Can We Keep Him?

Went home on Monday afternoon to find Mom at home with a freshly baked cheesecake (Varen's request) and Varen at home sick asleep in bed. So Mom and I went out and actually finished the xmas shopping (except I still haven't bought anything yet for Varen!). And then we went out for dinner (leaving Varen home to sleep & hopefully recover!). Mom was craving pizza as she never eats it at home (Daddio hates Italian food like pasta & pizza) so we tried to go to Lapa Fo, but they were closed :(

Instead we tried a new place in Greenside called Ossobucco. We started with Melanzane alla Parmigiana to share. That was delish :) And then we each had a pizza ... oh, and they do do half-and-half if you ask them. The pizza was fairly average but served it's purpose.

On Tuesday (Day of Reconciliation) Varen was feeling much better and we all went out shopping some more, still looking for a gift for me & Varen. And then headed to the pet shop where Mom and I'd seen some 4-week old black dwarf bunnies yesterday. As I said before, Varen wanted to get me one as an xmas pressie. So we bought one :) See, that's him you can hardly see with all the rest of the wrapped pressies. (Yes folks, we got ourselves a little boy this time)

He's too cute and we let him run around on the grass for a while with Bell and Henna when we got home. Henna seems to really like him, but Bell seems to absolutely HATE him! Bell charged after him like a crazy person. And kept trying to nip him. So, so far we've had to keep them separated. Bell seems to go mad at Henna as well if we put the new little boy outside in the cage roof (handy that it comes off easily and can keep him separated from Bell!). He seems to drive her insane and if she can't get to him she'll take whatever is nearby. Luckily Henna seems to be much faster than Bell. And as soon as we take the little boy back inside and leave the girls outside, Bell is back to normal with Hen.

Sigh, you have no idea how terrified I am. He's quite small compared to them and didn't start out afraid, more curious. But after being chased like mad by Bell, it took him ages to let Henna get up close to him again. We are going to the farm with them in a week & half and I am so worried that Bell will not be getting on with him yet. He's so cute, but he's driving her nuts and I don't know if we should keep him. As a cute tiny little thing, he has more chance of being bought by someone else right now ... but when he gets older and is around their size, we're hoping she won't be able to be such a bully (being that he is a boy). I don't know what the right thing to do is ... sigh. I hardly slept last night with worry. For now he is fine, sleeping alone in our bathroom while the girls stay, as normal, in the hutch outside. I really don't want Bell to hurt him.

She's even started nipping me now! We thought it was cause I smelt of him but she didn't nip Mom or Varen when they held her (after they'd held him). I was scared of her yesterday because she kept lunging for me. Clearly angry at me. It's been quite upsetting, but he's so adorable and I would HATE to have to get rid of either of them :( Sob.

For now he remains unnamed. I'm thinking of Coal, but am not 100% sure yet ... They've all been named after their colours so, if you can think of any other cool names, please let me know!

Yesterday I had to drop Mom off at the airport too ... that sucked. It was great having her here (not just cause of all the cooking she did!). I miss having her nearby. Before she left, Varen & I each had to open a gift from her (being that she wouldn't see us on xmas ... and I actually made her open her surprise gift, a tagine from Morocco, on the day she arrived!). She'd wanted to make xmas this year "small & green" so she'd bought us each something from The Green Shop. Varen is loving his Moppelino man, he's made him do about a million different poses already! And I can't wait to get my Solar light hung :) Thanks Mom!

Fractured by Karin Slaughter

When Atlanta housewife Abigail Campano comes home unexpectedly one afternoon, she walks into a nightmare. A broken window, a bloody footprint on the stairs and, most devastating of all, the horrifying sight of her teenage daughter lying dead on the landing, a man standing over her with a bloody knife. The struggle which follows changes Abigail's life forever. When the local police make a misjudgement which not only threatens the investigation but places a young girl's life in danger, the case is handed over to Special Agent Will Trent of the Criminal Apprehension Team - teamed with detective Faith Mitchell, a woman who resents him from their first meeting. But in the relentless heat of a Georgia summer, Will and Faith realise that they must work together to find the brutal killer who has targeted one of Atlanta's wealthiest, most privileged communities - before it's too late.

This was a decent mystery book. I quite like the characters being developed and would definitely read another of the series (if in fact there is a series?).

13 November: Fez

Today we went on a long guided tour. Our guide was a local woman called Hakeema and she was great :)

First we visited the Borj Sud and enjoyed a view across Fez and the Medina. Then we went to Art Naji, a ceramic workshop, where we got to see each stage of work. From the piles of rock that sits for 3 days in water to become clay to the men spinning their pottery wheels by foot to the huge kilns (that use olive peat to get the high temperatures required) to the painters and mosaic cutters and designers. It was very interesting and they have some gorgeous stuff for sale! I wish I could've justified buying myself one of their fountains :)

From there we went to the Medina where we tried some Moroccan Pizza (which is divine when fresh!) and nougat (which the bees love) and we walked past many of the doors of the Quaraouiyine Mosque.

Then we visited a weaver's workshop, the silk they get from the cactus is very cool :) And then we went to a tannery (all this is tucked away in little doors off side streets in the Medina). Luckily we only saw the tannery from high above while perusing the leather shop (had to climb loads of stairs to get up there) because the smell is pretty awful even from that far away! Note: See photo of tannery below. For lunch we stopped at a little stall selling Bessara (fava bean soup), which was okay ... but a fun experience :)

In the Medina, we also got to see some old-style windows to allow the Muslim women to be able to see out (back in the day when they weren't allowed to even leave the house) but no one could see in or see them.

Walking thru the Medina, you're constantly trying to get out of the way of horses and donkeys that are being used to move goods, and often motorcycles too! You also pass loads of meat sellers (they guys selling chicken have them live in cages right there and kill them as needed!), it is quite different from our far more removed supermarkets ... and I think I quite like it like that!

Note: Photo on left is the view of the skyline just above the tannery. Scary, huh?

