A Wadi Picnic

Woke to the sound of desert grouse and mynah birds this morning after a solid 12+ hours of sleep! Diana (Edward's sister) had prepared a lovely picnic lunch, so the eight of us left the house late morning to drive to a Wadi (dry river valley) about an hour North of Muscat. Our travels were initially thwarted by a flipped petrol tanker on the highway which resulted in much traffic chaos. After extracting ourselves from this mess 90 minutes later we headed to a different Wadi (Wadi Fanja) in the mountains west of the city instead. Saw a camel or two sitting in the backs of small pickup trucks along the way!  Also viewed numerous large mosques along the side of the highway covered with glistening marble and beautiful tiles cladding the exterior.

As today is a National holiday celebrating the Islamic New Year we arrived to find scores of Omani families picnicing along the river. At this point we headed off-road and up the riverbed to find a spot for the afternoon (noted in a photo below). It was facinating to see the Omani men dressed in brilliant white dishdashas and the women in black abayas with dozens of little children playing in the water and running around. Many were fanning cooking fires for lunch with the amazing aromas of meat and spices wafting through the air. Everyone we encountered was extremely friendly and we responded to literally dozens of waves and hellos as people drove by over the course of the day in their 4x4's. 

We found a place, had lunch and then went hiking up the hill and little "ravine" we were parked by. The ravine was home to a disappearing stream; however, the well washed smooth rock in the ravine told the story of periodic raging floods. The stream would trickle into pools, then almost disappear before filling more pools. Saw several wild goats before stoping at a deep, cool pool quite a way up so the kids could jump and splash.  Muscat gets little to no rain and had it's first downpour in almost a year one week ago which has put more water into the rivers and created some great swim holes in the wadis.  The pictures certainly tell the story of how dry it is here....  It was a wonderful afternoon.

Came home to a marvelous Indian take-away dinner which we ate outside and are now ready to recharge with some sleep before another day of adventures tomorrow....

Another World

After a somewhat sleepless night in the air and very quick transfer in Doha we arrived in Muscat at 10am local time (12 hours ahead of Victoria). Were met by sunny skies, 24 C temps, and the familiar faces of family at the airport and were at the house just after 11am. The flights down from Paris on Qatar Airways brought our first taste of travel in the Middle East - the melodic sounds of Arabic being spoken by the captain and the constant reference to Mecca on the in flight route display.  Loved it. 

Once on the ground in Muscat, the drive from the airport was fascinating and made us excited for the opportunities we will have over the next ten days to explore the city and the culture. The clean white buildings against the backdrop of blue sky and brown earth made for wonderful contrasts.  Spent the day relaxing, visiting, and enjoying an afternoon swim at the club pool.  The girls managed to keep going all day despite little sleep while their parents crashed for an hour on a poolside lounge!  Not much else to report at this point - the brain is a little foggy tonight. More soon...

Paris Snow

Woke Thursday morning to snow falling on the streets of Paris! Left the hotel after breakfast to explore the Latin Quarter in more detail and enjoyed the snow covered alley ways, Christmas decorations and store fronts. Checked out of our room early afternoon, stored our bags, and ventured out for a fixe prix late lunch. Had another wonderful gastronomic experience - we are beginning to think there is no end to these in this city. For 10 euros we enjoyed the likes of onion soup, mussels and pate for an appy, salmon, steak and chicken for an entre, and creme caramel and ice cream for dessert. Were picked up by our airport van at 4:30pm and arrived at the airport an hour later. Check in and security were lengthy and somewhat disorganized and after a two hour delay due to snow and de-icing we were finally on our way to Doha/Muscat at 11pm.

Marvelous Monet

We continue to be blessed by beautiful blue skies on this trip. Fortified ourselves with another wonderful breakfast. Left the hotel late morning to visit the L'Orangerie - the museum housing works by Cézanne, Renoir, Gaugin and most notably Monet's Les Nympheas. It was quite a site to walk into the rooms where they are on display and see the enormous panels encircling the room from one end to the other. Prior to this we had a quick ride on the Paris equivalent of the London Eye ferris wheel which is located next to the museum. this provided us with another great perspective of the City. it is striking how they have limited development in the city in most areas to nothing more than about eight floors; this makes the notable landmarks stand out on the landscape.

After leaving the museum we walked up to the Opera Garnier only to find it closed due to "exceptional circumstances". Not sure what that meant. Wandered further to the Galleries Lafayette where we saw the amazing animated window displays and lights before a quick snack (gourmet cafe including wine on tap!). We walked home at sunset through the city to our hotel.

