"Your sweat is so shiny and beautiful!": Umbrella Park, the Corniche, and Monumental Play Area

It's 35°C (95°F) right now (10:00 PM), with a feels-like temperature of 46°C (114°F)—not too shabby!—so logically we took the kids to the park before bedtime. 

Andrew suggested we take the metro to the Corniche (a station named for its proximity to...the Corniche) and visit Umbrella Park, so named for its tunnels lined with umbrellas.

Some of the umbrellas have seen better days (but from what I've read they are regularly replaced, so I'm sure it will be getting some attention after the weather cools off a bit), but the overall effect was still quite impressive.

Various exits from the archway led to one thing and another—a large sculpture by Franz West, for example, a playground, some outdoor exercise equipment, and so forth. We went to the sculpture first and then continued on through the underground tunnel to the corniche.

The dhow (boat) tour guides were certainly keen to get us to go for a ride. We persisted in insisting we stay on dry land for the evening, though, but promised we'd be back for a ride another time (and I'm sure we will be).

Here's everyone touching the water, though:

It is surprisingly warm, like hot-tub warm. Encyclopedia Britannica tells us that in the Gulf, "Surface-water temperatures range from 75 to 90 °F (24 to 32 °C) in the Strait of Hormuz to 60 to 90 °F (16 to 32 °C) in the extreme northwest. These high temperatures and a low influx of fresh water result in evaporation in excess of freshwater inflow; high salinities result, ranging from 37 to 38 parts per thousand in the entrance to 38 to 41 parts per thousand in the extreme northwest." 

It's incredible to think that this skyline just...popped up...in the last 25 years or so (source, source, source).

This sculpture was interesting—we think perhaps it was installed for the World Cup but couldn't find a sign:

Since we had left our apartment with the intension of finding a playground, however, we soon made our way back to the other side of the road.

The kids noticed that this play structure looked like a building we had seen from the corniche:

We are a little wary about taking pictures of buildings because there are several (mostly government buildings) that we're forbidden from photographing...but we're worried about taking a picture by accident of something we're not supposed to. The skyline is rather innocuous (and ubiquitous) as far as photography goes...but other buildings...I just don't know yet. 

But I looked up the building and I do think it was the Qatar Post building:

Picture from Wikipedia, circa 2010 (so the skyline is quite different now)

Actually...I just found a TikTok video that verifies that we thought correctly. That structure is supposed to be Qatar Post and all the other play structures are supposed to be famous buildings as well. It's called the Monumental Play Area or Al Masrah Park or Umbrella Park or...I honestly don't know why it has so many names. But, yes, all the play structures are famous buildings.

The swing set is supposed to be the Sheraton (famous for being the first big, western hotel to open in Doha):

Here's a picture from Wikipedia:

This tunnel thing (that I didn't get a great picture of, but you can see it in the background of the first playground picture) is supposed to be the Qatar National Theatre:

Here's a picture of the theatre from TimeOut:

And then this climbing wall is a tribute to Qatar University:

Here's a picture of Qatar University from ILoveQatar:

All of that probably would have been good to know before we went, but I suppose it will be good to know for next time as well. It's kind of like our PTC playground at the town green, which has a play-sized version of the Peachtree Corners bridge!

By the time we had finished playing, we were all thoroughly sweaty.

(In all honesty we were thoroughly sweaty before we even arrived at the playground, let alone by the time we had finished playing).

The kids kept complimenting each other (and us) with, "Your sweat is so shiny and beautiful!"

This is a favourite line from one of our favourite video games: Ring Fit. 

It's something the "ring" guide will tell you as you're working out to...encourage (?)...you to keep going. But it's just a little awkward every time. 

Anyway, enjoy these awkward, sweaty selfies (swealfies?) I took while we were walking back to the metro:

And here's a look at Phoebe's hair for the day. She wanted Rapunzel hair. Technically they are yesterday's braids, but Zoë added the clips early this morning and then...this simply became today's hairdo.

When we were in the elevator heading off on our adventure, we shared our ride down with another woman. Phoebe was flustered about her hair after seeing something amiss in the elevator mirror.

"Can you fix this clip?" she asked me. 

"Which one?" I asked, checking over her braids. "They all seem fine."

"It's just not right," she fussed.

"It's fine," I said.

"But why do I have so many clips in?!"

"Because you asked me to put them in!" Zoë said defensively. 

"But why did I do that?!" Phoebe asked. 

"Because you said you wanted to be like Rapunzel," I reminded her. 

The woman in the elevator started giggling and pulled the loose end of her shayla up to cover her laughter. 

"Sorry, sorry," she said. "I just... She is so cute!"

"Oh, thank...." I began to say when I was cut off by Phoebe who very matter-of-factly said, "I know!"

She gave herself a sweet smile in the mirror and—I swear—very nearly curtsied. 

At this we all started laughing. We had a good twenty more floors to descend before any of us would be getting off the elevator, so we shared a laugh for a good long while, and then the woman said, "She knows she's cute!"

"She does," we agreed.

It's a little bit of a problem sometimes. 

When we left the elevator, Phoebe gushed proudly, "No one has ever told me that in an elevator before!"

There's a first time for everything, I suppose.

*****

Strangely, our family didn't get a lot of "cute" compliments on the way home from the park (and looking as sweat-logged and bedraggled as we were...it really isn't any wonder).