Could This Be a Travel Blog???

This is beginning to feel like a travel blog. I seem to have so many travel related posts...oh by the way I still owe posts of my trips to Greece and the UK...yeah this year has been my year of travelling and it looks like I might just have 1 more trip lined up before the year ends.

Two weeks ago I had an unexpected opportunity to go to Magaliesburg. I have heard good things about  Magaliesburg and have always wanted to go. A getaway just an hour out of Johannesburg (when there is no traffic) with great views, fresh air and the quietness and serenity which I am always craving for, it was perfect. Shame that it was a working 2 days but I enjoyed the bit I got to see and the hotel we stayed at was yes...5 star for sure.It is a nice get away for a romantic weekend and would recommend it to anyone.

Welcome to De Hoek Country Hotel

Wide open spaces everywhere. This is the view from one of the dinning rooms.

The food was also very delicious - I have been wanting to lose some weight for months but with enticements like this I have no chance.

The table set up on our first night there with my colleagues. 

We even had a murder mystery - it was my first. Loved it especially considering I am a big fan of Agatha Christy and crime drama and books.

The judge presiding over the case of one of the murders - there was a total of 3 murders.

The evidence table to help us figure out who the murderer was. It was a complex case but managed to figure out 8/10 of the mystery. Watching all those crime drama finally paid off lol!

Look and that view walking to my room.

I was in room number 6.

My room was gorgeous. I felt right at home immediately.

This was my favorite spot in my room.

They had a great selection of books too. I was pleasantly surprised there was a Francine Rivers books. Oh yeah I managed to read it right by that window in the previous picture

My tea area - those 2 jars were full of cookies and biscuits. How in the world am I supposed to loose weight.

I even had a little pouch. It was a hectic and tiring 2 days but I made sure I took the opportunity to sit there and enjoy the noises of the night.

That shower oh that shower. I enjoyed that shower it was like gentle rain. A friend commented how wasteful of water it was...I refused  to be guilt tripped. Everybody deserves pampering once in a while.

 It was a brilliant two days, despite the fact that it was a working 2 days. At least the next time I need a get away I know where to head ...and I will make sure it will be a fun relaxing getaway with no work involved. 

What Happened in October

Hello World! Yes, it’s me. I have been on some kind of hiatus, not because I wanted to, but because so much has been happening and I simply couldn’t find time to blog. October has been the most hectic month for me this year – it was a month of travelling and adventure but honestly…I am so so glad to be back home. At the end of my globe trotting I ended up missing home. The good news though is that I owe a number of blog spots! Watch this space for several blog posts – am so excited to share the recent happenings in my life.

First up…beginning of October my sister and nephew Baby A came to Johannesburg for a visit. I was so excited to have them over and it was an opportunity to see and spend time with my fast growing nephew. I tell you, every time I see him he would have changed a whole lot. For some reason though, the first few days he was clinging to his mum and wouldn’t come to me and would just watch me from afar. He would follow his mum everywhere – including in the toilet and when she was bathing. It was only towards the end of their visit that he started warming up to me. My nephew is 1 year 8 months but I think the famous terrible twos have come early J. We went shopping on one of the days and wow did he throw tantrums. In one shop he was screaming and rolling on the floor, I didn’t know what to do. My sister was also at a loss as he has never done it before – gotta love kids, you never know what to expect. Here are a few pictures from their visit:

After a long day of shopping, at least someone was smiling.

This car was a huge hit with Baby A. He refused to get out and even had his dinner whist sitting in that car :)

Look at they 2 Baby E and Baby A - the two met for the first time and they got on well too. Baby E was gracious to let Baby A  go crazy in his car. He actually pushed him around.

Baby A loves phones - but then which baby doesn't? His mum and I always had to sneak away to read messages or send some out because the moment you touched the phone he would grab it away and start playing with it. He is really smart because he knows his was around a phone - knowing where his favorite songs and videos are. I was impressed.

Talk about a busy person - this young man is pretty busy. He is always up to something.

Yes, we finally became friends. Look at us - I don't remember what was happening.

