After de-icing we were off--I decided to leave my Spring jacket in Munchen because my suitcase got full. We had two seats each on the flight, so we did manage to get some sleep. And then there was Sheryl at the airport. Yay. Good to be in Pretoria again. We spent the first two days relaxing, napping, doing laundry and now we are ready for anything. I actually can't believe how lazy we are, short of going out for coffee, moving photos, painting, walking to the House Wife's Market, reading and relaxing. we are just enjoying being here. There is lots of sunshine and heat with some rain now and then. We have started to watch a couple of series on Netflix with S & N. and had a little shop yesterday.
And voila, Kendra arrived last evening after 30+ hours of travel. Yay. After a relaxing morning, Freedom Park was first on our list. Sheryl drove us there and we had a pleasant afternoon visiting the museum and a tour of the grounds by golf cart. The opening video was one of dramatic colour and movement. It was a creation story which began with nothing and ended with humans coming out of the reeds. I think Kendra and I watched it 5 times--paintings are in the works in my head. The grounds included a meditation area which encouraged me to rethink my inability to meditate--it seemed to call out for someone to sit and ponder. The reflecting pond with water lilies, a sculpture in the middle and a small waterfall offered a quiet place to reflect. There was a view of the Voortrekker monument with the reconciliation road that connected both sites. Freedom Park represents the memories of the plight of the black community and the Voortrekker monument stands for the accomplishments of the Afrikaners. Neil picked us up and we had a lovely dinner at CrawDaddy's. Then a movie called "United Kingdom"-about Botswana, we three would definitely recommend it. Neil and Sheryl had already viewed it and went to a bd party instead.
Today we three went to Jo'burg by Gautrain and had a tour via the Red Line and Green Line Hop-on-Hop-off. The commentary was interesting. We stopped at the Constitutional Court, the Apartheid Museum and in Brammfontain. There was an excellent exhibit about the life of Mandala at the Aprtheid Museum. When we entered Kendra used the door for blacks, George for coloured and I for whites. It is shocking to learn about what the country suffered during this time and Mandela's willingness to forgive and move on. After not finding a coffee shop we wanted, we returned to our meeting place, Sheryl picked us up and we had a great dinner at "The National". I must mention that we had doughnuts at Krispy Kreme which is new to SA. They are not made in this outlet but still ....
And now for a sleep-over and Game Drive in Pilanesberg
National Park. Our driver arrived on time and asked George to program
our destination into his phone which was OK, maybe, due to the fact that the younger set and certainly, our offspring, tend to do things just-in-time. However, it did not inspire confidence in us and
we were even less excited when after 2 hours, we were on a dirt road heading
into a farmer's pasture. His Goggle maps had led us astray so George got
out his phone GPS and got us on to the correct road and to The Black Rhino.
This trip took 2 hours longer than expected. Anyway, we had a warm
welcome, got settled and were off on our first game drive. What fun--we
saw so many animals, even a couple of elephants having a "who is stronger
contest". We were back to the lodge for dinner and then to bed as
the next drive would be an early morning one--leaving at 5h30. There
were 7 of us in the truck, including two women from Cape Town who had been on
many game drives and since Neil wasn't with us and one was an excellent
tracker, we appreciated their expertise. In fact, I stopped looking so
hard because Partner #1 always saw everything before anyone else did. A
side story, at our snack break during the first drive, George was
chatting with the two women and asked them if they were sisters. Partner
#2 smiled and said they were just really good friends. He was slightly
embarrassed later because we realized they were married to each other. So we saw many
more animals including a lion. It was a real "Simba" moment because
it was walking across the Serengeti and paused to look at us. Usually
lions are not spotted at all and if they are, they are often laying down.
Also Pumba was around--I love Warthogs especially when they run away with
their tails straight up. My favourite animal is the giraffe and we didn't
see any the first night and not until almost the final hour of the second
drive. When Partner #1, the spotter, said "Giraffe, Pat"
I was so delighted and there were many of them. Yay. I had
mentioned to our Ranger the night before that I was really hoping to see giraffes, he said he
would send an email to them. So after the drive, Kendra said to him,
"I guess the giraffes got your email." He said indeed they did.
It was a great two days.
So we were late getting back after the second drive--started at
5h30 and returned to the Black Rhino at 10h30. Our driver was to arrive
at 11h00 to take us back to Pretoria. We quickly ate breakfast and then
packed our stuff and were ready. The driver didn't appear so George
called the company and the result was that the driver would arrive around noon.
