The Mall (Villagio)

So we went to the mall yesterday, but this was no ordinary mall! This is the Villagio! The first thing you notice are the gondolas and fake canals which wind their way through the entire mall, up and down every aisle. Throughout the mall there are white marble bridges to get from one side of the canal to the other. Above the European facade, the ceiling is painted a soft baby blue with puffy white clouds. Ahhhhhhhhhh..I almost feel like I’m in Venice….except for the amusement park and the skating rink. That’s right, Villagio has both of those things.

Laura and I wandered around for a couple of hours, popping in and out of stores and taking in the spectacle. Since Thursday night is the start of the weekend for Qataris (Friday is the day of congregational worship in the Gulf), the mall was packed. And, like back home, there were a lot of Qatari teenagers. In case you were wondering, Qatari teenagers act the same as teenagers back home: they hang out in packs and check themselves out in mirrors and windows.

I, too, was also surprised to learn of the Doha Ice Skating Club. Feeling a bit peckish, the four of us decided to try a Persian restaurant for dinner. There are a number of full-sized restaurants right in the mall, each of which has their own "patio" area where diners can sit and people watch. As we were eating, three Qatari women, with two children between them (ages 1.5 and 3 if I had to guess), came in and sat down. With them were two Filipino nannies - one for each child. Apparently this is quite common here. Actually, it's not uncommon for a Qatari family to have a nanny, a chef, a driver, well you get the picture. While the women sat and ate their dinner, the nannies watched the children, following them as they ran around tables, almost into the kitchen, out in the mall area, etc. None of the restaurant staff even batted an eye. The women neither spoke to, nor acknowledged the nannies whom, I should mention, were in uniform (scrubs). We all agreed the scene left a bad taste in our mouths, especially the way the women didn't speak to the nannies, let alone offer them something to eat or drink.