After that we wandered the Medina a little on our own, starting at Bab Boujouloud (a famous gate into the Medina) and walking down just the one street (so that we could find our way back). I did end up buying myself a gorgeous green pashmina, which I love. But there wasn't much else to be found because most of the stalls in this street we selling current-type stuff (takkies, jeans, socks etc.) and not tourist-type stuff :(

Generally hung out with the group in the hotel for the short time left of our "free" afternoon and then went to a local restaurant nearby for dinner - I had kofta tagine which was good. I am really enjoying these tagines :)

Weekend with Mom

It was a great weekend. It started on Friday night when Varen & I arrived home to a delish home-cooked meal by Mom. She made us an Indian dish called Lamb Saag. It was planned tho cause she had to bring up like a million spices from home that she knew there was no way I'd have ;) And boy was it good! I miss mom's cooking.

On Saturday we were up early and headed out to get the Xmas shopping over with (at this point Varen & I had yet to start!). But first we had breakfast at Europa in Rosebank. What a mistake. Our food took about an hour. And yes they were busy. But when we eventually complained (it was 11 o'clock by now and we hadn't eaten yet!) the waiter told us they'd had a problem with their kitchen staff not arriving ... my first question was surely you mention that to people about to order in a fairly full restaurant. I mean really :P And then about 2 minutes later we saw a tray of egg's arriving ... I wonder what the real reason for the huge delay was! Why can't people just be upfront and honest?

But after we'd eaten and could get on our way, our moods definitely improved :) We managed to get the bulk of the gift shopping done on Saturday and went home to relax for a little bit. Varen had to work on Saturday evening :( But Mom & I went to watch The Women.

This film tells the story of Mary Haines (Meg Ryan), a clothing designer who seems to have it all – a beautiful country home, a rich financier husband, an adorable 11-year-old daughter and a part-time career creating designs for her father's venerable clothing company. Her best friend, Sylvie Fowler (Annette Bening), leads another enviable life – a happily single editor of a prominent fashion magazine, a possessor of a huge closet of designer clothes and a revered arbiter of taste and style poised on New York's cutting edge. But when Mary's husband enters into an affair with Crystal Allen (Eva Mendes), a sultry "spritzer girl" lurking behind the Saks 5th Ave perfume counter, all hell breaks loose. Mary and Sylvie's relationship is tested to the breaking point while their tight-knit circle of friends, including mega-mommy Edie Cohen (Debra Messing) and author Alex Fisher (Jada Pinkett-Smith), all start to question their own friendships and romantic relationships.

I wouldn't drag any men-folk to see this one. There's not a man in the cast. Seriously. But it's a nice feel-good girly flick. I just have 3 major things to comment on. Firstly, the cameo's. Bette Midler & Carrie Fisher. Even Jada Pinkett-Smith & Debra Messing. Not very crucial roles ... In fact it felt almost like they were thrown in for good measure to try capturing another "girl-type" (Debra the mother to 4 and Jada the lesbian). Secondly, the very typically Hollywood "follow your dream and you'll be amazing and your lying cheating ex husband will want you back". Yeah, sure. Plus, the women in movies who do that always have the money to throw at their passion. If only I had pots of cash to spend my days doing all sorts of things that interested me. And lastly, jees does Meg Ryan look lik Nicole Kidman with her hair straightened. She really should not have had her lips pumped full of botox or whatever either.

But it was still nice to just get to hang out with Mom :) Varen & I are really discussing the move-back-to-Cape-Town idea these days. At the moment, we're actually aiming for end 2009. I'm sorta excited abotu that, even tho I am loving my job up here at the moment ... besides, who knows what can happen in a year ;) But I know that I would love to live in the same city as my family again. I never really planned on being in Joburg for 5 years!

On Sunday we got a little more gift-shopping out of the way (well, Mom & I had also done even more before the movie!) and went home to enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon braai. And I got most of the presents wrapped (having them all wrapped and waiting is actually my favourite part! I love to wrap them as soon as they're bought and put them on display) ... and then the sticky tape ran out :(

12 November: Chefchaouen to Fez

Today is the Peeb's birthday :) Happy birthday leetle sis ... hope you got my postcard in time!

We took taxi's from our idyllic Chefchaouen hotel to the bus station down the hill. Taxi's here seem to be Fiat Uno's and really have barely any space for 3 people and their luggage!

Then we caught a 09h30 public bus. Our bus trips to date have been on coaches (like Greyhound). The public bus wasn't too bad, just a tighter squeeze (even more so now that I'm traveling with a lamp!), a slower journey and much more crowded. At least there were no live chickens on board or strapped to the roof ;)

We stopped for a roadside lunch around 1pm. They had sheep handing out in the open and a nearby "braai" type area. I wasn't hugely keen on trying it initially but, lots of people were and looked still looked well enough so I threw caution to the wind and had some of the kofta. It was so yummy, freshly cooked, mixed with spices and eaten with fresh bread.

We continued on our journey and got to Fez at about 15h30. Then took another taxi ride to our hotel, Hotel Olympic. Driving here seems to be as hazardous as in Cairo!

We went for a wander around the area surrounding our hotel (our usualy city orientation walk) and then took a quick taxi ride so we could walk thru the Medina (you can't go too far on your own without a guide in the Fez Medina because it encompasses over 9000 little roads ... they actually stopped trying to count them!) to Restaurant Dar Jamai (interior on left) where we had a 7 course dinner.

I am definitely enjoying the food more in Morocco than in Spain or Portugal! It's actually so nice to see some veggies again :)

The Mommelle Has Landed

The Mom has arrived :) I went to fetch her at the airport yesterday afternoon ... and as much as I think the Gautrain is going to be a big fat waste (and don't get me started on those extra high-way lanes ... by the time they finish, current schedule says that'll be in 2011, they'll need to start on a new idea!) I can not wait for the Sandton to Ort route to be completed because *that* I think will be useful. The traffic was horrendous.

