical books like "how to's". I didn't get to see much of the titles but I learned from the staff that there are more books to come. Right now, they're still in the process of acquiring their stocks but soon enough I'm sure that there'll be more to see on their bookshelves.

The next time you're at City Center give I-Spy Bookstore a visit, who knows you might find something interesting and buy a book or two.  

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We started the day by going to mass. Then after that we had to decide what to do for our post-Valentine date. At first we thought of going to Chilis at The Mall. But since I also wanted to see a movie, my husband thought it best to go to City Center for the movie and have our lunch at Applebee's. I liked the idea since it was going to be my first time to go to Applebee's. My husband had asked me several times already to eat there but I always ended up wanting something else. When we got to the Cinema at City Center, sure enough there was a lot of nice films to choose from, most of them are nominated at the Oscar this year. Although we had wanted to watch The Flag of Our Fathers by Clint Eastwood, we were more inclined to watching Charlotte's Web starred by Dakota Fanning and the voices of Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey among others. However, we had to drop our movie plans since Xiane didn't like to watch Charlotte's as she found the poster scary rather than appealing. But for movie-lovers out there, you can also check out the cinemas for these titles: The Departed, Dream Girls, Ghost Rider, Blood Diamond, Fearless The Return.

So we went straight to Applebee's for our lunch date. As soon as we entered, a staff welcomed us and accompanied us to a table of our choice. Since we were one of the first customers, there were a lot of tables to choose from. We initially chose a table then had to change table when our daughter saw one that had a Star Wars poster above it. The walls were decorated with various movie posters and photos of hollywood actors, the likes of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Xiane was instantly given a set of crayons and something to color. Then Tian and I didn't waste time and started looking at the menu. There was an array of food to choose from. Choosing what to order wasn't difficult though. We both knew that we didn't want steak as we always cooked steak at home and mind you, my husband thinks that I cook the best-tasting steaks. So we got ourselves a sampler and a meal each for Tian and I.

The Sampler is a platter of buffalo wings, nachos, garlic bread, quesadilla, onion shavings, with 3 dips (salsa, ranch and bluecheese), and a special dip made of spinach and cheese. Oh boy, Xiane ate all of the nachos. We had only finished the sampler yet we were starting to get full already. Then Tian's meal, a big serving of Parmesan Crusted Chicken which he shared with Xiane was served. Xiane ate half of the pasta that came with it. My BBQ Fajitas followed. It was served with rice and pita bread if you wanted to make sandwiches with it. I shared mine with Tian. We had to our time to finish our food although Tian didn't get to finish his. Tian and I each had two glasses of
iced tea which was quite nice. We left the place really satisfied, not only with the food but most of all with the service that they have. The staff was very pleasant and warm and mind you they're mostly Filipinos. Tian and I were so amazed that Xiane really liked the food, when it's not fries, nuggets, hotdog or burger. If I were to rate my Applebee's experience, it definitely deserves a 10.

All-in-all, our post-valentine date went pretty well. It was calm, yet enjoyable. It was one of the best lunch dates that we've ever had. Till next Valentine!

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