Chanced upon a fondue restaurant nearby for dinner and had yet another wonderful culinary experience involving cheese and beef fondue; the girls loved the experience. tonight we are organizing our bags for the trip tomorrow to Muscat.

More soon from the Middle East.

Towering over Paris

Today again dawned bright and sunny, however, the cold weather continues and with the windchill it was a very cold -8 degrees. We were all freezing for most of the day given that the majority of sites on our agenda were outside. After another filling breakfast we broke our rule of walking everywhere and took a taxi to the Eiffel Tower. Were there for close to 3 hours and enjoyed the views from the first and second levels. It was amazing to see the city sprawled out in front of us and we were able to pick out some of the landmarks we had already visited this week.

We then took another taxi from the Tower to le Grand Epicurie at the Bon Marche where we were amazed by the extraordinary array of foods from around the world. Spent well over an hour there returning to our room with samples of cheese, biscuits, wine, desserts, candy, etc. Oh do the French know how to enjoy their food! The whole store was a feast for the senses and the stomach.

Walked back to our hotel for hot drinks, snacks and a quick thaw before heading out to see an outdoor Christmas market at St. Sulpice Church (the 2nd largest cathedral in Paris). Many things on offer here including crafts, arts, and, of course, more food!  Had dinner tonight at a 200 year old restaurant (Le Procope) where we enjoyed delicious French fare from a prix fix menu.

We leave you tonight with some food photos from our travels today. The time is passing all too quickly here in Paris though we are looking forward to some warmer temps in Muscat!

Lost in the Louvre

Had a somewhat slow start to the day; trying to convince our minds and body to get up and going at the equivalent of midnight Victoria time was not an easy task. Breakfast was delicious: meat, cheese, eggs, breads, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. Our first stop for the day was St. Chappelle (1249) to see the magnificent stained glass. After a somewhat complicated and lengthy venture to find the elevators and entrance, we entered the upper chapel and were amazed by the size and detail of the numerous windows. The sun was shining through one side of the church illuminating many of the 1100 odd story panels of the windows. Loved it!

Then on to the Louvre. Reading about this as the largest museum in the world does not do it justice. It is truly immense and sprawling. We only planned to visit 3 specific areas to save time and even though we did, we spent over 4 hours becoming overwhelmed by it all in the end. You would probably need a month to truly do it justice and even then, well..... We wandered through the egyptian exhibit which covered all manner of egyptian history. We viewed Napolean's apartments in all their oppulant splendor, and of course viewed the magnificent Mona Lisa. Enroute to all of these areas we passed through the medieval foundation of the Louvre buildings, greek sculptures, original palace rooms and ornate halls filled with art and antiquities. We found some of the original palace rooms truly remarkable with the carving, gilt, sculpture, and painted ceilings, all produced in a way and style that would be never be done today. The girls were in fits of giggles over the numerous displays of nudity in the sculptures and paintings and suddenly became avid photographers!

The weather today was sunny but very cold with the wind. After a quick dinner at a cafe we did some souvenir shopping and discovered Eric Kayser Artisan Boulanger for dessert. Brought back just a "few" samples to our room which included treats such as: creme brule, chocolate hazelnut tart, REAL fruit jellies, REAL marshmallows, Callisions, and mini cookie treats. YUM.

Time to sleep after the sugar crash...  Bon soir from Paris.

We're in Paris!

After two uneventful flights we arrived on-time in Paris at 9 this morning local time. We were out of the airport fairly quickly and on our way downtown via taxi, arriving at the hotel at 11am. Were met by the minor glitch of our reserved mainfloor room being occupied by someone else and are enjoying a 6th floor view tonight of Notre Dame from one set of windows and the Eiffel Tower from another. The kicker to get up here is that the lift is so small it requires one trip for me and the girls and another for the empty wheelchair minus the legs so it can fit... we get our main floor room tomorrow.

Had a brief snooze to tie us over to a local bed time and spent the afternoon wandering the small side streets near our hotel. Everything is wonderfully decorated for the holidays and we even landed to a bit of snow this morning, Took in an incredible organ recital late this afternoon at Notre Dame. Bach never sounded so good - the church was filled with the rich and wonderful tones of the amazing pipe organ there. Wow! Had crepes for dinner and are about to crash,

Some photos from today... Good night from Paris!