But we got her home and hung out for a while (went thru my all 648 of my holiday photo's & videos), showed her all the cool things we'd bought on holiday & my new laptop and she got to play with the girls (who will be thrilled to get to run around all day while someone is home!) and can't believe how Henna has grown into a little fluff ball since she last saw her.

Then we went for dinner at CTFM in Cresta and was certainly better than our Cape Town Experience. Varen had one of their new Set Menu Type things which looks pretty good - if you have the space for a starter, main & dessert, and mom & I had sushi :) And now I sadly have to work ... even tho yesterday felt like such a Friday!

To all of you who are reading for your last day before heading off on Summer hols, I hope you have a blast and look forward to having you back, avidly catching up, in the New Year. I will be here pretty much all the way thru December (having taken my 3 weeks leave in November) and it will be "programming as normal" at Glad to be a Girl (so schedule like a whole day or two of blog-reading on your return, cause there'll be plenty!). Have a blast :)

11 November: Chefchaouen

This morning Varen went to the Spanish Embassy personally and his visa was denied again. Apparently he left his first application too late (well, not exactly him, it was due to delays on MDS Visa's part!! Annoying or what?) and today they said they needed a minimum of 4 days to process a Schengen Visa. He's flying in 2 days!

Luckily he managed to get hold of our travel agent who got him onto another flight altogether and now he only leaves Joburg on Friday and has a mere 4 hour stop-over in Madrid (don't ask me why she didn't put him on this flight in the first place?!). Can't wait to see him on Saturday :) But is so typical that he can get things to magically still work out at the last minute, that boy is just plain lucky!

Today I had quite a relaxed day. Had breakfast and then headed into the Medina to wander. Unfortunately it was very overcast today so the blues of the buildings weren't quite as brilliant as I think they can be. But I'm very glad to have had the day and night time experience in the town. I ended up buying a Moroccan Lamp I'd seen last night (wish I'd taken a photo of it when I'd first seen it the night before! Instead will post one once we've managed to "install" it above the dining room table - finger's crossed!). I saw some other nice things but, nothing else that screamed "you absolutely have to have me!". I'm still looking for some gifts tho but, it can be quite hard shopping for someone else when everything seems so trinkety. I was looking at getting a stunning tagine, only to find out that the gorgeous ones I was interested in are only for serving and can't actually be used to cook in (something to do with how it's glazed). Is such a pity because buying just for display purposes seems a little wasteful to me.

I ate lunch at an adorable little restaurant called Restaurant Al Kasba (that's it in the photo on the left). I had a nice shrimp tagine. After that I just made my way back to our lovely hotel to relax for the rest of the afternoon.

The hikers got back quite late so I'm completely thrilled I didn't do that! Although, after my Sintra experience, it wasn't very likely :)

I actually ended up having another wander thru the market with Helen when she got back from the hike - hanging out at the hotel is just not really my thing. I visited my friend Abdul again and ended up buying 2 bangles from him. I oddly really just wanted to buy something from him because he's made my visit to Chefchaouen more interesting. I have actually met and chatted with many of the seller's here since meeting him yesterday but, he had a certain charm. I got a photo with him too - naturally he had to dress me up in traditional scarves first but, it was far better than my experience in Egypt!

Good Mood

Sheesh I am tired this morning. After 2 late nights in a row and still getting up at 6am ... and boy are these 5-day work weeks long! But I'm in a very good mood this morning because later I'm fetching The Mom from Ort (the airport ... I fondly refer to it as Ort after it's ridiculous renaming. I mean come on people, renaming for the sake of renaming is stupid, the name "Johannesburg International" never offended anyone!).

Other than that not much is potting. Planning a serious bout of Xmas shopping this weekend ... and I sneakily guessed my probable gift from Varen, a little black bunny :) I am hoping (no offense to y'all) that Joburg will clear out on Friday afternoon and become the blissfully peaceful place it is ever December.

10 November: Jerez to Chefchaouen

Last night we wandered down to our private Flamenco Show at about 21h00. We had dinner there (nothing terribly impressive for the amount we paid - there is usually a show price and then a price that includes dinner, they're vastly different. We had no option but dinner-included because the place was basically open just for us and had to make their money's worth I guess).

It was an odd sort of old plain restaurant with lots of 1970's photos on the walls and a stage in one corner. But, once they started the show, it was all worth it. There were 3 women dancing, 1 man singing and 1 man playing the guitar. I have never seen feet move that quickly!



This morning we were up before 6am (and it still looks like night at 07h30!) to get an early start on our long day of traveling.

I have not slept especially well this trip. I think it's a combination of a new hotel bed nearly every night, sometimes eating quite late (like last night) and often dozing during long bus rides. I have also been having dreams (which is unusual for me) although they're not memorable after I've woken up. Still, it is very weird.

First (on our long journey) we took a bus (mode of transport for the day number 1) to Algeciras which was sadly late arriving as well as being a longer bus ride than was expected. So instead of taking another Bus from Algeciras to Tarifa (where the express ferry leaves from), we caught taxi's (mode of transport for the day number 2) and sped there as best we could. Unfortunately it didn't help us as we arrived to watch our 11h30 ferry leaving the harbour. The next ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar was at 13h00 :(

So we spent some time wandering the very surf / kite-surf oriented town of Tarifa. Which was good because I managed to buy some Jerez sherry for mom after all :)

The ferry ride (mode of transport for the day number 3) across was pretty speedy, only 35 mins (which is really all you need, it's not terribly exciting!). Pity the weather was overcast so I didn't get any amazing "crossing" shots. Plus, I was totally expecting some kind of "Welcome to Africa" sign or something ... hello people, you have a potential tourist experience here, why aren't you making something of it ?! Maybe it's just me ;) I was the only one avidly watching our progress across the Strait from the outside area of the ferry. Everyone else seemed quite content to sit inside and chat away as if it was no momentous experience. See, I'm sure it's just me :) Note: the photo on the right is from us leaving Europe, but it gives you a good idea of the weather!

