Roodebloem Studios

Driving down Roodebloem Road in Woodstock, I stopped to take some photos of this old church. Turns out it is a rather fancy photographic studio called Roodebloem Studios. Appearances can be deceptive!

Tea and scones

Yesterday I was in Greyton, and really, sometimes it is too pink and pretty to believe! But is was very hot. In search of shade, the Vanilla Cafe looked hopeful.

Browsing the wine shelves

Hoity toity, Bubbly, In my Bed and Kitchen Thief - I just love Miss Molly. There is the whole range on the shelves of our local Pick 'n Pay in Constantia Village.

Light in the Forest

Deep in the pine forests of Constantia Nek (really, only plantations) is the old home of Cape Town's king of kitsch artist, Vladimir Tretchikoff, on the slopes of Table Mountain overlooking Constantia. Today it is an art studio, called Light from Africa and you can buy some fantastic fine art here. (No Tretchikoffs in sight!) Or just browse around on the way back from your hike.

Ironic view

A tourist's eye view of the city of Cape Town from Robben Island.

A fierce hunger

Even fierce Cameroonian lions have a weakness for Kentucky Chicken! This handsome chap and the rest of his pride live on Cape Town's trendy Long Street.
PS. This photo was taken quite early in the morning, hence the empty street. Usually Long Street is packed.

Cape Agulhas

Late afternoon light at Cape Agulhas makes even the ugly houses of Struisbaai look beautiful! This amazing place - the southern tip of Africa - is just under three hours drive from Cape Town.

The ripple effect

The foreshore area of Cape Town is pretty windswept and ugly, but this little square - called Jetty Square in remembrance of its early days on the edge of the sea which is now a kilometre or so away - has been uplifted with these remarkable shark wind sculptures by Ralph Borland. The skeletal sharks and the watery ripple in the cobblestones really does make one think of the sea. They also make a whistling noise as they swing around in the wind. I wonder if they are generating electricity?

Best foot forward

Yesterday was back to school for most schools in Cape Town. This is School House at Bishops - the nick name for Diocesan College in the suburb of Rondebosch, one of Cape Town's oldest (started in 1849) and best known schools, which is very much modelled on the British public schools of old.

A -WHAT!

Norwegian family gave us some Aass Christmas beer. The name is for real and is one of Norway's more famous breweries! Its malty taste is designed for cold Christmas climates - but served chilled on a hot Cape Town day, it was very good.

For more Aaaah - visit ABC Wednesdays.

Wine and disas

From mid-January to the end of February it is Disa time in the Cape. Watered by the winter rains and the cool, wet Southeaster wind in early summer, these stunning orchids begin to flower in the late summer as the days get hotter. If you visit La Motte wine estate in the Franschhoek valley (an hour out of Cape Town) you are bound to encounter some of these exquisite blooms - like these Disa hybrids in their wine tasting room. The estate purchased a large private collection of disas that was destined for the Japanese horticultural market, but luckily is now still in South Africa. There are some disas for sale too - so pop along and buy some wine and roses, er, disas.
They also have a fabulous museum - the pride of which is a collection of Pierneef paintings (which is also the name of their restaurant).

Coffee at Rhodes Mem

The delightful tea room and restaurant at Rhode's Memorial was closed for a few years, but is now open again and still feels just the same as it used to. In winter there is a cosy fire inside, and in summer, sit in the garden under the umbrellas and look at Cape Town, far, far below, through the stately old pines. There is a children's play area as well as a boules court. The food is pretty good too.

Cheeky Chicks

Stocking up on free range eggs in Greyton's village grocer.

Red, white ... and grey

Yesterday was cloudy and cool - a wonderful Cape Town day to recover from the searing hot Southeaster wind and sun. Groot Constantia Estate is looking magnificent - all the vines are starting to produce grapes, and many of the rows of vines have a rose bush at each end. Popular legend has it that the roses will give early warning of the arrival of a disease or pest, but I hear that it a bit of an urban (rural?) legend. It really does look pretty.

Falling Stars

Today is a bit gloomy and cloudy, so I thought I would post this sunny photo of the well-loved statue of Kirstenbosch's resident Cape Clawless Otter in the Otter Pond. Scultped by Llewellyn Davies and donated to Kirstenbosch by the Taeuber Family in September 1994, it is inscribed with the words "Our quality of life will depend on the ability of mankind to live in harmony with nature."
January is the time of year for the Falling Stars (a hybrid of Croscosmia) to flower and don't they look spectacular falling over the edge of the pond? In New Zealand they are a weed!

