The new clear glass windows looked awesome - they let in so much light, and made the building appear welcoming from the outside. I think my aversion to stained glass may simply be because (even though some would not say) I love minimalist décor, and stained glass is perhaps simply too busy for my brain to make sense of. :D
The arrival of autumn and winter conjures mixed feelings in me. On the one hand I love hot days and warm evenings, but on the other hand, the autumn and winter light together with the cool crisp air sets the scene for beautiful photo opportunities.
Oh, and this year, besides these both, we'll be having a fantastic June/July - roll on 2010 FIFA World Cup! :)
I believe also that Llandudno is also an awesome place to surf, and not only because of the easy-going waves, but also because of the beautiful mountain and beach view that you have when standing on your board. It's simply breathtaking.
I never paid attention to the sign that indicates the restrictions, but I presume that walking dogs is allowed because it seems to me that the beach is the only place where residents of the little suburb would be able to do so. Llandudno is built on the slopes of the mountain that lead down to the water's edge, so the chance of finding a nice open field on which your dogs could run is pretty much nil. :)
Given that one actually needs a permit to remove even mussels from the ocean, I have to wonder if she was breaking any laws by gobbling that little one...
"We are having an exhibition of the Bedjump series with the opening on Saturday, 10 April. The exhibition will be at Exposure Gallery at the Biscuit Mill. We will have a bed there on Saturday for everyone to jump on and have their photographs taken."
Jumping on a bed while having your photo taken may sound like a strange concept... but if you're keen to either buy one of the photos, or have your photo taken (presumably for free), stop by the Biscuit Mill (map) on Saturday morning.
Long is a one-way, with it's parallel neighbour, Loop, running in the opposite direction. This particular section is near the top of the road - where it's pretty safe to walk around at night. The middle, or bottom is a lot quieter and not necessarily quite as safe, and I guess is a place that I'd only really walk around during the day.
Incidentally, D'Aria is the home of the popular Poplars restaurant (map). I'm not huge fan of the restaurant, but many people love it, so I do think that it's worth a try at least - perhaps it's your kind of place. :)
I found the beautiful young lady in this photo stuck in the window of a restaurant, and I'm willing to give 100 points to the first person able to tell me the name of the restaurant! :)
I don't know much about horses, but what I learned is that they must be *really* shy animals, and certainly not too keen on having their photo taken. As soon as I approached with my camera they backed off - far away from the fence.
ps. Oh, about the dog... there was no dog, but "A horse and a field" seemed like a rather dull title for this photo. ;)
Some would say that this is “just graffiti”, or perhaps the defacement of the wall. But I think (and I trust that I’m not the only one) that there really is something awesome about it. Did you notice the text, and the care with which the dots and little lines have been drawn? Some people have such a talent for art. Me on the other hand… I’m really brilliant with stick-figures. :D
Lourensford Wine Estate is a large estate in Somerset West that can trace its history back to the year 1700. We spent some time here watching Prime Circle rock the crowds at the estate's open-air venue. It's a beautiful spot to visit for lunch, so if you'd like lunch on a wine estate, consider heading to Lourensford (map).
Kfm is a local (as in "not national") radio station that plays mostly pop and commercial music, and seems to have wide appeal among Capetonians. In this photo you can see two of their new branded Mitsubishi "Ground Patrol" 4x4s, which roam the streets, handing out prizes to avid Kfm listeners. Click here to read more about them.
The Undefind (that's right - it's spelt without an "e") is a Cape Town-based band that's on a mission to make it in the world of full-time music. It's often said that American musicians have it easy, but South Africa's music market is so small and the number of good bands so large that it makes surviving purely as a musician a huge challenge.
The Undefind are a reasonably young band of five, and according to their website they are all full-time musicians. Gareth (guitarist and lead vocalist, pictured in this photo) recently enlisted two of the band members, Chris (bassist) and Jeanré (drummer), to start up a three-piece acoustic version on of the band, which will be playing quieter sets at local restaurants and bars.
Check out their latest music video, Fragile Skin, below; and if you like it, take a moment to vote for them here on the KFM Homebrew Top 10 list.
Sticking to the Cuban theme of Che Latino Café, mentioned in a previous post, Cape to Cuba (pictured in this photo) is a chain of three restaurants heavily decorated in typical Cuban style, featuring exotic furniture and décor. The twist is that almost all the pieces of furniture and décor in the restaurant are for sale, so if you like something, you really can get to take it home!
Cape to Cuba restaurants are located in Kalk Bay, Long Street (in Cape Town) and Stellenbosch (map). This particular photo was taken at the Stellenbosh restaurant, but if I were to advise you on which to try, I'd suggest Kalk Bay (map). It's by far the best known of the three, and I've heard plenty of great things about that particular restaurant. :)
In a previous post I mentioned Che Latino Café in Brackenfell. While sitting outside trying desperately to even vaguely fit in with an entire crowd of friends that I didn't know, out of the corner of my eye I spotted an intense red glow coming from the bar area.
I jumped up to... take a photo and capture the moment. Naturally. :) But I found that the bar wasn't really on fire; the barman was squirting a flammable liquid along its length, creating this spectacular scene. What was surprising to me was that the patrons seemed to hardly even notice that the bar they were sitting at had flames leaping from it! (Leading me to believe that this was more of a regular thing than a special occasion.)
Che Guevara, depicted in the photo above, is an icon that you're likely to have seen on t-shirts all over the world. His face is often used as a symbol of revolution or political awareness, but has become pretty fashionable over the years - thereby losing some of the meaning that it may have had in the past.
Che Latino Café (map), in the suburb of Brackenfell, is a hangout for locals in the surrounding areas. While you'll see a few "oldies" heading to the back to gamble, I'd guess the average age to be about 20 years old. The bar area rocks to the sound of local bands while the patrons relax on couches, bar chairs and even spill outside to socialise while sitting at tables, a little way away from the loud music inside.
If you're looking for a place to enjoy breakfast or lunch while your kids play on a large open lawn and go on horse-and-cart rides right in front of you, think of visiting the Joostenberg Deli and Bistro on the Klein Joostenberg farm.
The farm is on the R302, the long road that leads from the N1 national highway to Stellenbosch, so it's pretty convenient if you're planning a day trip to Stellenbosch. Kerry-Anne and I had an early breakfast under the trees at the bistro. The food was tasty (albeit a little rich for our delicate digestive systems), and the service was great (although, I guess having a friend wait on us has its advantages ;) ).
The leisurely horse-and-cart rides on the lawn cost R10 per person, and I *think* adults can join in the fun. If we weren't in so much of a hurry to get to some business in Stellenbosch, I'm fairly sure that Kerry-Anne would have insisted on a ride. :)
I recently had the opportunity to visit a friend who lives on one of County Fair's farms. County Fair is one of the large broiler rearers in South Africa - to the left of this photo are the large structures that house the chickens.
I have to say that the visit to the farm made me somewhat sad. While I know that many will say "they're only chickens", I can't escape the fact that theirs must be a terrible existence. Kerry-Anne buys only free-range chicken and eggs, and while there's a chance that free-range chickens don't necessarily have a much better life than the non-free-range variety, at least they do get to potter around outside in the sunshine.
Take a moment to visit Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary's blog. The sanctuary rescues farm animals, and the blog tells their stories. (They also have some great farm animal photos :) ).
While I know that sharks travel all waters, it's fairly common knowledge that they are more likely to frequent the waters of False Bay, visiting places like Muizenberg and Fish Hoek. Swimming on "the safe side" (i.e. in Table Bay) has its downside though, in that the water is a fair bit colder than the waters of False Bay.
If you do ever swim at False Bay's popular Fish Hoek beach, be sure to keep an eye out for the Shark Spotters' flags. The Spotters sit high up on the hills watching the ocean for the presence of sharks. They radio information to their colleagues on the beaches, who in turn raise one of four flags:
When a shark is spotted, a siren is simultaneously sounded, indicating that swimmers should stay out of the water. The only time you should really enter the water is when you see a green flag. If it's any other colour, it would be best to keep out of the water.
In closing, remember that if it's a beautifully warm day, and you notice that you're the only one swimming... there's probably a good reason. ;)
What would *you* do if you saw this button on a wall? Isn't it just screaming out to be pressed? If you're anything like me, then you'd probably want to push it just to see what it does. Maybe it wouldn't be quite so irresistible if it were labeled something less tempting and more useful - like, perhaps... "BELL". :)
It's fairly well-known that many international movie producers shoot films in Cape Town, and to be honest, it's kinda weird seeing familiar sights in Cape Town represented as being in another country.
