Visiting the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha - Part 2

I only had less than one hour inside the museum before they closed. My favorite part of the building was the ceiling. The collection of art inside is impressive. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to appreciate much of it. One of my coworkers gave me a quick tour around the main galleries and took a few pictures of me. I saw a few persian rugs and several antique jewels that made me want to come back. I hope that there is another trip to Doha in the near future, and this time I will extend my stay at least one day to do some sight seeing. 

West Bay (downtown) can be seen from the back of the museum and also from the outside terrace. 

We watched the sunset from outside of the building and after that it was time to go to dinner. I can't believe that I was able to do so much and also work many hours while I was there. I guess that I have to thank my jet-lag for allowing me to sleep only 3 hours per night. That and lots of coffee can make the days long and productive. 

Visiting the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha - Part 1

While I was on a business trip in Doha, I was working late most days. The only day that I got out of work early, I went to see the Museum of Islamic Art. This place made me wish I had traveled with my DSLR camera. I took hundreds of pictures with my iPhone and with the small point and shoot camera that made it to the trip. Sadly, they don't really show how beautiful this place is. I still haven't downloaded the pictures, but I wanted to share some of them before I forget the details about this trip.

The museum closed at 5:30 pm and I only had time to walk by a few exhibitions. The outside patio has the most beautiful views of west bay in the city. I wanted to stay there and watch the sunset. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay because it was past closing time.

At first, I was intrigued about this building because it was designed by the famous architect I.M. Pei. The gardens and the entrance of the museum are beautiful. However, the inside of the building is one of the most spectacular places that I have ever seen. I will show those pictures in another post. If you have only a few hours in Doha, I would recommend that you spend them in this museum. If you have more time, walk across the street towards the Souk for some shisha and dinner.

Visiting the Chihuly Collection in Downtown St. Pete, FL

For my birthday this year, I took the day off. One of my best friends birthday is the same day. She flew from Houston to celebrate together. We decided to spend that afternoon in Downtown St. Pete while everyone else had a normal workday. We had lunch at Ceviche, one of our favorite restaurants. After a nice and long luch, we decided to play tourist and went to the Chihuly Collection. This was the first time that we went to see this gallery.

Chihuly Collection, Downtown St. Pete

The Chihuly Collection, part of the Morean Arts Center, is located in Downtown St. Petersburg along Beach Drive. There is a permanent collection from the famous artist Dale Chihuly in the Gallery. The pieces are truly impressive. The entrance is $14.95. There are several ticket options to visit the shop and the glass studios. I got my tickets from Groupon a few months ago at 50% off. There are free tours at the Gallery that I'm sure are a great way to learn more about the artist and his work. Sadly, we didn't have a lot of time to wait for the next tour. Our visit was short, but I'm glad that I visited one of the most famous attractions in St. Petersburg. Pictures were not allowed inside. I got the picture below from the official website.

Photo Credit: www.moreanartscenter.com

Downtown St. Pete

The Vinoy Resort is one of the prettiest hotels in downtown St. Pete

Favorite Places in Washington D.C.

I've always liked to play tour guide at the places that I know very well. Washington D.C. is one of those places. I took several weekend trips to this City between 2006 and 2008. DC has a special place in my heart, not only because one of my best friends and my cousin live there. This was the first place were I did a semi-solo trip and after that I was hooked on taking short trips. Since my best friend hosted me, I was not completely alone. However, I was alone during the day while she worked. I loved it. I spent as much time as I wanted visiting the museums and the monuments and at night I had the best company that I could ask for. Every trip I took, there was always something new to see and a great restaurant to try. I wanted to move there, until I visited during the winter and confirmed that I can't like in the cold. I still have it at the top of my list if I ever move out of Tampa.

My sister and my nephew are going to Washington next month. Sadly, starting next week, I can't fly until my baby arrives. Otherwise, I would have been planning a weekend trip to DC. Years ago, I promised my 8 year old nephew to give him a trip to New York City for his 10th birthday. I will keep that promise and give him that trip next year. After looking at some of my old pictures, I got inspired to make a list for my sister and nephew to make the best out of their weekend in DC.

