Hi there, I only have a few minutes to blog because I
coerced/reminded the hubby that the weekend is his time to wash dishes, and then
we’re gonna finish watching my new favorite show “Scandal” on Hulu. But I wanted to show you one of my favorite places in Cape Town.
Rhodes Memorial.
Just up the road from the University of Cape Town is Rhodes
Memorial. It is free to the public and one of the most accessible places to get
an amazing view of the city.
Majestic!
You can learn more about Cecil Rhodes here and the Memorial here.
View from up top. Beautiful doric collumns.
Mr. Rhodes.
There is a restaurant next to it that has yummy food along with an even more amazing view!
Love, love, love statues of Lions!!!
They don't make views like this often...
Definitely a "must see" if you come to Cape Town.
Song of the Post: Ho
Hey by The Lumineers. You may recognize it because the song is from a Bing commercial,
and I can’t get it out of my head!
We visited Asara for a wine
tasting while our friends were in town in April, the same day we went to Spier.
It was our second wine tasting, and it has some pretty big shoes to fill.
The view of Stellenbosch from the wine tasting deck.
The wine tasting
area’s elegance and tasting offerings won me over. The only difficulty was
finding the right building for tasting (no signs, but helpful people were there
to show the way)!
Asara red wines.
Another view of the lake and vineyards.
The wine tasting had a reasonable price and selection. There
is wood fired pizza for sale, however we went for the cheese and cured meat
plate (always!). It was delicious; at Spier, you’d have to buy separate plates
of cheese and meat.
Mmm..cheese!
Oh, the joy!
It was not as busy, and I’m not sure if we could have walked
around the grounds, but has an intimate, luxurious feel that I appreciated.
Asara white wines.
The tasting room hours are Monday to Saturday:
10h00-18h00 and Sundays: 10h00-16h00.
The Asara foyer.
I’d go back.
Song of the Day: Hallelujah as sung by Rufus Wainwright. This song has been sung by many artists, however, I have always enjoyed his version the best.
Seeing as we weren’t really able to do any anniversary
activities until this weekend (got paid on Friday!) , so we of course went to
ANOTHER wine tasting at Spier (it never gets old). Then, we had diner at Moyo
and saw a great musical act- Christian Duo.
Mmm- goat cheese, blue cheese, and some kind of local cheese.
Green fig and kumquat.
Moyo has a great little store with lots of local crafts
(I’ll post about them soon). Their dinner service and buffet doesn’t start
until 6:00, so plan accordingly. We were greeted warmly and stood by a fire
until our table was located. It was right by the stage. We were told that the
buffet was R250 each (a little pricey for us, but you only celebrate your
anniversary once a year!) and given a drinks menu. They have an extensive
drinks menu, and we went for the cheapest bottle of wine they had for R100.
Moyo's main dining area is under a tent! They provide blankets and tall heaters to keep you toasty warm.
They served us wonderful circular bread (a hole cut out
middle, like a wheel) with coriander seeds and leaves, a lemon wedge, and some
olive oil. Tasty! Then, they brought us a salad with spinach, rocket, pumpkin
seeds, butternut squash and feta. I really wish I’d taken pictures! A
woman came around with face paint, and we both had some “traditional” Xhosa designs
done with white dots.
Then, the buffet was opened. They had different stations for
chicken, venison, fish, starches, soup, potjie rices/stews (cast-iron three legged pot), vegetables, and desserts. We
tried many of the items and got seconds of what we liked. There was a brief opening
act with two dejembes and a large drum.
Then, the main attraction set up a set of
bongo drums and an acoustic Fender guitar. Moyo describes their sound as “A
vibrant mix of Central & West African folk music fused with Afro Latin
beats.”
Lead singer and guitarist.
Drums and harmonizer.
OMG. They were so good! They sang in many languages- French,
Swahili, Portuguese, and English, to name a few. The song’s I recognized were
Bob Marley’s Stop the Train and Lionel Richie’s Stuck on You. The lead singer, has
a wonderful, slightly raspy tone to his voice, and a lovely smile while he
sings and plays his guitar. The bongo player is talented and his vocal
harmonies are spot on. I could really see them playing in a backyard party or
up on stage for a small event. I don’t have any parties planned, but I
guarantee you, you wouldn’t be disappointed if you hired the duo! After their first
set, I spoke briefly to the lead singer, Chris, and he told me he is from Congo
(that’s why he sings in French) and gave me his contact information. You can
reach Chris Bakalanga at 076 657 38 28 or chrisbakalanga@yahoo.fr and he’s on
FB here.