This turned out to be a bonus as there were about 20 elephants of all
sizes at the watering hole by the lodge having a grand time, so we watched them while we
waited. By 12h10 he called to say he was at the front gate and 2
1/2 hours later we arrived at Sheryl and Neil's tired and happy.
By the time Sheryl and Neil got home from work, we had been up for
12 hours and were feeling a bit punchy. We had a happy time telling them
about our exploits. When dinner was needed, Kendra, Sheryl and I
took a quick trip to the grocery stores. One was to the "House
Wife's Market" which is kind of a produce place which is a-hole-in-the-wall and always has many shoppers and staff. We lined up and put our stuff
on the counter and the guy ahead of us started to gather it as if it was his
choices. He looked at us as we were moving it away and said, "Oh, I
thought it was mine." I think the place is cool. Then to
Woolworths (a high end grocery store) which is where S & N usually shop. We got some lovely food and
dinner was done. Now we are getting ready for bed as we are very tired
and S & N went out with friends.
Saturday was a full day. It started with Sheryl, Neil and Kendra going to the Boer Market while George and I had a sleep-in. Then we drove to Jo'burg and visited the Bryanston market where K. bought an Africa mask for her wall. George had a long chat with a photographer who takes people on photo shots. Then to the Neighbourgoods Market which is really a happening place. It is in a parking garage every Saturday--the bottom floor is mostly yummy food which we all sampled. The icing on the cake was an amazing latte from Artisan Coffee and a shared piece of cheese cake. The second floor is clothes and jewelry and stuff. I bought a lovely top. Neil got a t-shit and Kendra bought a lacy dress. Part of the fun is just watching people. Our next stop was Soweto which is a settlement where black people were moved to during apartheid. There were many Kiosks that we checked out. Kendra and George visited the Mandela house while we, three, shopped a bit. It is amazing what a promoter of peace, Mandela was. How he could champion peace and good will after all the trauma that was part of his life and the lives of his people is a wonder. We could all learn from his actions. We visited the Hector Pederson monument and enjoyed some little dancers and drum music.
Our next stop was the Cafe Pozi's which is a music loud place where people come to party--a very happening place. We had drinks and pap with Chocolacka sauce which was by turns bland and spicy. The area included two large chimneys that have a bungee jump strung between them--a jump costs R550 which is about $55. We watched 4 people jump and arrive at the bottom exhilarated and proud of their achievement--although one of the group seemed overwhelmed at what she had just done. The young ones of our group decided to take the lift to the top of the tower to have a view of everything. George and I experienced this vicariously which suited us just fine. My impression of this place of excitement was 100 times better than when we were there last Christmas. On our way back to Pretoria with Thai takeaway in our minds, we stopped at the Union Buildings that house the president's office and administrative offices. There is a huge park in front that has a statue of Mandela which is probably 50 feet tall. A full day, ending in a delightful meal with dessert wine and then sharing of photos from our game drive and looking at our Namibia photos.
We, three, flew to George, a not-so-small city in the Cape area. George felt right at home as there was a sign in the airport that said. "Welcome to George". We were slow getting to the car rental and as a bonus result, we were upgraded to a larger car. Leaving George was another sign "Thanks for visiting, George." (Well, maybe the comma wasn't there.) We drove to Wilderness (Wildernis) which is on the Indian Ocean. Our place was lovely--Kendra's room overlooked the ocean. We had a walk on the beach, picked up a few shells for Karen and had a delightful dinner at Selina's, a seafood place with a great view of the ocean. We also watched dozens of para-gliders floating down the hill and landing on the beach. After our walk home, we were tired enough to go to bed. Had a FT with Claire and Brienne. Next morning before breakfast, I went out to play in the waves a bit--didn't put a swim suit on so the bottoms of my pants were wet. It was hard to move fast enough to get out of the waves in time. After a super breakfast, we drove on to the "Safari Ostrich Farm". Our guide had a few funny stories. He talked about how the female ostrich lays the eggs and the male keeps them warm at night. He said the males take their responsibility seriously and can be quite aggressive. If one has you cornered, you should just lay down and cover your head, especially if you are bald because it might peck you to death or incubate your head for 42 days. Kendra climbed up to the staging place and experienced what it might be like to ride an ostrich.