On arrival in Tangier (finally, another stamp in my passport!) we took minibus taxi's (mode of transport for the day number 4) all the way to Chefchaouen (they tried to fit the last vowel in there at the end but figured then you'd really not be able to pronounce it ;) ). It's about a 2 hour drive and the scenery here is lovely, all green hills.

Chefchaouen is quite lovely and perched high up on a mountainside. And the place we're staying in, Dar Echchaouen, is gorgeous!! After we settled into our rooms, we went for a walk in the Medina. Oh my word, I am in market / shopping heaven! I haven't bought anything yet, nor am I even sure what to buy but, all the colours and the vibe is wonderful. All the houses are various shades of light blue and white and the streets are all quite narrow and it's hard to tell one from the next.

Met a fabulous seller called Abdul who is apparently a Berber from the Sahara. He was showing me necklaces and telling me the stories of how the design was used as a compass in the old days and how it represented the different tribes (Berber, Nomad, Bedouin and another) coming together in the desert. Was amazing and very interesting.

After wandering for a while on our own, we met for dinner. It was lovely. I had a cheese salad to start, followed by a sweetened meat tagine (amazing flavours!) and finished of with pomegranate seeds with honey - yummy!

I am looking forward to a day spent wandering the medina tomorrow (I certainly won't be hiking in the nearby mountains like some of our group). Can't wait for a nice, relaxing day exploring a beautiful town :)

On a scary note tho, Varen smsed earlier today to say that his Schengen Visa was declined (he needs it for his 24 hour pre-Morocco stop-over in Spain!). He's off to the Spanish Embassy in Pretoria in person tomorrow to plead for an emergency visa, he's flying out on Thursday evening (that's 3 days away)! I'm hoping that worst case scenario is that he has to just stay in Madrid airport for that time, since he already has his Moroccan visa. Finger's crossed!! Eep, this is why I *hate* visa's!

Wednesday Morning

Yesterday was J9-double0blonde's birthday (& Exmi's so happy birthday to both you lovely ladies!) so we headed to the Gypsey Lounge for some celebratory drinks. Sadly the service was pretty shocking (they were busy and I gather that these days are quite the place to be, but you'd think they'd actually want to be making money off the people taking up their seats!!). The birthday girl's drink came long after everyone else's :( But I will say that my drink, a Watermelon & Chili Mule, was divine! So perhaps cocktails there on a quieter night or a little bit earlier (like after-work drinks instead) would be a better idea. The food also looked nice, although I only tried the phyllo cheese parcels, which weren't as delish as the ones at the Bell Pepper.

This morning I got to work at my usual, 7am, only to discover the handful of other early-birds sitting around locked out of the offices - they'd been there since 6am!! We managed to get inside about half an hour later, but it still made for a slightly more eventful morning than usual.

Slowly Getting Installed

Tuesday morning ... last night was a nice quiet typical Monday :) Played some more with the new laptop /*grin*/ But I must explain that that is why there's been a delay in holiday posts ... I only just managed to get the photo's (a very important part of those posts!) off Varen's laptop and onto my new one. But then there was no time for blogging, only time to make some dinner and catch up on some Series ... we have been sorely lacking!! So, they will continue, hopefully tomorrow.

Lamb by Christopher Moore

The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years -- except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in the divinely hilarious yet heartfelt work reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams.

Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more -- except maybe Maggie, Mary of Magdala -- and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

Now this is a fun book with plenty of laugh out loud moments :) And I guess even the believers will enjoy it if they take it with a pinch of salt. Mostly it's just a fun adventure story of two friends with an occasional resurrection thrown in for good measure. My favourite bits were Biff's made up biblical quotes - paha!

> Follow Christopher Moore on Twitter

Awesome Weekend!

Wow, what a fantastic weekend :) Seriously folks. Erm, Friday started out with a movie. Varen & I went to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (yes, that's how *they* spell pyjama!)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a fictional story that offers a unique perspective on how prejudice, hatred and violence affect innocent people, particularly children, during wartime. Through the lens of an eight-year-old boy largely shielded from the reality of World War II, we witness a forbidden friendship that forms between Bruno, the son of Nazi commandant, and Schmuel, a Jewish boy held captive in a concentration camp. Though the two are separated physically by a barbed wire fence, their lives become inescapably intertwined. The imagined story of Bruno and Schmuel sheds light on the brutal, senselessness and devastating consequences of war from an unusual point of view. Together, their tragic journey helps recall the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust.

Varen bought me this book last year before my trip to East Africa. I loved the book (see, it really is supposed to be pyjama!). The movie was done amazingly well. And actually I went home and read the book again this weekend. Such a tough story told thru the eyes of innocence. If you haven't read the book, read it. And then watch the movie :)

On Saturday the morning was a bit of a mad rush to get things done before the bloggirls xmas party. Almost bought a laptop, but kept changing my mind. Finally after almost spending 9 grand, Varen & I changed our mindset. Originally he'd told me to stick with Core2Duo or at very least DualCore chips. By the end of the morning we were looking at a machine with 2 Gb RAM and 250Gb hard drive. All very impressive specs for lots of moola. But I wasn't so sure ... cause I don't really like a wide-screen 15", I'd prefer a 17". But then we chatted for a bit and had a think. Actually, this laptop is just sort of for fun for me. It doesn't need to do any serious work, store my photos, let me connect to the internet, play a few strategy games (if I ever get a chance!) and run Photoshop every so often. And at most it'd probably get used an hour a day, if that. So why spend all that money on the fancy specs when I'll barely be using the power of it. (Now if I were buying something to use at work all day then I'd be happy spending some serious money and push my budget up to about 15 grand, but that's not what I'm looking for here). So we headed home with a new plan for Sunday :)

And then it was off to the bloggirls Xmas Party at Louisa's house :) Wow, it was such fun. Varen & I were there from 14h30 till 21h30. My favourite lady bloggers were there: Jackson & his mom, Angel&Glugs&theKnucklehead, Sweets (and yes, we all nagged her to start blogging again!), Exmi&TheBoyfriend, Tamara&TSC, Jeanette&DH&2kids and Louisa (obviously). I also got to meet some new girls, Arkwife&Hubby and Ruby. The Secret Santa worked out well. The boys seemed to get on quite well ... and it's amazing how many of them are Afrikaans! Angel made some delish cupcakes for us - yummy! (That's a pic I stole from Angel on the right but, those were the cupcakes she made for us!)