I’m pretty sure we’re gonna have to go back-
I’m sure you
all want to see pictures of the food, right? ;)
Again, another wonderful experience at Spier. And no, they don't sponsor any of my posts!
Song of the Post:
Stop The Train by Bob Marley and The Wailers. I’d never heard this until last
night. Video's a little fuzzy.
Today is our second wedding anniversary. We’ve been together more
than eight years total, and I can’t believe how quickly time has passed. It
does not feel like eight years. Look here for pictures from our wedding. Last year, we had been in South Africa for a
few months, but we’ve now been here 15 months. I’m not much of a sappy writer,
but I was reflecting on how our life in the last year has been so different
from any of our past experiences.
We’ve always been each other’s best friend,
but the last year has solidified it. We’ve learned (and are still learning) how
to communicate better, how to accept each other’s quirks, how to support each
other’s goals, how to present a united front to the world. Sometimes, it really
does feel like “us against the world” and whether we make it all depends on our
dedication to each other.
Us in April. Photo taken by a friend.
My grandmother e-mailed me this quote once, I keep it by my
computer:
No one falls in love by choice, it is by CHANCE.
No one stays in love
by chance, it is by WORK.
And no one falls out of love by
chance, it is by CHOICE.
- Author Unknown
Loving each other is a choice we make every day. A metaphor I’ve
always applied to marriage is two horses with blinders on the sides of their eyes,
pulling a cart down a path. Marriage is like that. We saddle ourselves with our
burdens and our tools, choose not to get distracted by the periphery, and set a course for an agreed upon destination (does this make sense?). Working as a team
to get through difficult parts and taking the load for one another at times.We are a united front, holding hands, loving.
We’re not
perfect, but we’re perfect for each other.
Song of the Post: The Promise by Tracy Chapman. I played this song often during the three years we were in a
long distance relationship. It is a BEAUTIFUL song and truly one of my favorites. The film is a little blurry, but the sound quality is great.
Last month, we and a couple friends went to Spier Wine Estate for a wine tasting. It was the day of the Two Ocean’s Marathon and many
roads in Cape Town were closed. It was also rainy, so we decided to get out of
town and head towards Somerset West and Stellenbosch.
Click herefor beautiful pictures of the time we rode Segways at Spier.
The huge chandelier made of wine bottles cut in half and glued together, the bottoms discarded.
Anticipation!
Spier had really changed their wine tasting set-up since we
had last been there. The main wine tasting area was in a new building,
gorgeous with high ceilings, plush couches, and fireplaces.
Our wine tasting menu.
The good stuff.
We perused the
menu and made our selections. We also ordered a cheese plate to complement out
tasting. It was superb. Unfortunately, we were too early to eat lunch, and I
was sorely disappointed.
Three kinds of cheese, artisan crackers, and green fig (with something else I couldn't recognize). Yum.
After, we went on a short walk while it was sprinkling, to
see the protea garden.
Not many were in bloom, but there were some beautiful examples
of blooming flowers.
I don't know what kind of Protea this is.
The creek on the Spier Estate.
The King Protea- a few pictures of it's life cycle.
I just love Spier. I’d go there any day you asked me to!
One thing I love to do, is people watch at large events.
K-Day was an event where people dressed casually (for the most part) for
picnics and sitting on the grass under a hot sun. I sat right near a pathway, and
took pictures of people as they walked past. I debated about posting them and
actually looked up various perspectives on it (good
reads are here,
here,
here,
and here), and
decided that I’d post the pictures because in my opinion, none are unflattering
and they accurately depict the crowd. I've organized them into some simple categories.
If you see yourself in a picture and have an objection,
I will of course immediately take it down.
I’d love to hear your opinions (for or against) on posting
pictures of people while at an event!
P.S.- This is the follow-up post to my previous post about the music of K-Day 2012.
Babies...
Keep 'em covered.
So tired...
Like father, like daughter.
Better than nothing...
Popsicle eaters...
Perfect thing to cool off.
Going on her third one...
Second best, lime!
Cherry, my favorite!
Walking by...
Flowy dresses.
Rolled up shorts.
Long necklaces, tank tops, sunnies.
Leather pants.
Casual, natural hair.
Caps and purses.
Sorry ladies, he looks taken...
Fun at any age.
Natural Beauty.
There's no Starbucks in SA!
Black and Blue.
So fun.
Love the hair!
Growing up.
Perfect couple.
Nice tats!
Summer, please don't end.
The Twins...
I Heart Mom.
Never too old!
Hold on to your hats!
Long skirts.
Natural beauty in stripes and red hats.
Flowing hair and stripes.
Who you looking at?
Friendship.
Locnville groupies.
Song of the Post: Stars Above You by Locnville,
who were at K-Day.