We drove to Montagu on Route 62 over the little Karoo--the scenery is breathtaking: mountains and flat areas with dusty looking shrubs on it. Kendra had a turn behind the wheel and did well. She refused to drive through roundabouts. Our hotel in Montagu featured the era of Art Deco--lots of interesting art and amazing old china cabinets and dressers, quite impressive. At dinner in the hotel restaurant there was someone playing a grand piano - very classy. The grounds were so well kept, many flowers and especially roses. Very relaxing and meditative except for a scary pigeon that didn't seem to know that flying away from people is a good thing and the cat who wanted to share my bench with me. Food was great. Had Malva pudding for the second time this trip. It is an African dessert that resembles Sticky Toffee Pudding without the dates. At breakfast the next morning, the owner was visiting the tables and we overheard him say "Never complain about construction, because it means people have jobs, the roads are being fixed and the economy is moving ahead." Good idea!
On to Franschhoek to the Protea Hotel--which had a sweeping staircase to the second floor. Reminded me of Tara in Gone with the Wind. We enjoyed poking into shops on the main street. There was a market where Kendra bought a print and some bowls and we bought another mask for Grant. He has a wall of masks. I wonder if he wants another one. Spent some time by the pool. On our way to Cape Town, we stopped at a couple of wineries--Boschendal and Takara. George did some great driving and we were soon at the airport in CT to leave the car and taxi into the city.
Cape Town and the St. George's Hotel. We checked in and then walked to the waterfront with a stop at the Bo kaap area. This was the area where Muslim slaves settled from Malaysia. The row houses are painted bright colours just like in Malaysia. We wandered to the water front and took photos with Table Mountain in the background. We watched the table cloth slide down the side of the mountain, There were lots of shops and music and dinner. By now our legs were tired so we took a cab home. The car seemed to be on its last leg or should I say wheel. It wanted to stall every time we stopped. A great day.
After breakfast, we took a cab to Table Mountain, to the cable car which took us to the top. What joy to be walking around on the top! We could see forever. Our guide was very informative. However, there was a man who seemed to want to challenge a few things the guide said which was quite annoying. We stopped for ice cream and shade--hot day. Our driver on the way back to the hotel, suggested a scenic route downtown which we agreed to because as soon as he knew we were from Canada, he said he admired our PM, Justin Trudeau. Need I say more? We walked along Long Street and found Big Daddy's where we had an amazing meal--Kendra and George had ostrich steak and I had Sea Bream and then desserts. This place was in a hotel which is one of the oldest in CT and also had a rooftop bar which has 7 of those American airstream trailers that can be rented as rooms. Our waitron was pretty cool and charming except he thought Celine was an American--he nearly lost his tip. The State of the Nation Address was scheduled for that evening, the waitron suggested that it wasn't a good place for us to go. (This was an echo from Sheryl and Neil who also wanted us far away from Parliament.) Kendra and I thought we should go but George vetoed it with the others so we headed home to watch the excitement on TV. There was a brawl in the House and many armed military people to keep the rabel rousers down. The speech was very boring.
Next morning we joined a walking tour which was excellent. The guide had many stories to tell. He mentioned that crossing the street was a challenge because the walk sign is only green for 3 seconds and then the red one flashes for 13. So we had to hustle to get across and usually walked when others did. Cape Town has a unhappy apartheid history. We visited the Cathedral where Bishop Tutu had been the leader. He did a great deal for SA. We had Steam Dogs at Truth Cafe and wandered some more. Kendra went to the District 6 museum and George and I visited a bookstore that we know. We stopped for brownies and then again for a beer in a square where there was live musics and lots of activity. Before we knew it, we needed to get back to the hotel to get our stuff and take a cab to the airport. On the way, as we jaywalked, a safety officer was shaking his finger. I turned to see who he was looking at and is was us. He was smiling so we were relieved. We had talked about paragliding but didn't manage to do it. Kendra is off to Regina and we flew to Jo'burg where Sheryl and Neil were waiting to take us back to Pretoria. We are ready for a sleep-in. Cape Town is truly a wonderful city and a good time was had by all.
February 11, 2017 a quiet day by the pool for us and a busy visiting with friends day for S & N. Sunday we went to Jo'burg--my feet really needed some new sandals with arch support. We enjoyed a poke around at "Exclusive Books" and yummy lunch. Had a FT time chat with Grant and another with Claire and Brienne. "You never get old if you keep trying new things."
George and I walked to the "House Wife's Market" my fav shop. We shopped for nuts to make yummy granola and also stuff for potato salad. We had coffee at Rock@88 which is a restaurant/bar and is usually very busy in the evening. We had Jaffles which is a meat pie. On Wednesday, Neil dropped us at Menlyns Shopping centre. George went to see "Passengers" and I saw "La La Land"--quite disappointing. I guess my expectations were too high! On Thursday, George worked with photos and I did some painting. I am nearly out of water colour paper.
