My venture

As promised, today Kim mapped out a route and consulted with all of us about some stops and lunch ideas...lunch we thought on a wine tasting estate which also serves cheese platters....first off was the Ugly Duckling Shop "a shop which has something for everyone", there was a lot of junk, but some cool things, Kim managed to buy something to hang his jacket, mom brought some wrought iron things...next up was Hillford pottery, that I am not going into details as it wasn't really worth it...after that Tsonga shoes, that was rather impressive, beautiful ballerinas, handbags, boots, timberland-type shoes, really nice...and yes, we managed to find something there also....  Entrance to Tsonga Tsonga Journey Then it was off to a little place called Piggly Wiggly where there were a few shops to walk around, one was a deli where Kim actually found a real Stollen (made in Germany), for those that don't know they are filled with marzipan, so of course Kim was in heave...

What to do between Xmas and New Year....hmmm....stay at home...that was the one option but then somehow we felt we wanted to do something else, we are reckless and wanna get out of Joburg....Kim still has a lot to see in this country so we decided to do two nights in the Midlands and two nights in the Drakensberg...but because we booked so late, space was limited and we had to take accommodation where we could find....on the 27th we left Joburg around 9:00 and took a slow ride towards the Midlands...in Harrismith of course we had to do our official stop, but this time it was not Wimpy but rather a Mug and Bean.....and guess what Kim was in heaven when he looked at the menu....Kim loves Porridge and has only recently rediscovered it so when he saw Porridge on the menu with flaked, toasted almonds and raisins, that was a done deal for him....me on the other hand...he has tried to convince me how good Porridge is, but I somehow don't like it...maybe with a lot of sugar, but then it d...

Who remembers....after my Viator Tour blog I promised that I would write about the difference in Prosecco, Champagne and Cava....so yes...it has been a little bit too long....but better late than never...no? Well if you don't think so....maybe this is not worth a read, if you agree...then read on... Cava Cava is neither the name of a grape variety or of a region......It is the type of wine. The majority of the grapes are grown in Penedès, not far from Barcelona. The traditional varieties are Macabeo (aka Viura), Parellada and Xarel-lo, but more recently Chardonnay, and even Pinot Noir, has found its way into blends, making for a more accessible style worldwide. Cava is made using the traditional method (méthode traditionnelle), where second fermentation takes place inside the bottle the wine will be sold in. The base wine is bottled with a measured amount of sugar and yeast. The second fermentation will give just the right amount of fizz whilst raising the alcohol level an e...

Oh my....I don't have words to describe how amazing this brunch was.....and the price....so reasonable...just WOW....so they have two seatings, we went to the one from 11:00am until 13:00.... Zuma Brunch There were two starter buffets.....one just colds and one a mixture...let me start with the cold: So many different Sushi and Sashimi....and so fresh...just so WOW. Salmon, Yellow Tail, Prawns....and then an amazing array of Sushi, ones with eel, ones with salmon, ones with yellow tail, crunchy crab, you name it and they looked and tasted so damn good, I think I could have just enjoyed the two buffets and that was that.....but in the price was included one main course and dessert for the table....the warm and cold buffet had different salads, for example a green bean salad with a sesame dressing, it had Octopus Sashimi, seared Salmon Sashimi, Beef Carpaccio, and deep fried cod cubes, barbecue beef ribs, grilled skewered mushrooms, chicken wings...it was just phenomenal...the...

As promised....some more food experiences....the first day we were there we didn't wanna to do too much so we opted for a Sushi inside the mall, I must admit it was much better than what I expected...in fact it was good....the one that I found was interesting was one which mixed shrimp and mango....yes, the rice was not perfectly shaped, and I don't think I would take mango with Sushi again...but it was interesting and nice to try something different..... Salmon California Roll  (left) and Mango & Shrimp (right) My main promise in the last blog was to tell you about the place we discovered which was full of locals and no tourists, we went with Sandro and Fabienne and little Siena, it was a place called Sai Kung. It is right by the sea and all the restaurant have fresh, fresh seafood, in fact it is so fresh, it is still alive in the tanks and you pick from the tanks what you want and then you tell them how you want each of the things prepared..... Fresh seafood ...

So...Hong Kong...this is not the first time I have been to Hong Kong and hence there were some places which we knew we wanted to visit and see...and then off course I also wanted to explore some new places, places never seen before :-) The main reason for this visit was to see the baby my sister just had, we wanted to visit the three of them. This trip was a mother and daughter trip, so it was my mom and I. They live a little bit outside Hong Kong, more a suburban area but it is very convenient to take the MTR from where they live into the city and that is also how we got around. It is not so expensive, the lines are every 2 minutes, so really hassle free...the place they stay is rather small, but then again all apartments in Hong Kong are tiny cause the rates are just ridiculous....but it is a quaint little place and has a great view....the area  is also attached to a small shopping mall which is very convenient. Little Siena (the baby girl) is so adorable, it is just amazing...