Greetings, salutations and love to all SG-landers! I'm really sorry for not replying to all the wonderful messages and being more involved but I've only recently returned from a wonderful trip - of which I'll share some pics as proof I can't believe how quickly festive rug has been pulled from under me and now I'm sprawled on my back with this heaving, wheezing beast that is 2011 looming over me with a slobbery look of hunger in its eyes...I'm not sure I'm ready for this new year but I guess it's kind of late for that notion. Moving on to more fun stuff being the trip...here be some details...

It started out on the premier class train which is just a class below luxury (not that I'd be able to tell the difference). Firstly, this is what the train looks like on the outside...anyone else LOVE the colour?!?!? I so want a car this colour!


What's great about the deal is that you get your own cabin and gourmet meals are included. Here's a quick peek at the cabins.


While you're enjoying your dinner, the staff sneak into your cabin and turn down the seats and turn them into beds...awesome but not conducive to getting naughty on the train There's even a spa on the train! Sadly, prices were such that the closest I got to "treatment" was adorning my white fluffy dressing gown (which they supply), taking a glass of wine and smokes to the smoking car and enjoying the scenery. For some reason the other passengers didn't quite understand and my man refused to take a picture No sense of adventure! We were quite pissed to I kind of get it. Here's where they stuff you with weird and wonderful meals...


The train goes from Johannesburg to Cape Town...which was obviously the next leg of the trip. Small catch however, floods in some part of the world has displaced heat from some desert and deposited it over Cape Town, just as we arrived. Thankfully, we stayed in an air-conditioned hotel for the first night. I mean, who can function in temperatures of 36 degrees celsius and upwards in a place where the sun sets around 9pm-10pm in summer?????? It was mad! The first 5 days were probably the most expensive due to hanging around places with air conditioning but here are some pics of Cape Town - beautiful city!



An odd attraction the city offers is that of its unfinished highway...


These were taken at a cafe near the Nelson Mandela centre which is basically a stop off before you catch a lift to Robben Island.




We discovered this wonderful little place called Hudsons...they make the most amazing burgers in the southern hemisphere! Gourmet but not for those with small appetites - there's an amazing little thing called a jalapeno popper (big thing in Cape Town apparently) which is a jalapeno stuffed with feta then deep fried. Absolutely amazing! Sadly, on our first night we had to sit inside, by the kitchen, during a heat wave...you have no idea how quickly you get drunk when it's so hot!


We spent a week in Cape Town then drove over to the Eastern Cape where we stayed with my man's folks. Ladies and gents, if you haven't been to Jeffrey's Bay, you're missing out! It's a tiny little place with only one bar really, got their first little mall about 2 years ago and everyone knows everyone. The sand on the beach is smooth, the beaches are quiet (we went out of season) and it's simply more relaxing! The less developed side of the coast is amazing as you can walk for kilometres and see no one - perfect for tanning naked: which is exactly what we did Sadly the quality of the pics was bad so here's an indoor pic and another y'all may enjoy.

This is me getting my gamer geek on when the weather was not beach-visit-permitting.


This is a random.










The one day at the beach was rather educational...we got to see lots of those little green sea snails slithering everywhere. Further on we discovered sea-snot otherwise known as a jellyfish when in the water! Can you tell if the snails are eating the jellyfish or the other way round?






It seems someone else decided they wanted to share in the feeling of losing your inhibition...



I feel that my camera skills improved siginificantly over the holiday

This is one of the cutest little part siamese, midget, squint kitties in the world! Her name is Ariel and small as she is, in her hayday she took on dogs man! Kitty putting dogs in their place...I'm sure there's a rap song in there somewhere...


Two weeks of bliss, booze, beach and satellite TV were the final enjoyments of our coastal leg of the trip before the long drive back up to Johannesburg. We decided to break the 12 hour trip in 2 - travelling the 8 hours the first day and 4 or so the next. We stayed over at a place called De Oude Kraal in Bloemfontein. last luxury of the trip and it rocked! It was an original farm house which had been converted into a restaurant and hotel. The rooms are amazing as they're filled with trinkets and paintings from a bygone era...you feel as if you're stuck in a alternate reality as you're surrounded with all this history while staring at a TV...weird and wonderful....










There were a few minor adventures here and there like me driving up with full blown flu, not cool But on the train we also met this British guy who was originally from SA and wanted to move back. Sadly he had come across on his South African passport and so getting money exchanged was like squeezing blood from a stone. Eventually he had to fly back as he was low on cash and didn't know about all the red tape until we advised him.

So I'm well rested and wondering, why am I still living in a stifling city where people are impatient and cold when there are places out there where even the air is cleaner and the people seem happier...I'm probably still coming down from the holiday high. Anyway, it's great to be back in touch with SG again and looking forward to catching up. Chat soon