I can not begin to explain just what a wonderful afternoon I had and how fantastic all the people there are. Really genuine people who I thouroughly enjoy the company of ... and let me tell you, they can be hard to find! I am amazed at what bloggirls has turned into since I started it in May, but I have a feeling next year is going to be even better :) I've got some great new ideas like spa days and Christmas in June ... I'm really looking forward to it.

On Sunday morning Varen & I went to Doppio Greenside for breakfast with J9-double0blonde and Squeak. Was nice to see them because we haven't really had a chance since we got back. After that we went to complete our laptop shopping ... well, that was the plan. We headed back to Greenstone Mall (where we'd been the day before) because we'd seen a Dell Inspiron 1525 (with a Celeron chip ... I know but I tried to explain this already) for R5499 at Game.

And here begins a rant (figured you needed a bit of a warning after all that upbeat stuff from the Xmas Party!). We waited ages for someone to assist us. Now these Dell's are supposed to come in a variety of colours and I wanted red, which was the colour of the laptop on display. But it turns out that Greenstone Game only had pink or black so he kindly checked the system for me and found 2 red ones at Eastgate and 8 in Wynberg. I insisted before we started driving around that he call them and confirm that they did indeed have the laptop I wanted and would keep it for me. Eastgate turned out not to have any - funny how often that sort of thing happens! But Wynberg did. So off we drove. Only to get there, find the guy, say I was here to buy the red laptop, sent from Greenstone etc. etc. He comes and asks if I want that with or without internet - an annoying price difference to all the Game laptops is if you want it cheaper you have to sign your life away to mweb. There was no chance I wanted that! Let me explain, the laptop I was lok at cost R3999 if you took it with a 2 year internet contract or R5499 without. But the dude came out saying without internet it's R7999. Nope buddy, that's not the Celeron, that's the Core2Duo ... see the price difference that helped with my decision making?! Then we went over to the display case (yes, in Wynberg they have the laptops behind locked cabinet doors!) and pointed out the R5499 one that I wanted. To which he replied, that special is only for the pink ones. He has red and black, but then you have to pay R6499. Yes folks, he wanted to charge an extra R1000 for a different colour ... there was no difference in the machines at all! He even pointed out a handy Game flyer he had stated "available in pink" as his reasoning.

So we left, in a near-rage, and drove back to Greenstone - Varen was now determined. And well, if I couldn't get red, black was fine by me ... but not for an extra R1000! The dude at Greenstone didn't ask any questions, just went and got the black laptop. And while waiting I browsed their adverts at the counter. Would you believe that Game had 2 advert inserts (you know those huge annoying things they fill newspapers with!), one valid from 30 November - 07 December and the other valid from 04 - 07 December. The one the guy in Wynberg showed us starting "available in pink" and the other without any mention of such a thing ... both for the exact same price. Can you believe how annoyed I was! See adverts below.



But, I left happy with a new laptop, in black, and Varen & I went home. Brother Zion came over for the afternoon and he & Varen installed and got my machine up & running (you know, removing Windows & installing Linux). I am loving it :) It's all new and shiny and mine! I've never had my very own computer before, one that didn't actually belong to a company, anyway.

We watched Be Kind Rewind on dvd in the evening.

Jerry is a junkyard worker who attempts to sabotage a power plant he suspects of causing his headaches. But he inadvertently causes his brain to become magnetized, leading to the unintentional destruction of all the movies in his friend's store. In order to keep the store's one loyal customer, an elderly lady with a tenuous grasp on reality, the pair re-create a long line of films including The Lion King, Rush Hour, Ghostbusters, When We Were Kings, Driving Miss Daisy, and Robocop, putting themselves and their townspeople into it. They become the biggest stars in their neighborhood.

It's kinda fun, but you sorta see all you need to in the trailer to be honest.

And that was the end of my awesome weekend :) Except that I went downstairs this morning to find Bell had broken out of the new hutch. She'd climbed onto the cat-box (that I put in there to give them some hide-away space from the thunder & lightning we've been having) and pushed open the top lid and managed to somehow get herself stuck in the small space between the hutch & the wall. Boy was she was happy to see me! Crazy bunny.

09 November: Faro to Seville to Jerez

This morning we left quite early (well, earlier than usual at any rate) to catch an 8:20am bus back to Spain. We drove for 4 hours before we arrived in Seville where we got to spend the afternoon. This time I slept right thru the border crossing, they didn't even stop or bother to check our passports at all!

Had a little lunch at a crazy tapas restaurant with one very angry waitress! After that I went into the Cathedral of Seville with Michael. He kindly paid the 7.50 EUR entrance fee (each). I think he was a little tired of me not going into anything (like our day in Sintra). Or maybe he just wanted the company. Either way, it was lovely, completely churchy as one would expect, but the best bit by far was the Giralda Bell Tower and the view over Seville from way up top! I gather the Bell Tower was once the Minuret from a Mosque and mirrors one in Marrakech (photo on right).

Have just read in the brochure that I was looking at Christopher Columbus's tomb and wondering who was in there - haha!

After that we made our way back to the bus station. But we stopped at a fete/market in the nearby gardens first. Quite fun but actually not that different from the stuff on sale at markets back home.