Isn’t he the cutest? Even when he has been naughty, my heart never fails to melt. Yes, he still my all-time idee fixe. I can’t wait to see him in December and I am sure he would have grown a bit and will look different and I also hope that we will become fast friends. I am an Aunt, I can't help myself.

Beautiful Stranger

I was all frazzled up the other day when I got to work. I walked into the elevator and bam! I saw this note stuck on one of the walls. It made my day. Thank you beautiful stranger whoever you are. I am sure I am not the only person you made smile.

Me and Big City Life

I don't know if I have shared this before but I like small towns. I find big cities too fast and hectic and sometimes I get overwhelmed with  living in big cities. Having said that, I have to admit that I never cease to be amazed by Johannesburg. You just don't don't know what you will see and encounter when you leave  the house. It is a city of variance - ah variance will have to do as I can't seem to find the perfect word.

A few days ago on Saturday it was cold and raining. But because I had a number of errands I had to brave it out - as it turned out I wasn't the only one. I came across people who were  having protest regarding a money scheme which they say is benefiting them and so it should not be banned/closed down. 

A picture of a beautiful Joburg Sunset. I love this picture.

Then there are the many many meetups happening every weekend. Like this one which was held at an outdoor venue. A group of strangers hanging out. 

Ah well Joburg, you are not so bad after all.

Ola Chica and Senorita

I was in Spain last week and returned 2 days ago. It was an awesome holiday which I didn't want to end at all. I will prepare some posts to share about my trip. There will be tonnes and tonnes of pictures. In the meanwhile here are a few pictures:

 

I can see this is not going to be easy at all. Choosing the ones to share will be interesting. Barcelona is one interesting city for sure.

A Visit to the Neighbourhood

Although I live close to the Neighbourgoods Market in Braamfontein (a 30 miniutes walk) I had never been there. Procrastination. Yes, I had been procrastinating. Two weeks ago I woke up on a Saturday morning and decided I was going to go. I am glad I did.

Welcome to the Neighbourgoods Market.

Stopped by Sumting Fresh Food stall and I must say  the guy in the pink totally convinced me to try their Chow Pao burger. I was skeptical because it had this white Taiwanese bun which I was not familiar with. It was a gamble which I am glad I took.

These guys are great. You should hear them doing their haka occassionally. Its what made me curious and approach the stall in the 1st place.

There is my Chow Pau and a Berry Mojito. I tell you that Chow Pau is out of this world. Loved it. So fresh and the flavors just exploded in my mouth.

I think my experience at the market would have been much nicer if I had company. I didnt have anyone to exclaim to how delicious the food was and I am sure I would have tried more new food and stayed longer.

This visit to the Neighbourgoods market made me realise that although I have lived in Joburg for years I do not really know the city. There are still so many places yet to be seen and explored. This year I want to try and discover this great city and all its character and beauty.

Sleeping Beauty - A Theatre Story

I have always wanted to go and watch a Broadway like show but for one reason or another the right moment never seemed to come my way. I decided to make the right moment because I realized if I didn't make the effort it wouldn't be happening any time soon.

I chose to go last Friday (11 December)after work to Joburg Theater to watch Sleeping Beauty - this is going to be my first of many visits to the theater I must say. The show was absolutely brilliant. It was entertaining, well put together, humorous, quirky and they even told jokes about President Zuma struggling to read numbers and songs like Hello by Adele, Haven't met you yet by Michael Buble and You cant hurry love by Phil Collins were sang. Ok, time to share a few pictures:

The Fairy Tale Begins

The king Sleeping Beauty's father making a narration

Guess what? There was a minion in the play. And two nice who were brilliant and danced so well. Here they had the audience up on their feet to do what was called the Panto Nae Nae dance. Yes, I joined in the fun.

Really loved these two mice. Were one of my favorite characters.

Look at that -the two love birds before they met when he kissed her into life. At this state he was a figure of her imagination - the 'man of her dreams'. I am a sucker for romance.

Right after the prince had kissed her back to life after sleeping for 100 years

There was lots of danceing of course. This was at the wedding of the prince and princess.

More dancing and celebrating at the wedding.