Icing sugar house

This handsome, if over-embellished Victorian house is Wyndover Manor, an Abbeyfield House. (Abbeyfield International is a charity that places elderly people in secure, comfortable and affordable homes.) Wyndover Manor in the upmarket suburb of Claremont, was restored and became the first Abbeyfield home in South Africa in 1987. It can accommodate 8 residents. For more about Abbeyfield SA, click here.
Whoever the plasterer was, he or she seemed to get a bit carried away!

Zimbabwe Bird

The sculpture, "Mythological Landscape: A Celebration of Diversity" by John Skotnes on Cape Town's Thibault Square explores the idea that we need to find each other and embrace our diverse cultures into one peaceful state. I was intrigued by the Zimbabwe Bird-like sculpture right at the top. It resembles those iconic, soapstone birds quite remarkably. I wonder if the artist meant anything by it or whether his bird just came out looking similar to the ones that once adorned Great Zimbabwe at the pinnacle of its power.
For more Zzzzz posts, go to ABC Wednesday.

Sing for your coffee

This life-size plaster figure on the balcony of the Pan African Market caught my eye. He is confidently, but silently singing to the pedestrians below, and another wooden colonial-style figure is bringing him some coffee on a tray.
The building once housed the YWCA - the Young Women's Christian Association. Designed by architect John Parker, it was built in 1903 and contains a plaster commemorative panel that reads "In memory of Minnie & Maria Bam, founded 1886, rebuilt 1903." The teenage Bam sisters died in 1886, shortly after arriving in Cape Town from Germany, and their father established the original building as a YWCA in their memory. (His original house was demolished and this one built in 1903).
The Pan African Market is well worth a visit, and the having coffee on the balcony is an experience I am looking forward to trying. I hope you don't have to bargain for it, because that is not in my genes!

Finding kukumakrankas

Just returned from a long weekend in the Cederberg mountains, three hours drive from Cape Town, where I was lucky enough to find a few of these interesting little flowers growing in the sandy veld near our cottage. They are kukumakrankas (Gethyllis verticillata) and their tiny, dainty flowers were out there in the baking midday sun with temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius! (They are about 10 cm high.)
I have heard about them, and have seen their curly leaves that come up in the winter long after the flowers have died, but have never ever seen them until now. Their sweetly scented fruits are highly prized for eating, for medicinal purposes, for infusing in alchohol and to scent linen.

Ice cream on the Waterfront

This scupture at the Cape Town Waterfront by Gavin Younge is entitled "Still life with ice cream cone and blue cheese". With the temperature up near the forties, I thought it was an appropriate sculpture to feature today. I bet these kids wish it were real, but I am not sure they would fancy the blue cheese bit. I think they would prefer it to be chocolate cake.

Cool off

With temperatures heading towards 40 degrees, Hout Bay beach is a good place to be!

Mexican style

I reckon it would be hard to beat this space for indulging in a smoky-chilly Mexican meal. It is upstairs on the Green Point strip - at a restaurant called El Burro. Sadly the table was booked - perhaps it's booked for months in advance, who knows, but my New Year's resolution is to get on to those comfy cushions and to order some fish ceviche which they were all out of last night when we arrived there on the sultriest of sultry Cape Town evenings. We thorougly enjoyed our Margaritas and real Mexican tacos and smoky chillies though.
For other worlds, click here.

Green spaces

Cape Town has an exciting new urban park - Green Point Park - a creatively landscaped "peoples park" that includes walkways, open spaces and biodiversity gardens in the centre of the city adjacent to the Metropolitan Golf Course and to the new Cape Town Stadium. Go there to relax on the lawns or have a picnic at the shaded tables and benches, be entertained by the metal and wire animals that are part of the landscape and be fascinated by the interesting interpretation labels.
Or just go there to see the Belle Monde and their dogs go by - from their upmarket apartments on the beachfront at Mouille Point to the gym and coffee shops of Green Point. Entrance is free and it is patrolled by a pair of red-hatted City of Cape Town officials so it is quite safe.
(You will see that the slopes of Signal Hill are looking a bit blackened from a very recent fire that raged there two days ago.)

Misty morning

This morning was raining softly and Table Mountain was shrouded in mist. We went for a walk up Devil's Peak and came across this beautiful Aristea macrocarpa all wet with rain and festooned with spider's webs. It is a member of the Iris family (Iridaceae) but doesn't seem to have a common name.
Luckily the rain stopped and the cricket test match against India at Newlands Cricket Ground could eventually get underway.

Blowing our own trumpet

I think that this photo just about sums up 2010 for me. The highlight of the year was our very successful and exhilarating soccer World Cup and the vuvuzela that shot to fame (and "infame") throughout the world.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants