We're Moving!

There's a good chance those of you reading will know this already from talking to me, or Facebook or Twitter, but Rich and I have decided to move to Doha, Qatar.

We visited last weekend to see the city and the school I'll be working at, and for Rich to have a final interview with his company.  Just before we left on the Sunday, we found out he had got the job, so after 2 months of wondering it was confirmed.

Luckily we both liked the city, and I think it'll be a fun place to live for a couple of years, although we will both miss Valencia.  I'm so glad that some of our friends and family have been able to visit this year, and we still have visits from Rich's parents, my parents and my friend Lucy and Olly to come before we move.

I took a few pictures while we were there so I thought I'd post them, because if you're anything like me, you may not have any idea what Doha looks like.  Here are some of the good bits, the rest looks like a building site ;)

Apartments at The Pearl.

Entirely normal to have gondolas in a shopping centre.

Aspire Park.

W Hotel

 

  

 

It was a long way to fly for a few nights but I'm so glad we went.  It's really put my mind at rest that it's going to be a good place to live.

Onto the next adventure, eh?

Ben and Cindy's visit

Just a few pictures from when Ben and Cindy visited us last month.  We were lucky with the weather and enjoyed a very chilled out weekend of food and drink and loved showing them the city. 

We took them to our favourite paella restaurant at the beach and it is safe to say that everyone enjoyed it.

We got very lucky with the Valencia CF match that we went to on the Saturday night.  They played Malaga and won 5-1

I love Valencia CF matches, the atmosphere is incredible.  All in all a great weekend!

A Warm Weekend

The weather's warming up nicely so this weekend was all about getting outside and making the most of the sunshine.

Friday evening saw us taking Rich's family to the Metro before heading into town for an ice cream and popping up to the cinema and having the most intense massage chair experience ever.

 

Saturday was just glorious so we packed up a picnic and headed out to find a spot in the park.  This one, alongside the Palau de las Arts, the stream in the park and under a shady tree seems perfect for us.

We don't do things by halves, it's blankets and cushions all the way for us!

 

On Sunday we went out for a walk and stumbled across a flamenco and equestrian display in the park.  As you do. 

And then after 5 minutes we ran into a group of people who were participating in a Lindy Hop demonstration.  As you do.  Seriously, this park is always packed with things going on!

We stopped for lunch at one of my favourite places to hit on a Sunday, 100 Montaditos.  Everything's €1 including drinks so we ordered a selection of montaditos (little sandwiches), nachos and tinto verano (like sangria) and scoffed the lot all for just €11!

We then wandered up to the Bioparc for what I think is our 7th visit.  The animals were all really close, unlike it often is in the middle of the day so I definitely recommend a late afternoon visit. 

The new baby giraffe is just adorable!

And the gorillas had also welcomed a new baby.

So all in all, a lovely relaxed weekend which seemed very quiet after a wonderfully busy week with Rich's family.  We have a couple of Rich's friends arriving on Thursday for a weekend visit which will be fantastic, but a chilled out weekend was definitely in order.  

I'm sure there'll be lots more pictures to go up next week, possibly including my 8th visit to the Bioparc.  I do like to get my money's worth!