The one with a memorable Danish

Looks like Caramello's is downsizing a bit, but there doesn't seem to be any problem in quality. Their apple pastry is a winner at R10 and I dare anyone to finish a whole one :-)

The one with a photo on Christmas day

Braamie and I traveled up the West Coast with my parents. After a picnic at the Langebaan Yacht Club, we had coffee at Paternoster. What a great way to escape that Christmas Feeling.

The one about the migmatite

My grandfather, Jan Sarel van der Merwe (geographer/geomorphologist), would have celebrated his 100th birthday today. To bring him to memory,  we went to Bantry Bay to capture the unique migmatite rocks on the shore on camera. On his visit to Cape Town, Darwin inspected this unique phenomenon which clearly shows how the earth's crust was formed millions of years ago. 

My mother and I visited this historic site in clear sunshine and with an azure sea in the background. We duly celebrated this occasion with champagne at dinner! 

[text courtesy of my father, Dux, and heavily edited by me]

The one about Shelley's Gourmet Kitchen and the great scrambled eggs

Shelley's Gourmet Kitchen opened on Kloof Street in October. The Bramer and I bravely investigated. We ordered scrambled eggs with smoked salmon served on a croissant (R40) and a cuppuccino each (R14). We decided to sit in the small back garden and read the weekend newspapers. Hearing cheerful noises in the kitchen is always a good sign.

The scrambled eggs were devine and breakfast scored a solid 7 on the Braamie-o-meter. A good start to any day!

The one about a cheap breakfast at Café Sophia

For R25 you cannot expect too much these days. At Café Sophia this bought a Village Omelet (filled with roasted peppers, spicy sausage and melted cheese) served with toast and coffee. The service was quick and the setting comfortable. The manager told us the other Cafés are located in Seapoint, Rosebank, and Greenside (Gauteng). A fifth store is opening in Green Point soon. 

PS: no free internet was available - apparently, they are still waiting for the vouchers...

The one about my first lazy morning on Kloof Street

At SEK480 for a haircut, Sweden must have the best paid hairdressers in the world. For this reason, I now look like Hägar The Horrible. The perfect summer weather urged me to walk down to the Gardens Centre for a hair cut. I have decided to grow my hair and to wear it "Stockholm" style which basically means lots of hair product to slick down your hair when combed back. Let's see if it lasts...

What caught my I as I walked down Kloof Street?

1. Free internet at Café Sophia.

2. Studio 91 looks set to open soon. Check out the little lights built into the pavement.

3. Finger (walked past their opening ceremony last night).

4. The Orangerie is progressing well. What is 'The CPOA"? Any ideas?

5. The Smurf collection at the German toy store in the Gardens Centre... 

The one with I am back on Kloof Street

As we passed the Mount Nelson Hotel on Orange Street, my pulse started to race and I battled to control the excitment of returning to Kloof Street after an absence of 71 days, 2 hours and a few odd seconds. Home is where the heart is... But what is this? Naked looks closed, and (horror of all horrors) someone is building a facebrick house. [Fade out. End scene]

Keen to get back into 'The Routine', Braamie and I rushed to Origin on Saturday morning. Sleeping late can result in loosing out on the salmon bagels! There was a new reason to visit Origin: tea. My new tea requires equal volumes of Darjeeling Puttabong and Keemun Luxus Congou, and just a pinch of Lapsan Souchong. Infuse for 6 minutes and taste heaven. Luckily, Origin Tea Merchants provided ample volumes of all three. 

It is good to be back. So, what is new with you?

The one where I am not on Kloof Street

Does this even make sense? A country with horses in drag, lots of water, one big cathedral (Lutheran) and pretty gardens. Obviously not Kloof Street material.

The one with my other office

Wembley Square has free wireless internet. Just be persistent.

The one with two favorite spots

What does the Wolfson Pavillion and Origin have in common?

The one where I'm back

The reasons why I stopped blogging (for a while):

1. My cellphone was stolen. Without its handy camera I felt like James Bond without the licence to kill, Batman without Bruce Wayne, Calvin without Hobbs, or Frankenfurter without Rocky! My blogs would become sandwiches without substance - I just couldn't bear the bare text.

2. Abraham seriously considered a job in South Korea. We planned to give up The Apartment, put everything in storage until the Ballet School became available and, after my 10 weeks in Uppsala, I would complete my PhD from George with only occasional visits to Kloof Street.

A new Sony Ericsson K850i 5 megapixel cybershot phone arrived yesterday and Abraham is happily employed as research analyst (http://www.newenergyfinance.com/). Uppsala is 7 days away and life is trendy again, Kloof Street trendy.

The one about Gauteng

Gauteng is not for sissys. If hectic traffic, smog-induced keroconjunctivitis sicca, or electric-fenced-burglar-barred-Tuscan-styled housing estates turn you on, then this is the place to be.

The warm afternoon sun, the Butcher Shop and Grill at Mandela Square, and finding the perfect cabin luggage almost compensated for the constant feeling of impending doom.

Other highlights included Anel's wedding, the reason for our visit, and a personal tour of the Johannesburg Art Gallery by Abraham's aunt (the JAG librarian) .

The one with the jedi warriors

To celebrate 10 years of diplomatic relations, China sent two terracotta warriors and other ancient artifacts to the National Museum of Natural History in Pretoria. The exhibition also featured videos with sweeping soundtracks to show how happy Chinese babies, infants, children, teenagers, students, adults and elderly are to live in such a beautiful country of lakes, forests, desserts, snowy mountains, rice paddies, ancient cities, modern cities, temples, walls and olympic stadia. For an authenitic experience, the exhibition was protected by guards with semi-automatic rifles.

The one with a swan in my decaf latté

Another dear diary moment: Barrista extraordinaire, "Beans", at Origin prepared my decaf latté (been off caffeine for two weeks now) with a swan motif.

The one with photos of Table Mountain

The wonderful weekend weather was captured by a friend. Great photos!

The one with a lazy morning on Kloof Street

Time to relax before the storm...

The one where we go beyond Camp Street

Nobody likes walking uphill but having 'fika' at Melissa's makes the effort worthwhile. It is expensive, but we deserve a treat every now and then...

The one with a little tart

What to do? Origin only opens at 09:00 and we needed breakfast pronto. We discovered La Petite Tarte in De Waterkant whilst hunting croissants for Jorge's breakfast last weekend. Not only were they open, but we had one of the best breakfast in a long time. After ordering croissants for breakfast the enigmatic waitress suggested adding scrabbled eggs, and bacon, and avocado.. and some cherry tomatoes. Delicious.

Cape Quarter, 72 Waterkant Street, De Waterkant.
+27 21 425 9077

The one without Table Mountain

Winter: my preferred Cape Town season.

The one about the long weekend (Part 2)

We fell in love [an unprecedented 8.5/10 on the Braamie'ometer!] and vow to return to Franschhoek time and time again to marvel at the Salmon Bar.

SALMON BAR at THE YARD
38 Huguenot Street +27 (0)21 876 4591