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Expat wanderer

Strolling Through Villagio

As I sat in the Kuwait airport, waiting, waiting, waiting . . . .I ran into a friend also heading to Doha, and we spent some time together. For one thing, she told me about Villagio, which didn’t exist when I lived in Doha.

If I lived in Doha, this is where I would spend my summer, walking along the avenues and gondola filled lagoons of Villagio. After a good stroll, I could sit down at one of the many restaurants and cafes and wipe out all the good work I had done strolling!

How cool is this?
00vgondola.jpg

The lagoon winds through the Mall, and you can take a boat ride when you are tired of shopping:
00vlagoon.jpg

I love all the attention to detail, especially the streetlights, which are lit day and night, and provide a delightful romantic atmosphere:
00vlagoon2.jpg

The perfect place for a stroll – or a 10K hike!
00vstroll.jpg

May 20, 2007 - Posted by | Adventure, Community, Cultural, Customer Service, Doha, Eating Out, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Lumix, Middle East, Photos, Qatar, Shopping, Uncategorized, Venice

17 Comments »

  1. wow – it looks fantastic! this is a mall I could actually like!

    adiamondinsunlight's avatar Comment by adiamondinsunlight | May 20, 2007 | Reply

  2. Did you notice I captured one store especially for you?

    intlxpatr's avatar Comment by intlxpatr | May 20, 2007 | Reply

  3. Welcome back dear;
    The mall looks very nice. it reminds me of a couple of malls i saw in las vegas. i remember the sky would get dark and starts to rain every hour or so ,, does it happen in this mall too ?

    Abdulaziz's avatar Comment by Abdulaziz | May 20, 2007 | Reply

  4. haha I thought that logo looked familiar :-). funny tho – its a Spanish brand, despite the Italian name!

    adiamondinsunlight's avatar Comment by adiamondinsunlight | May 20, 2007 | Reply

  5. Abdulaziz – Rain? ? ? No, not in this mall. I have never been to Las Vegan – they make it rain inside the mall?

    Little Diamond – I just got a grin knowing you like the shop, or at least the fit of the jeans.

    intlxpatr's avatar Comment by intlxpatr | May 20, 2007 | Reply

  6. Oh yes it rains inside the mall,, but only over the water. so as not get anyone wet.. if im not wrong it is in the mall of the Alladin or ceaser’s palace.

    Abdulaziz's avatar Comment by Abdulaziz | May 20, 2007 | Reply

  7. wow i didnt know they made it rain in vegas too 😛

    but i guess if they can build a paris and venice replica they can do anything 😛

    sknkwrkz's avatar Comment by sknkwrkz | May 20, 2007 | Reply

  8. […] 20 May 2007 reminded of a silly conversation. Posted by sknkwrkz under Uncategorized  Intlxpart’s post on the new Vellagio in qatar reminded me of a silly conversation i once had with an […]

    Pingback by reminded of a silly conversation. « it’s gone a lil wonky | May 20, 2007 | Reply

  9. The Forum at Caesars have the Ceiling, the Shops at Paris have the Façades, and the Venetian has the gondolas. And the Bellagio ‘llagio.’

    And here I was thinking Dubai was the Vegas of the Middle East.

    heartodarkness's avatar Comment by heartodarkness | May 21, 2007 | Reply

  10. I thought it was Bellagio too, when I heard it, but the sign says Villagio. this mall is really beautiful. How are the malls in the Sudan, HeartoDarkness?

    intlxpatr's avatar Comment by intlxpatr | May 21, 2007 | Reply

  11. Oh, this looks so wonderful, and….oh-so-familiar! Its virtually a duplicate of The Venetian Hotel (where T and I stay routinely) shoping area/gondola canals in Las Vegas, that is patterned after… Venice! Less tacky that you may imagine, but definitely still campy. Seriously, your photos could have come from there rather than Doha, if someone didn’t know otherwise. The “rain” mall in Las Vegas is in the Alladin Hotel, which is undergoing transformation to a “Hollywood” theme, and I believe the rain will be disappearing…sad to say. The sky murals at many of the malls are amazing, and yes, they go through light changes every 30 min or so that simulate a 24-hour cycle. Ceasers Palace started the trend about 15 years ago. Very cool. Yep, I LOVE Las Vegas. Bright and Sparkly! 😉

    SparklePlenty's avatar Comment by SparklePlenty | May 21, 2007 | Reply

  12. Morning, Sparkle. Las Vegas sounds ummm. . .. err. . . amazing. I’ve never been there. Actually, since I read The Stand, and Las Vegas is the capital where the forces of depravity and evil gather, I’ve kind of avoided the place 🙂

    It sounds like they build their hotels and casinos with a lot of imagination.

    intlxpatr's avatar Comment by intlxpatr | May 22, 2007 | Reply

  13. LOL! LV has such an odd rep, so many individual perceptions. Its actually such a fun place, truly. So much quality entertainment it makes your head swim! For all the times I’ve been there, I’ve never felt unsafe. But it is a whole separate planet to itself…

    SparklePlenty's avatar Comment by SparklePlenty | May 22, 2007 | Reply

  14. What you thing of hyatt plaza?

    qm's avatar Comment by qm | June 22, 2007 | Reply

  15. qm – Hyatt Plaza doesn’t have the glamor factor that Villagio has, but I love it. I love the food market there, I love the Italian restaurant built in the center of the mall near the theatre. We always thought it had great food, although we hated eating out in the open, there were wonderful hide-y chairs we could sit in for a little privacy. The one thing . . . I always wished they would put some props in the big empty grocery basket outside – some giant milk bottles, some eggs, chickens – the EMPTY basket sends the wrong message.

    intlxpatr's avatar Comment by intlxpatr | June 22, 2007 | Reply

  16. I have been to both. I would not doubt if the Villiago a play on words with the Bellagio is not a coincidence since the forum shops mall in vegas happens to be next door to the bellagio. It is identical with the exeption that the forum shops is based on old Roam, and the villiagio is simmialr to venice.

    Squeaky's avatar Comment by Squeaky | June 28, 2008 | Reply

  17. Thanks for the clarification, Squeaky. What do people buy in Las Vegas?

    intlxpatr's avatar Comment by intlxpatr | June 28, 2008 | Reply


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