We thought Kathryn’s birthday worth a post of its own! We were delighted to spend the day with her and celebrate at night with dinner at Vaya! in the Fairmont Hotel, followed by drinks and jazz at Acoustic Music Penthouse, at Raffles Doha.

If you remember, we spoke about the wild looking building called Katara Towers. It is inspired by two swords, but we think it looks like an elegant horseshoe. Anyhow, one side of Katara Towers is a Fairmont Hotel, and the other side is a Raffles Hotel. This building is outrageously modern, inside and out.

Dinner at Vaya! included Latin music and cuisine. It’s a lively vibe and though the music was loud, we were able to get into it after a couple drinks. Afterwards, we hailed a golf cart which took us next door to the Raffles. Again, another very modern lobby and an elevator that whisked us to the 36th floor to the Acoustic Music Penthouse for drinks and jazz. The view was amazing and we settled into comfy chairs to take it all in. Interestingly, we had to leave our passports with the hostess. In Qatar, alcohol is only served in hotels, and as we were not staying in this Raffles, they did not have our passport of record. They must have noticed that Kathryn’s birthday was today, because soon the band was playing the happy birthday song and the wait staff had brought Kathryn a small cake. It made for a nice surprise for all of us!

We wish our eldest daughter a very happy 30th Birthday and another amazing year around the sun!