Sunday, 29 January 2012

20th - 28th January

Friday 20th - am exercise, slow morning, washing ( drop off 2 large garbage bags,go for coffee & get back clean, folded clothes for $10) afternoon and evening with ridiculously generous  cozzie Phil , his daughter Nicole Gallie and Carissa (Nicole’s friend) exploring my old haunts & then the wineries of Stellenbosch & Franshoek. Topped off with a sumptuous diner overlooking Table Mtn and vineyards.
throw the dice and write about: 
  1. best part
  2. best taste
  3. best human construction
4) best natural wonder
5) funniest language experience / word of the day
6) worst thing 


Wil (#1) Phil’s endless humorous banter especially about his “raspberry” (blackberry) & “bookface” (facebook), also the tour of old schools and houses of the suburb he and Jen grew up in included and number of places he’d rolled cars
Kel (#4) grapevines - I love the triangle shape of the bunches, the pretty leaves and how easy it is to pick a yummy treat.
Jen(#5) ou (bloke) ; koppie (hill) ; bakkie (ute); boettie (brother)
Jeff (#6) worst thing - nothing!  OK the “flat white” at the restaurant, geez we are coffee snobs!
Saturday 21st - am exercise, spectacular drive to Robertson, met by Helen and Steve Slaney (Jen’s oom and tannie), drive to Laura’s gift shop for a “ howzit”, then to an oasis winery by the Breede River where we had a tasty hamper and chat, back via Dassiehoek to H&S’ house, lekker braai (=BBQ) with the whole family (- Gary who is in Nigeria working)
Dice Throw:
Wil (#4 best natural wonder) the Langerberg Mtn Range because it is awesomely huge making me feel quite insignificant.
Kel (#1 best part) riding in the back of gary’s Landie ‘cos there were no seatbelts and we could stick our heads out the window like dogs
Jen (#2 best taste) snoek pate on the hamper spread at Breede River. It is such a richly memorable flavour and quite unlike other fish with its unique almost beefy oily/smoked taste
Jeff (#5 words of the day) just now, now now, right now - all can mean immediately, last year, in a few hours.....?!?
Sunday 22nd - slow breakfast, Jen 2 hour walk over koppies ,round dams & through vineyards with Laura & Pacino (pointer dog), lunch braai at Steve and Mel’s homestead on veggie farm.
Wil (#4)  the ICEY Atlantic Ocean at Clifton Beach - my whole body was numb when Mom called me out
Kel (#1 best part) playing & especially swimming with cozzie Kristy because
Jen (#6 worst part) having to leave the Slaney Farm only to come home (the drive was however quite spectacular and we chilled off at Clifton Beach when home see the last part of the day  - tough)
Jeff (#2) boned lamb on the braai, hommus, home grown tomatoes, chillies, sundried tomatoes onions, tzatziki in pitta pockets for lunch
Monday 23rd
am exercise (Jeff stayed in bed with a book!); drove out to the Art & Craft precinct at the Old Biscuit Mill and enjoyed a fine REAL flat white made in the Espressolab where coffee was been freshly roasted on site. At 3ish we joined Muriel, Martyn & Stewart at Kirstenbosch botanical gardens for another (not so great) coffee & a wander.  Home via Rhodes Memorial where younger brother Mike tried to fly off a 3 m high granite plinth when he was 3. Our stirfry had a rather SA bend, flavoured heavily by some tasty boerewoers.
Dice rolled for individual comment ( see key)
Jeff (#4) enormous variety of indiginous fynbos
Jen (#6 worst part) watching the endlessly changeable weather around the coastal mountain ranges to try to determine suitability for a boat trip to Robben Island only to finally pull out off the idea!
Wil (#2 best taste)  gelati bowl at Kirstenbosch tearoom with the Paynes - it had a whole jug of warm toffee to pur over the top.
Kel (#1 best part) music game in Jazzie (Honda Jazz hire car). One person sings a distorted version of a song  & the first to guess goes next. It’s funny!