The view from the Lincoln Memorial

One of the best parts of walking around tourist attractions alone is that there is only room for 1 more. I remember that the line to go up to the Washington Monument was very long. Since I was alone, there was room for 1 more and I was able to skip the line. The view from the top is worth the long line.

Washington Monument

View of the Lincoln Memorial from the Washington Memorial

One of those great trips to DC was when I went with my parents. I really enjoyed showing them around one of my favorite Cities. My dad and I love history and my mom and I love art. It was great to share these things with them. We took the tourist hop on hop off bus to see as much of DC as possible in 3 days. This was the first time that I took the bus and I was surprised by how much I liked it. I highly recommend it if you only have a few days in the City. The only way to see the National Mall is walking, but the bus is a great way to get to George Town, the Arlington National Cemetery, and the Washington Cathedral which are not so close to the metro.

National Gallery of Art

JFK's Eternal Flame at the Arlington Cemetery

U.S. Capitol

Jefferson Memorial

Does anyone has any advise for visiting DC with kids? There are so many museums to visit in DC that there is never enough time. My parents and I decided to go to the National Gallery and the Holocaust Memorial.  I have also been to several other Smithsonian Museums, but never with the intention of traveling with kids. I know that my nephew would love the Air and Space Museum. Anything else? I'm going to look through my old travel pics and my maps to give them a nice itinerary in another post. 

Day 9, Part 1: Santiago de Chile

The first time that I heard about the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos was when my friend Kyle wrote about it in her blog. I knew that if I ever went to Santiago I had to go see it. Maybe you've heard about the Coup d'etat in Chile during the 70's and Pinochet ruling the Country until 1990. This museum is about the abuses of the dictatorship and the lack of human rights during that time. When I was growing up in Colombia, I always heard about how horrible Pinochet was, but how good he was for Chile's economy. I was intrigued to learn more about it. I love history and I didn't know much about this period of time in Chile before visiting this museum. We learned a lot about Chile, Pinochet, and Allende. I bought a book that I have on my reading list. 

Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos

The entrance to the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos

Outside the museum there was an exhibition of posters from the 70s. I'm not sure if this is permanent, but even before starting the tour I wanted to cry. Compared to the holocaust, the 3,000 "disappearances" in Chile is almost "nothing". However I don't think anything will ever be compared to the holocaust. 

There was something extra that made me love this place even more. My favorite Colombian artist, Fernando Botero, had an exhibition at the time of our visit to the museum. The paintings were about the tortures in the Iraqi prison of Abu Ghraib. I didn't know that Botero created a collection of paintings about it. You don't get to hear much about Abu Ghraib in the US. To learn more about Botero's Abu Ghraib paintings click here. 

Fernando Botero's Abu Ghraib show in Chile

You can't take pictures inside the museum and there is so much that I want to show. I definitely recommend that if you are in Santiago, save a couple of hours in your itinerary to visit this museum. We spent at least 3 hours or more inside following the audio guide and watching the videos. It is free and there is a metro station (Quinta Normal) that is connected to the Museum. To read Kyle's post  and see her amazing pictures of the museum click here. 

Day 1: Santiago de Chile

On our way to Chile, we had delays and a long layover that added up to a 22 hour travel day. Needless to say, we were exhausted! After our overnight flight, we arrived at the Santiago Park Plaza Hotel. While we were in the taxi, on our way to our hotel, I felt that I had arrived in Bogota. It could be a combination of the weather and the architecture. I really enjoyed the feeling of being "home". We were allowed to do an early check in.  For lunch we walked to a bakery to eat some famous Chilean empanadas. My favorite was the pino (steak) empanada minus the olive.

After our short break, we headed to the Museo de Bellas Artes. We took the train to the Bellas Artes station. The metro was very modern and clean. I have to say that I was impressed. We took our time in the museum (which is free) and had a strong cappuccino at the museum coffee shop. The plan was to continue to the City center, but we were exhausted and wanted to take a nap. 

Museo de Bellas Artes, Santiago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After admiring the Bellas Artes building we went back to the hotel for a nap. We met the lovely Emily for a great dinner that night. It was a short day and the next morning we were flying to Buenos Aires for 6 days. We had to wait to explore the rest of the City on our return.