Friday, we, four, flew to Cape Town for the weekend. Sheryl will stay until Thursday as she has many meetings there next week including a Canada 150 celebration. We had dinner at the Dias Diner which was rocking. Then we went to the theatre to see "Kanala" which is set in District 6 in the 60's. It is a delightful musical which we all enjoyed. Strange though when we arrived at this old theatre, I was expecting to see "The Meeting" so was surprised when Neil bought a program for Kanala. It soon became clear that I was thinking about the wrong show. The performance was done in English and Afrikaans so at times others in the crowd were chuckling and we weren't. Anyway, the music was great. "Kanala" means please in Afrikanns. I asked a young woman who was selling programs what the word meant and she said, "Please..... that is, please buy a program.." which we already had. She was amused. Saturday was coffee and market in an area called Woodstock--very cool. Then we had High Tea at a very special hotel--yummy food and beautiful surroundings. In the evening, George and I went to the opera, "Rigoletto" which was amazing--it was the first time the whole cast was black for this opera. I found the beginning too raunchy but the singing was excellent and the costumes were modern dress--a sad story, very well done. Neil and Sheryl picked us up and we went for pizza. I forgot to mention the vehicle we rented ended up being a large 7 seat van. We were surprised but that was all there was. Neil did a great job of driving and parking and Sheryl was great at navigating with the help of Carmen/Garmin the GPS lady.
Sunday morning, we were hoping for no wind as we had reservations to go paragliding. Alas, it was windy so had a special brunch and then took a drive in the Camps Bay area and ended up at a winery where we had a picnic which was super. There were tables and blankets and these cool triangular pillow chairs that we lounged on. Next morning was also windy and so we didn't get to paraglide again. Neil drove Sheryl to her first meeting and we checked out of our place and went to an Art Supply centre--yay, water colour paper for me. We drove Sheryl to her next meeting and we, three, went to a street market. I found a sundress which is a tad big--it is hard to know because it isn't possible to try them on. Anyway, I bought a belt and necklace to match today and will have the dress altered when we get home.
So we are back in Pretoria, relaxing, shopping, reading, painting and doing photos. Our internet is finally fixed so we are saved! Sheryl is still in CT so we, three, went to the Big M for dinner. Next day, George and I did a walk to our usual market and then to a nearby centre. He had a haircut and I poked around. He always feels a bit ripped off because it only takes minutes to cut his hair. He thinks he should get a discount. George has been sorting photos and I did some not so bad wc painting. Today, I feel like maybe wc is not so bad. We made granola and muffins.
Here is something about words for dead from "The Double Comfort Safari Club" by Alexander McCall Smith. (pg. 158) "She used the expression that the Botswana preferred: to become late. There was a human sympathy here: to be dead is to be nothing, to be finished. The expression is far too final, too disruptive of the bonds that bind us to one another, bonds that survive the demise of one person. A late father is still your father, even though he is not there; a dead father sounds as if he has nothing further to do, he is finished." Think I like this expression.
Sheryl is back. We went to see "Hidden Figures" which is a great movie--a must see. On Saturday, Sheryl went to Jo'burg in the morning to a meeting, then we all met at a shopping centre by Graffiti Books at an event that could only happen in SA. It was a book launch for a book about Milk Tarts and a MT Championship competition. The greeting speech was only in Afrikaans. Luckily I had chatted with Zeldine who speaks Afrikaans so she whispered some info to me so I had some inkling about what was happening. There were 10 Milk Tarts in the competition so after the talking, there was a tasting time and also lots of other appetizers and water and wine. Val joined us and we had fun tasting and rating the MT. My tastes did not agree with the judges, but whatever..... it was a fun time.
Sunday, we relaxed in the morning and then went to Jo'burg, to shop for a teapot for S & N and to see "The Meeting" which is a play about a fictitious meeting between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was moving and had a few light moments, like, at the beginning MX was having a nightmare on the couch and then later when Dr. King arrived, during the talk he said, "I had a dream...." and then said, " Oh, that is your line". The play focused around whether violence is necessary when wrongs need to be addressed. It was sponsored by the USA embassy. Before the play, we had food at the Potato Shed which featured potatoes, what else, and live music. Then we had tea and milk tart at Darshana and Yats' place. A lively, fun time.
A now it is Monday, February 27 and we are packing. We will fly to Toronto via Frankfurt. By Tuesday at noon we will be in TO and by Thursday, March 2, at noon we will be in OKI, (Just in time for my birthday.) We will sleep and do some errands in TO and have dinner with Frank and Brenda.
South Africa is a wonderful place and it is especially wonderful because Sheryl and Neil are here.
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