Tuesday 24th
drive out to the west side of Table Bay past Somerset West to Kleinmond where we lunched & furiously nattered with Mom’s first cousin, Jenny Rousseau (now 78 & fantastic) and her husband, Frank. We stopped off for an amazing swim at Spark’s Bay seapool. On the way home, the drive was beautifully punctuated by a swim at Gordon’s Bay.  Such an endless choice of fine beaches in this majestic coastal city.


Evening dice roll before tucking into bed with books.
Kel (#3 - human construction)  the seapool at Spark’s Bay. It was warm and had sea urchins,starfish and fish in it.
Wil (#2 - taste) bovril on raisin toast for brekkie - kinda like home....
Jen (#6 - worst part)  driving across the Cape Flats where as far as I could see were rickety tin rooves housing the city’s poor black people. I did circle work imagining the insides to be cosy, colourful and welcoming; reasoning that a bit of adversity is a good thing; reminding myself that happiness is connectedness and as a group they are always in packs kicking balls, dancing, singing, talking, walking....but too much hardship & struggling is overwhelming. Are they stinking hot, unbearably freezing, intolerably hungry, utterly exhausted, hopeful?
Jeff (#4 - natural wonder) wonderous mountain passes and coastal ranges framing every picture & around every bend (Kogelberg ranges)
Wil’s worst part was seeing human litter on the exquisite beaches & his favourite word is now “gat” (pronounced - gutteral “g” or phlegm - ut !)  - meaning hole.


Wednesday 25th January
am exercise, Jen run, Jeff swim, then on the Boat to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent so many years in prison
lunch at Newport (favourite local spot by the seafront -salads & coffee STILL subOz.... searching..)
some afternoon bargaining at the markets, then to Camps Bay for a bob in the waves as the sun set, home for dinner
Evening Dice Roll
Kel - best natural wonder was the many colours of the sunset
Wil - chicken snitzel burger at Newports; crunchy , fresh lettuce & tomato and nice garlic mayonnaise.
Jen - worst thing was the water pipe bursting with a loud bang and soaking Jeff and Kel at Robben Island
Jeff - best part of the day was doing laps in the sea water pool at the sea front, breathe to the west and you see the ships in the bay, breathe to the east and you spy Signal Hill atop all the highrises of Sea Point 



Thursday 26th ( Australia Day)
up EARLY at 0630 for brekkie before meeting the Paynes to walk up Table Mountain. Perfect day. 2 hour round trip only from car park high up. Onto a magnificent brunch at the oldest winery in the Cape, Groote Constantia. Late avo/early evening swim,walk & rock hop along the Clifton Beaches. We’re mindful that early next week we’ll be in the UK and probably subzero. Soaking up the vitamin D. Wil cooked a yummy chicken & vege korma stirfry for dinner.



Dice Roll
Jeff( best taste)  Wil’s chicken korma stirfry - beautiful bountiful veges, some still fresh from cousin Stevie’s farm
Jen( best part) the morning recipe - hardish walk, big feed, stroll around olde winery in good company
Kel ( worst part) waking up early - I was having such a nice sleep.
Wil (natural wonder) all the huge granite rocks along the beach to climb to the top of.
Friday 27th
exercise, cable car up Her Lady Table Mtn, off to Robertson to the Slaneys for an overnighter.


dice roll:
Wil (best man-made thing ) cable car because of it’s 4000L ballast undercarriage which helps it balance in strong winds & it’s circular rotating floor to get panoramic views as you ascend/descend
Kel (best part) staying up swimming in the dark with my cozzies until 1030 & Uncle Steve jumping on Wil, Dad & I in bed when saying goodnight.
Jeff (worst part) crowds going up Table Mtn - 800 people/hour in peak season!
Jen (nat wonder) Table Mtn - unendingly charismatic, silently dominant and graceful, lingering in Her beauty, calling me always to Africa , my motherland.  


Saturday 28th
woke late to breakfast with Helen & Steve and then off to the farm for a tour of local wineries, lunch and a swim before the drive back to Cape Town.
Wil (worst part) leaving the Slaneys. I really enjoyed them all so much and want to see them again soon
Kel (best man made) paint ball gun. It makes a great sound and I love the sploshes of bluey-purle paint it shoots.
Jeff (saying) “oozit” - Afrikaaner’s version of “ howzit” & bokdrolickies
Jen (best taste) Graham Beck’s “Bliss “ champagne ( tippy top best champagne in the region - ONLY $12/bottle)

Thursday, 19 January 2012

Oops - left off photo Bo Kaap!

Cape Quarter - as colourful as the unique mixed race "Malay"people that populate it

Thursday in Capetown - Malay Qtr, Green Markets, Camps Bay

Thursday 19th
throw the dice and write about: 
     1) best part
     2) best taste
     3) best human construction
     4) best natural wonder
     5) funniest language experience / word of the day
     6) worst thing
By Wil (1)
  swimming in the FREEZING Atlantic Ocean with Mum at her childhood hang out, Glen Beach. Unlike Australia, my skin didn’t sting or itch when coming out!
Kel (4)
Squirrel!
We saw him scrambling up a tree in Government Lane. He is  soft grey,brown, quite small and very cute.
Eastern Grey Squirrel. Introduced from North America by Cecil John Rhodes in late 1800s.
Jen (5)
 bartering in Green Market Square for  Capetownian artifacts - “I’ll give you nice price .. special price for you meddam!”
 Jeff (3)
  best human construction: all the multicoloured houses/buildings in the Bokaap area (AKA Malay Quarter)

Red Bull

Green Markets

"Doo Doo Doo, a dah dah dah, is all I want to say to you"

Girl on her beach


Jeff's best part was going to Glen Beach (small cove next to Camps Bay) where Jen spent a lot of her youthful weekend time playing with her brothers and parents and grandparents and cousins.  Late afternoon, sun setting over the ocean, the tablecloth was on the 12 Apostles and it was clearly an emotional time for the beautiful woman.  It was a special time for me too to imagine her playing here as a kid but more so seeing the circle of life as Kel and Wil revelled in the cold Atlantic water, spun on the beach building sand constructions and bounded over the massive boulders at each end of the beach.  The kids found what they proclaimed was their secret "nook" that no-one else knew of (a crevice / cave among the boulders), only to be disappointed to find out that mum and uncle Greg and uncle Mike claimed that nook as their own 35 years ago! 

Pack up and Adelaide Pics

Brown Hill - daily ritual in Adelaide

SPF 15, WPF 0

Jen and Emma at Glenelg


Empty Castile St


Stuff for a year, and a flat battery Mercedes

Travelling Kib
storage


Derick Wilsen commemoration page Adelaide Cemetery

Capetown!

Capetown Waterfront

Boost Juice Capetown airport
Hire car to Gary Slaney’s (Jen’s 1st cousin) flat up high overlooking the ocean at Green Point, what a lovely bit of luxury from our very generous cousin!
   Hot day and determined not to give in to exhaustion and sleep we went out for a drive around all Jen’s kiddy haunts, along the spectacular coastline, had a walk at Llandudno (lovely little covey beach fringed with massive boulders and millionaire houses), scorching sun but freezing water, then drove on to Hout Bay where we had an early dinner of Fish (SNOEK!) and Chips before driving home to Gary’s flat and giving in to sleep at about 6pm.
Llandudno


Blouberg beach

Kel's favourite cargo ships

Sunset from Gary's flat

Wednesday 18th Jan:
Dreadful night -  uncharacteristically hot, mossies ++, clocks upside down. Kids slept brilliantly. Wil wakes sick with diarrhoea....bugger!
Nonetheless, the sound of the vigorous Atlantic ocean always in the background, the smell of pine trees & malay spices, amazing wide black African smiles, the bussle of a busy port city draw us toward exploring. Kel engaged spotting massive container ships dotting Table Bay viewed from our wide stoep (Afrikaans for balcony)        
Ouma Rusks, tea & guava juice - more rich palatal childhood memories.
We planned an easy day given Wil’s condition & set off to the Waterfront to the Nelson Mandela Museum. Queer & extra-ordinary seeing such tribute in a City that for decades tagged him as a bad man. Didn’t realize the pivotal role of soccer in evolving the cause of the prisoner’s freedom struggle. To play it right required commitment to a code of exemplary behaviour from the prisoners as well as fair engagement from the authorities (NOT the small minded approach typical of apartheid). Will chase a film - Not Just a Game...
Wil’s best bit was the Diamond Museum. He was keen to show me the Eight Hearts cut (reveals 8 hearts when from below & 10 arrows when viewed from above).
We wandered a bit more around the Waterfront precinct taking in the sounds of banjo-playing buskers and never tiring of the majestic views of Table Mountain in every backdrop.
Home for a rest and our now routine of a late avo "linner" (lunch and dinner).
Our final excursion saw us drive up to to view Table Mountain this time from the north at Blouberg beach. It seems one wants to look at Her from every possible angle in all lights - just like the visual addiction to Lady Uluru. 

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Adelaide

Wednesday 11th: up early to find we couldn’t start Gren’s MCD’s (we left the lights on overnight!).  Short cab ride to Gren’s, quick breaky and off to the airport where we were met by the lovely Boticas (-G), and finally lifted off.......phew!
  In Adelaide we stayed at the Brown Hill Van Park in a cabin, lovely bush area, great Brown Hill to climb for a good burn, went into the markets (quiet Wednesday, not much open), crashed the Diciccos for a howdy, then early night.
Thursday: up Brown Hill, shopping for kids shoes, pm with Louise, Steve, Emma Yarnold, great BBQ dinner and Steve saw the great things about having 1 child!
Friday: up the hill! took the Godsons (Jordan and Sam) to the markets to buy up for dinner, back to their place for a kick of the footy (Sam and Jeff victorious in both touch and forcembacks), then a big dinner served by Wil and Jordan with the whole Dicicco family
Saturday: up the hill!!  Met Louise, Steve and Emma Yarnold and caught a tram to the city to paddle boat, cleverly decided to paddle under the fountain (those umbrellas are sun but not water proof), then tram to Glenelg for the beach and Fishnchips and a bounce on the trampolines.

Sunday: am: exercise with John and Sam DiCicco (for those who know John that is an astounding transformation, one who previously scoffed at the thought of exercise, was blessed with a speedy metabolism but until recently was blobbing out, now gets up at 5:30 most mornings and rain/hale or whatever Adelaide serves up heads out to group fitness, can hover for > 3 min, pushup+++ and is planning a 1/2 marathon this year)
    pm: pizza linner from the DiCicco oven before off on the bus to the city for the Tour Down Under opening stage (crit), the atmosphere was great (Adelaide knows how to put on an event, hey Melbourne!) and we managed to get a great trackside spot where the peleton literally flew around us so close we could touch them (we didn’t!) and the whoosh of the wind and whirr of the wheels and the sheer speed and compactness of the group was really a testament to the super-human fitness and skill of these amazing athletes.  
Monday and Tuesday: Jen attended John DiCicco’s group fitness class, packed all cases to 23 kg precisely, flew via Perth and Johannesburg to Capetown, marathon effort managed best by the kids (silly adults don’t sleep sitting up), got to Capetown to find our 4 bags decided to stay in J’burg another few hours, giving us the perfect opportunity to sample a Boost Juice (exactly the same) and a coffee, change money etc.