pics for Spain and Italy

Christmas in Spain and Italy

Carolyn and I had our 'honeymoon' trip to Spain and Italy over the Christmas break. Leaving Doha we flew to Zurich, then to Majorca, and on to Malaga. We spent a couple of nights in Malaga and explored the downtown. While there Carolyn wanted to go to the English Cemetery. Years ago she was engaged to be married to a guy who was killed in a motorcycle accident nearby. We found his grave in the English Cemetery and she was able to finally say goodbye. While at the English church we made some aqaintances, and attended a lessons and carols service there. We then went to the resort we had arranged in Fuengirola, a seaside town about twenty minutes away. We had a great place there overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, and got in some tennis, and even went swimming on Christmas day (in a heated pool, not the sea). We also explored a little town in the hills, and made a car trip to Gibraltar, a little over an hour away by car. After Christmas, we flew to Madrid, and then on to Rome. Only problem was, our luggage didn't make the trip with us, and we ended up in Italy with just the clothes on our backs and a change of undies and a few other things in the carry-on. We spent a couple of days in Perugia shopping for a few things, and the family who owned our lodgings loaned us a couple of sweaters. We still had a wonderful time in Italy, with visits to Rome, Assisi, Cortona, and Siena. Of course, Perugia itself has many wonderful things to see dating back to before the Romans. We drove back to Rome to catch our flight to Doha, and after checking in decided to see if there was any word on our bags. The arrivals area in Rome must have had about 300 bags simply sitting around unclaimed. We looked through them and wonder of wonders found Carolyn's bag. By then it was touch and go whether we could get this bag on the Doha flight, as boarding had already been announced, but thanks to the great people at Qatar Air, we made it on the flight, and so did the bag. After returning to Doha, we sent a thank you note to Qatar Air for their help, and mentioned that my bag was still missing. They said they would try to find it, and three days later called to say it was on a flight from Rome. They were great, but it sure made Air Europa look bad as we had been in constant contact with them ever since losing the bags, and they couldn't find them (actually they probably didn't even look!) Anyway, it was a great trip, and we will cherish the memories for a long time to come.

pics for winter in Doha

winter in Doha

My last post was before Christmas, so lots has happened in the intervening time. First was a 'honeymoon' trip to Spain and Italy for Carolyn and me. We had a wonderful week at a resort not far from Malaga in southern Spain. The weather was great, and we enjoyed a car trip to Gibraltar, and visited many spots in Malaga and Fuegirola. From Spain we went to Italy and spent a marvellous week at a family Villa in Perugia in central Italy. I'll create a separate post for that trip.
We were fairly busy since returning to Doha. We took in the Doha Open Tennis Tournment in early January. It was amazing to see the likes of Nadal, Murray, Federer, and Nester up close and personal. And the seats are a real bargain at about $20 per for semis and finals. It's a real festival atmosphere as well, with camel rides and lots of food tents. Then a week or so later we walked took in the Doha Open Golf Tournament and saw Garcia, Els, and many lesser lights take their swings. Things are slowing down a bit now; good thing as I've had a serious cold for about two weeks. (Carolyn had a bad cold all the time we were in Italy, and for a couple of weeks afterward, but didn't let it slow her down much!)