This December when Eid and our Christmas holiday came close in time, I took a week to visit my good and long-term friends in London. While we visited the central city on a couple occasions, most of our time was spent in the countryside, visiting a number of historic sites. Such a contrast - the green hills and valleys of Great Britain compared to the flat brown desert of Qatar - and yet such similarities due to the British influence in the region - my Doha hair dryer worked in England, roundabouts, of course, and signs that indicate Deep Excavation. But how nice to sit in a pub and have a pork sausage and a beer... And of course the temperature differences - high 60s/low 70s farenheit in Qatar, twenties, thirties and forties England... one morning with a beautiful blanket of frost on the fields.
I have attached separate blogs for the individual day trips we took. Enjoy the brief descriptions and photographs. Although not Qatar, they exist because I have been in Qatar and find the change refreshing. While in London, I reflected on the fact that much of the discomfort I feel in Doha is caused by the fact tha I cannot truly explore this city on foot. Hours, days I have spent roaming Boston when a teen-ager, Rome, Venice, London,and, of course, New York City. Doha is not a city for walkers and I feel hampered in my ability to get to know the city.