Photo below of Bells in Giralda Bell Tower, I think I read there were 17 Bells and they're massive! Lucky they didn't start ringing while we were up there :)

Okay, quick side-track. Seville was, I think, the most beautiful city we've visited so far. So far I've found Spain & Portugal quite disappointing and not quite what I was expecting. Yes, yes, I know, so many people love Spain, but find me one person who loves Spain who has *not* been to Barcelona. I think the trick lies there! Anyway, I guess having traveled in Africa so much, I have an expectation of Europe, with it's history, to be far more glamorous. Until Seville, it really hasn't been. And maybe that really is only a comment on the area's we've been staying in, but I've found the places to be quite run down and in disrepair/ There are so many deserted buildings and the places seem, quite simply, shabby. Actually not all that different from Nairobi. They have all had stunning old buildings and cathedrals, but the rest of the town has just never been all that impressive :( Seville, on the other hand, appeared well looked after. The end result was that the bit (small, I know) of Seville I saw this afternoon left me with a better impression than other cities we've spent two nights in!

Anyway, at 18h30 we caught our bus to Jerez. We're staying at Hotel Tierras de Jerez, and that's almost all of Jerez we'll get to see, after arriving so late :( But we are off to a specially-put-on, just-for-us Flamenco Show this evening (it is, after all, a Sunday). Sadly tho, we're missing out on the Sherry tasting tomorrow :( Nothing opens for tastings before 11am and we have a long day of travelingto get across the Straits of Gibraltar and into Morocco. It's a pity but, I think the show tonight (which only starts at 21h30) will be worth it and definitely make up for it - finger's crossed!

A Bunch of Stuff

The Vaal yesterday was pretty cool. Weather was nice (we were back before the giant rainstorm!). Am a little over the whole Vaal River Cruise thing now ... after my third time doing it, never with the same bunch or the same Cruise company tho - this time it was with Waterfront Country Lodge. Would you believe how completely the same all these places look too? And I must say, I'm never all that blown away by the food :(

Is there really that little to do in Joburg? Hmmm, yes, I think I'm becoming bored by Joburg. Anyhoo, am feeling a little out of sorts at the moment. I haven't been sleeping that well and I have been spontaneously waking up at around 5:30 (no matter what time I go to bed the night before!!). Last night we went for a yummy dinner at Varen's folks place and then drove home watching the lovely lightning spread across the whole of Joburg. By the time we arrived home it had hit full on and we got soaked running between the car & house (have I mentioned before how badly planned our complex is in regard to this?!). With such loud thunder and lightning, I just couldn't let my girls sleep outside so they spent the night in the bathroom :) They really are the cutest things ever! But I think Henna is going a bit mad :) She now stands up on her hind legs at the fish pond and eats the plants growing out of there! And yesterday I found her flopped (all stretched out and relaxed) in their potty! Funny little thing :)

And now, thank goodness, it is Friday!

08 November: Faro

Today we took a bus to Olhão. I'll say right now, I'm not really sure why we did this, I think we were on the budget Algarve trip!

In Olhão we wandered some amazing fresh produce and fish markets right along the sea-side while waiting for our ferry. The fish markets absolutely amazed me, I couldn't believe they had hole moray eels and wray for sale. I certainly didn't expect to find them, except when scuba-diving!

Then we caught the ferry to Culatra, one of the many surrounding islands. On Culatra we took a walk thru the "town" (photo on right) and out over some dunes and then found ourselves on an almost deserted beach. We were very lucky because it was by far the most stunning day we've had so far. Beautiful sunshine without a cloud in the sky! We lazed on the beach for a while. I tried getting my feet wet but the water only felt marginally better than Cape Town, so I didn't even pretend swimming was an option.

A little later we caught the ferry back to Olhão and then had some lunch at a fabulous little pizza place (we sat upstairs and had a lovely view) before catching the bus back to Faro.

I thought I would be spending a relaxing afternoon in the hotel, Afonso III, with a full stomach because my legs have been so sore whenever I have to walk any distance since the lengthy Sintra walking day (I think it might be shin splints or something?) but I was wrong. I ended up going for a lengthy stroll around old Faro this afternoon after I'd ditched the rest of the group.

I stayed in tonight and watched bots of old movies on the hotel TV: Death Becomes Her and one of the Back to the Future movies. Was nice to just do nothing and laze in bed. I didn't miss out on much because most of the others just went back to the same restaurant as last night anyway. I was still full from the lunch time pizza, but munched on an apple in bed :)

Day-tripping at the Vaal

Righto, this is gonna be a short post. Just a quick note to say ... enjoy work cause I'm off to the Vaal for the day ;) Dan I hope the weather improves, but any day not spent in the office can't be bad! Especially with how work has been going lately. Am currently stuck with a frustrating problem that I can't seem to resolve and there's no examples online either! Sheesh. Talking about demotivating! I like problems I can solve :) Doesn't everyone?

Anyhoo, last night was fab. Went to bookclub and caught up with all the girls :)

07 November: Lisbon to Faro

This morning we took a tram from Rossio Square to Belém. We arrived just outside the Monastery there and then wandered down to the waves to see the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) which I absolutely loved!

You cannot believe the detail carved into each explorer (according to Wikipedia, there are 34 people carved on the Monument and it's amazing to be able to see them listed because when you're there looking at it, as awe-inspiring as it is, you have no idea who is who!).



Note: The above photo is more to try and show a little detail of the carvings (my favourite part of the monument) and actually doesn't give you any indication of the actual monument. If you're interested, check out the Wikipedia link.

After admiring that, we walked further to the Torre de Belém (Belém Tower). As a building, it's not nearly as impressive (in my opinion) as the Monument to the Discoveries, but it was made awesome by hearing Vangelis' 1492 (what I consider perfect ship explorer-type music! Thanks Daddio) playing just as we got to it. It was purely by chance, but a perfectly timed coincidence :) Also, apparently there's a significant Rhino head on the base of one the turrets that has a story behind it. Sadly this was too tricky to find (or to be sure if the worn down piece of cement you were looking at, at the time was a rhino head or not?)

Then we went for a custard tart, what Belém is equally famous for! Pastéis de Belém has been serving custard tarts since 1837 and they were delish (more different that I expected from the custard tarts we'd been eating before now). We were also lucky enough to see them making the tarts thru a glass wall into their kitchen.