One of the tag-along industries that has developed alongside film-making is the rental of cars - specifically old cars like this Pontiac GTO. Who would believe that there's actually enough money to be made renting out old cars to support more than one such business? There's one business not far from where we live that does just this, and I just discovered Cape Cars who appear to have an assortment of cars specifically for film shoots! I wonder how many other businesses make their livelihood from Hollywood and Bollywood film shoots, and whether or not I should get in on some of the action... :)
In February I told you about Rikkis Cabs, and how you really should use them if you find that you or perhaps your designated driver has had a little bit too much alcohol to drink and you need a ride home.
So next time that you're out, keep your eyes open for phones like this one - they put you directly in touch with Rikkis who will dispatch a taxi to you in a dash. Alternatively, keep their number, 0861 745 547, on your cell phone (perhaps under "Taxi") just in case you need them some day.
In my previous post I spoke about the transformation that Café Caprice (map) undergoes as night time approaches. While it's one of the very popular beach cafés and night-time socialising spots, it's also well known for its breakfast vibe and menu.
We've only visited Caprice for breakfast twice, but on both occasions it was relaxed, not too busy, and the food was just great. My first breakfast at Caprice was the Madame Caprice, which is made up of two slices of French toast, buttered with mustard, filled with bacon and cheese, and topped with a fried egg. This time I decided to have the vanilla- and cinnamon-flavoured French toast, accompanied by strawberries, bacon, and a dash of syrup on the side. Awesome stuff I tell you!
If you're going to visit Caprice for breakfast then be sure to get there early (like as in 8am) as the relaxed atmosphere shouldn't be missed, and I think that it gets a fair bit busier later in the morning. :)
In the evening, Café Caprice (map), one of the restaurants that face onto the Camps Bay beachfront, transforms from its day-time beach-restaurant feel into a bar crowded with dozens of socialising people. While you'll find folk of all ages, most of the patrons seem to be in their mid 20s or early 30s, and are definitely ready to party.
Kerry-Anne was out with "the girls", so I spent a while here with two friends before we headed out for pizza at Col'cacchio. I'm not sure that night-time Caprice is quite my cup of tea, but I have to admit that (if you're single ;) ) there certainly is a huge amount of eye-candy all around.
Even though I didn't have a tripod handy, the final colours of the setting sun were too beautiful a photo opportunity to pass up. In the distance a handful of people still walked along the water's edge, soaking up nature's tranquillity, while behind me the bars and restaurants teemed with the beautiful people of Cape Town.
You only have a few weeks left before the cold weather sets in, so if you haven't been out to Camps Bay for dinner and drinks yet, I strongly suggest that you do so soon. :)
The title of this post is the tagline for The Movement for Good, a group of companies and individuals that have joined together to help foster moral regeneration. The tagline speaks exactly to what I understand their core philosophy to be, and that is that if you and I start doing good things, stop breaking even the most inconsequential laws, and start being "good people", then that will have an effect on our country's general morality.
I'm sure that they don't mean that not picking wild flowers, not speeding, and not watering your garden during water restrictions will prevent violent crimes in the short term, but I rather imagine that the philosophy says that failure to abide by the small laws and sense of morality promotes slightly more significant crime and moral degradation (perhaps in others), which in turn snowballs into a lack of respect for other people's possessions or even lives.
Sure, it's quite a leap to get from contravening small laws and senses of morality to the big issues of theft and violence, but kids learn from their elders and if elders instil good values into children then I really do believe that it could stop the snowball and have a positive effect on crime and morality in general.
Add your stream to the river, visit their website, read up about their focus areas (Safety, Education, Environment, Health, and Youth), and join the movement!
We visited Wasabi in Constantia for a sushi feast with a few friends, and at this occasion I learned one important lesson about eating sushi out:
Pay full price for your sushi and never order the sushi platter that's on special. :)
This particular platter cost about R100 and seemed to contain all the small offcuts of salmon and tuna, as well as many vegetarian pieces that, judging by how dry the carrots appeared, weren't very fresh at all.
I ended up eating just over half of the platter before realising that I really wasn't enjoying it enough to continue. From the way the other folk at the table devoured their meals, I assume that the other sushi must have been good; but this was presumably because they didn't order the platter that was on special. :-/