This was right at the end of the show. That is the evil fairy who places a curse on the princess.

 It was a beautiful experience, enchanting and fun. I had good night out.

Lala Salama

November was a very interesting month for me because I travelled with work to Kenya 1st and then Ghana the following week. This was just after coming back from Washington DC. I might just be warming up to the idea of flying. So here are some pictures. The ones from Kenya I was still using the not so good camera but the ones from Ghana I had replaced it (yippee!!!) so they are much better. Here goes:

Kenya
The traffic is Nairobi is something else. The day we arrived we were stuck in a horrible traffic jam from the airport. I have experienced traffic jams before but this one was something else. I also had a bit of drama in Kenya as I searched for a hospital where I could get a yellow fever shot because South Africa  requires it and would not allow me to enter with out it. At one hospital I was told I had to wait for 10 people because the vaccine was dispatched as a batch, I finally was able to get a shot on my 3rd day at Aga Khan hospital.

I really loved the hospitality we got in Kenya. They have this thing of giving you hotel towels before eating. I was pleasantly surprised when we checked in on the 1st night to find someone approaching with the warm towels and a drink at reception.

Stuck in another traffic jam on day 2 as I tried to find a hospital so as to get a yellow fever shot. At one point my taxi driver almost got arrested for attempting to make an illegal turn. I would have  been left stranded in the middle of Nairobi since the taxi had been hired for me by the organization where we were doing some training and getting another one would not have been simple.

Kenyatta University is where we were doing the training for YALI Fellows.

Do you see that color? The greenness in Kenya was good for the eye especially considering that in Southern Africa we are experiencing a drought. I was reminded how beautiful it can get when the rains are good. 

Hope for tomorrow. That's the Swahili words I remember :).

Ghana
Ghana was hot and humid. As we got off the plane I was hit with a wave of hot and humid air. There were no traffic jam incidences here. To my delight our hotel was right next to the beach. On entering the hotel to check in we were greeted by cool air - thanks to the good air conditioning. Inside all was well it was only on going outside that one was met by the unbearable heat.

Guess who I met whilst in Ghana???

Bono for the band U2!!! Of course I had to get a picture with him.

It was an honour to sit in the same room with 1 current president, several former presidents and many dignitaries.

Winner of the Mo Ibrahim governance prize for 2014 -  the former president of Namibia Hifikepunye Pohamba. My goodness this man can talk - the moment he went on for 10 minutes just making acknowledgements we knew we were in trouble. One thing that touched me though was that he was quick to invite his wife on stage and thank her for the support. I think they really love each other because they kissed when she got on stage and he kept her close and they kept looking at each other. It was beautiful to watch. But my goodness his speech was really long, he had to be politely cut off in the end.

Bono wasn't the only rock start present. The Grammy award winning Angelique Kidjo was present. This woman can sing and she is so full of energy. By the 2nd song she had people out of their seats dancing.

See what I mean - people on their feet. She is a natural perfomer.

Labadi Beach Hotel is where we stayed. It was a beautiful hotel. Loved it.

Also got a chance to laze around the pool...

And go to the beach which was just behind the hotel.

Love love love the beach. This one was a sandy beach, liked the feel of sand on my feet.

Look at those palm trees.

Taking pictures of my feet after the water had washed back into the sea.

I did a bit of writing on the sand but the sea was not willing to let it stay.

This guy was very persistent in offering a ride on his horse. He kept waiting and wiating willing me to change my mind. I took his picture instead.

After a long walk along the beach in the scrotching hot sun. I finially settled down on one of the deck chair for more relaxation.

Went to this market near Kwame Nkurumah Museum to get some soveniors. It was at this market where I was stalked by a certain necklace. Funny story really. When Carla my friend and I entered the market I expressed an  interest in a certain necklace but decided not to buy it. As we went around the market the necklace kept appearing with different messengers asking me to buy it. Right till the point we left the market the necklace was still following me. That was persistance right there on the part of the seller.

Ok that was the update on my Kenya and Ghana trips - two lovely countries. I am looking forward to doing more travels next year. Let's wait and see what the future holds.