Didn't do much else before leaving Lisbon, but I did try a Fanta Maracuja (Granadilla / Passion Fruit - no one else knew what a Granadilla was!). I was sorta expecting it to be like Schweppes Granadilla, but it wasn't. It was good tho :)

And then we took a 3 hour bus ride to Faro (Capital of The Algarve Region).

22h45: Just got back from a delish dinner at a local spot. I think a little more upmarket than the places we have been eating (it was quite a bit more expensive). But it was definitely on my top 3 eating experiences so far! I had a Monkfish and Prawn Espetada. With plenty of wine. I am looking forward to some good weather and a day at the beach tomorrow :)

Christmas Market Tuesdays

Eep, I have just realised that I completely missed mentioning my 2nd Blogoversary (it was Sunday, so that's kinda acceptable!). Wow, in the 2 years I have posted 623 times, had 2 jobs, 2 boyfriends, lived in 2 places (I see I must be averaging one a year of everything then - tee hee!) but, I've been on 3 holidays (although I've posted about 3 more, thanks to back-dated posting), written 12 Accommodation Reviews, 81 Book Reviews, 74 Movie Reviews, 96 Restaurant Reviews and recommended 6 Recipes. Wow, pretty eventful I'd say :) So cheers to that.

Last night I dragged Varen off to the Bryanston Organic Moonlight Christmas Market (it's on every Tuesday evening leading up to Christmas). The first time I ever went to the Bryanston Market was for one of these Moonlight Markets and I remember it being amazing. There were fairy lights and people bustling and lots to see. But since then I've been to their usual Organic Market on a Saturday morning. I will say that I haven't been in a really, really long time. The things rarely change. I don't think I've ever actually bought anything there but food, but I forget. That's my point. It is always the same and it's never stuff I'd actually buy, I don't think :( So it was a little disappointing as I wandered around the same stalls for the 3rd time for the evening although we'd only been there an hour and still couldn't find something for the bloggirls secret santa :( I hate Secret Santa. It's so much easier if you know who you're buying for ... well, sometimes. Now it'll be a mad rush on Saturday morning before the braai. Oh well, I did try to be organised!

Anyhoo, after the Market didn't quite live up to my memory, Varen & I went for dinner at Sfigati. The first time we actually sat down and ate there rather than ordered take-out :)

Had a horrible dream last night that I lost Henna down a storm drain type thing and I couldn't get to her or get her out and I was afraid that if I couldn't save her, she'd die. Not a great way to wake up. But on with Wednesday :) And looking forward to our company Xmas day tomorrow ... yay, I get another 4 day week!

06 November: Lisbon

This morning we took a train to Sintra. There are loads of expensive day trips to the town but most of us chose to "backpack" it by making our own way there on the local train from Rossio station.

Let me tell you upfront that I think this was the biggest waste of my whole trip, but more on that later. Sintra was touted as having a Disney World palace and being a beautiful city. Mostly it was a disappointment (perhaps because I didn't pay the entry fee for anything) and a long day of sore legs from walking uphill!

On arrival, we split up. Michael (a 60 year old New Zealand guy, who I think sort of felt like he was "looking after" me, not letting me wander off in a strange city alone) & I walked / hiked up to the Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors). Let me tell you, from the train station it is freaking far and way high up! We didn't go into the Castle of the Moors (it was a 5 EUR entry fee) instead we walked further along the road to the Pena National Palace, which we didn't go into either (this one was 8 EUR, I think). Let me explain right here that food in Euro's is damn expensive and this was fairly early on in my trip. Who knew if I could spare 5 EUR on some more ruins when I knew the thing I'd mostly come all this way (from Lisbon to Sintra) was still going to cost be about 4.50 EUR in bus fare each way. In the end when I got home and realised how much I had left over from my trip, I do kinda wish I'd gone into the Castle of the Moors, but I don't know if I had gone in if I would've got to do the thing I've already mentioned was number 1 one my list for the day because as it was we only had about an hour to spare which we used to have some lunch.

The view of the Castle and the Palace are pretty useless unless you pay to go into them (they're pretty far from the entrance gates). But the view over Sintra from that high up was pretty spectacular. After that we strolled back down and enjoyed some Spinach quiche for lunch. The walk was long and exhausting!

(Here comes my number 1 bit of the day that made it all worthwhile ... although I do sorta wish I'd just gone straight here after arriving in Sintra by train, but oh well!) After lunch we took a bus out to Cabo da Roca, which forms the Westernmost point of both mainland Europe and mainland Portugal. What a spectacular view of the coast! You might wonder why this would be the highlight of my day, but it is a pretty cool thing to be able to say you've done (especially since I've also been to the Southernmost tip of Continental Asia on Sentosa island in Singapore :) ).

We ended up back in Lisbon after sunset, just before 6pm. A much longer day-trip than I was expecting!

21h00: Just back from dinner out at an Indian / Italian restaurant. Some of the group ate there yesterday and were (oddly) keen to go back. I say oddly because you'd think you'd wanna try somewhere new when you're only spending 2 nights in a city half way around the world from home! But clearly I was not the only one unimpressed by regular Portuguese fare). But, I hadn't tried it so I was keen to tag along. It as expensive by SA standards, my Chicken Makhni cost more than what we normally spend on a meal at Ghazal's for Varen & myself! But it was delish and I topped the evening off with a Capirenhia (can you believe none of the Aussies knew what that was!). I am disappointed to say that I have yet to actually find Trinchado on a menu - it's my favourite "Portuguese" dish from back home. Odd!

Relaxed Monday

Last night was uneventful. The girls seem to be adjusting to life in a double story (they are slowly figuring out to come down the ramp when I open the door at the bottom so they can get out and have a run round the garden!). Varen was home early :) We just had a relaxing Monday night at home. Shoulda gone to gym tho, but it's so hard to get back into the routine after the holiday. Finger's crossed for today tho! Tee hee.

05 November: Coimbra to Lisbon

Obama Won!! What fantastic news :)

We took a train from Coimbra to Lisbon today and checked into the Grande Pensao Alcobia (it sounds far more glamorous than it was!).

Had another disappointing lunch today. I am just not that in tune with Portuguese / Spanish food. Nothing I order is quite what I'm hoping for and it all seems to be an exorbitant price to pay for what I've been getting! Sigh. None of my trips has ever topped Thailand food-wise.

After lunch we took a stroll via Praça da Figueira to the Praça do Comércio to see the sea :) We also wandered past the Casa dos Bicos (photo on left - officially in English that means House of the Spikes, but it's more commonly refered to as The Diamond House ... mostly it just reminded all of us of Madonna's famous connical bra!)

Then we strolled up to the Castle of São Jorge and enjoyed a gorgeous view of Lisbon from up there! The views were stunning and it was almost sunset. I think this was the first time I really wished Varen had been there to share the experience. Obviously I was missing him in general, but there's something particular about a sunset over a city that makes you wanna share it with someone special :)

Eep, I have just herd on CNN that Michael Crichton died. That's very sad :( I really enjoyed his books ... especially Jurassic Park & The Lost World (the books, all the movies after the frst one just plain sucked!)

23h00: I just got back from dinner at a real Porto restaurant, completely with screaming soccer fans! We took the Elevador de Santa Justa up (it's this crazy elevator in the middle of Lisbon, truly a bizarre concept!) because you really get a spectacular view from the top at night (see below).

And wandered around until we found a spot. I ate a simple shrimp soup. Cheap, easy and the first time in a while I wasn't envying what someone else ordered!

In the photo on the right, you can see the Castle of São Jorge in the middle at the top of the hill and the brightly lit square is Praça da Figueira.

After dinner we stopped at Casa Brasileira for a traditional Portuguese Custard Tart (during our short time in Lisbon, this became a favourite spot for pastries!). Also, I got a fab photo of myself with the famous (another one of those things one only learns about thanks to the postcards for sale!) Fernando Pessoa (although I only found out who he was once I got home thanks to Wikipedia!). Turns out he actually went to school in Durban, score one for the South African chick ;)

First Weekend Back

Shoo, what a way to spend our first weekend back. Not a lot of relaxing going on here!

Friday night started with dinner out with JofH and YogaCherryl. They got married and went on honeymoon in the Philippines for 3 weeks. It was an interesting way of doing things, they signed the legal bits at home affairs on the Friday and had celebratory drinks with friends and family that evening (which sadly I had to miss because that was the weekend I was in Cape Town). On the Monday they headed to the Philippines for 3 weeks where the had a wedding ceremony on the beach with just the two of them there. I've seen the photos and it looks truly spectacular. Sadly we also missed their welcome-back wedding-dinner because we were still in Morocco. Hence the catch-up dinner on Friday night.

We went to Bismillah, an Indian restaurant in Fordsburg. The food was okay, but the funny thing was we weren't allowed to order anything hotter than a Medium ... they obviously didn't think a bunch of white folk could take the heat - tee hee! Anyway, the evening was all good and we gave them their tagine-for-two wedding gift :)

On Saturday we hit the shops and accidentally bought a new bunny hutch (it was such a spontaneous purchase). So on Saturday the girls went from living in this (left) to the high life with a spanky new double-storey (right).


It's taking them some getting used to, that's for sure! The ramp is a bit slippery for them (no grip) so on Sunday we bought some dowels and glued on some grips as well as made them a ramp out the door from the bottom. Hopefully things will improve during the week as they get used to their new home :) The old one will hopefully now be moved to the farm in time for our Christmas break there.

Oh, and I also update the Salamanca to Coimbra post with a photo of the girls enjoying the treats I bought them :)

After the excitement of the new bunny hutch, we headed out East to Exmi's Kid's first birthday party. Was fabulous ... even tho we were in the small minority, not having a kiddie ourselves. Especially nice to see so many of the bloggirls (Exmi, Jackson's Mom, Angel & SleepyJane) and a few new blogger faces (Jeanette & MommaNats) there too :) Am now really looking forward to our Christmas braai next weekend! Ps. Angel, those cupcakes were amazing! You can see some pics of the party on Jeanette's photo blog. I will say that Exmi certainly outdid herself with the excessive catering. Not a soul went home without a sugar-high, I'm sure :)

After that we headed to Varen's folks place for a welcome-back family braai. Was a lovely way to spend the Saturday :)

Sunday was spent madly dashing from shop to shop, from Clearwater Mall to Eastgate, if you can believe it. All because I've finally given Varen the go-ahead to find me a laptop. He's undeterable when he's a man after a gadget, even if it's a gadget he'll get to buy vicariously thru me. He knows he'll get all the "fun" (well he thinks it's fun anyway!) of doing the setting up, installing and what not before I even get to touch it. Hence the willingness to drive (almost literally) to the ends of the earth to find the right deal. Well, I'm the one looking for the "deal", he's looking for the "specs".

After hours of driving around with no luck (I am still laptop-less), we came home and re-vamped the new hutch (as described above).

And then Sunday afternoon spiraled into a void. Varen had a migraine, again. After he'd tried to get some sleep, drunk his body weight in water and sat in front of the fan and it had still not improved, I went to the local after-hours pharmacy (handy knowing where that is!) and got him what they call a "Migraine Kit". They didn't get to stay in his system very long so, 45 mins later we were in the Emergency Room for some stronger drugs. Wasn't much of Sunday left after that ...

Oh and a weird thing happened to me on Saturday night / Sunday morning. I woke in the middle of the night with a hectic pain in my calf muscle. I woke Varen cause I could hardly move and he just rubbed it for me until it was okay. I've never had a cramp quite like that before. He said he could even feel how tightly wound the muscle was. Hmmm, wonder what I was dreaming or what the hell happened while I was asleep to cause that!