This is the end of my summer holiday recap. Other than the luggage drama (documented in full detail in my previous post) Paris was an absolute dream as always. Correction this time was better because this was my first summer in Paris and listen this city in summer *chef’s kiss*.
Honestly there’s not much for me to say that I haven’t already said in my other Paris posts so I’m going to share a whole lot of pictures.
Galeries Lafayette views
The view of the city from the terrace at the Galeries Lafayette is quite a site to behold.
We only had a few days in Barcelona and no real plan. The only things on my Barcelona to-do list were Moco Museum and riding the cable cars to get a view of the city. The rest of the time could be spent at the beach and would have been if it wasn’t for the rain. Which got us exploring the city more. Yeah I’m one of those “go with flow, anywhere the wind blows” type of traveler.
DAY 2:
We took a walk around the port on a cloudy day and we saw some really cool boats and enjoyed the city views. The good news is the sun came out to play half way through our exploration walk.
DAY 3
We took the scenic route to the cable cars. Our search included an uphill walk, some stairs and we braved a little drizzle but it was worth it for the views, all this is before we actually got on the cable car. Quick sidenote when we reached our destination we figured out what the guy at our hotel reception was trying to tell us : there was literally a train from the metro station right outside our hotel directly to the cable cars *insert eyeroll here*. But if we had taken that option we would have missed a bunch of photo ops and what I’m counting as exercise.
That evening we went for supper at Cremat Lounge where the staff was super friendly and the gave a list of parties to check at the gothic quarter. We ended up at a place called Jamboree where they had a hip hop open mic session downstairs and a dj whose playlist was on shuffle upstairs. Yep we danced to Ace of base and Beyonce in one night. Fun was had.
In between suggesting clubs the staff took our pictures
DAY 4
We finally made it to the beach on our last full day in Barcelona and boy did I soak up the sun. A lot of interesting things to be seen at Barceloneta beach:
A lot of vendors: Mojito & beer salesmen, masseuses, ladies who braid hair and guys renting out umbrellas.
A lot of topless tanning
The beach blanket vendors bury the inventory in the sand *true story bro*
The day ended with another touristy activity, we went to go check out the Sagrada Familia. Because we got there so late (21h00), we didn’t get to go inside but the outside is so beautiful.
Also can we take a moment to appreciate the late European sunsets in the summer, love love love them.
So I’m the type of person who takes a bunch of pictures and videos which I do nothing with, my friend has nagged me into sharing more of it so here we go. Lets call this a continuation my last post.
After a three year hiatus my passport finally left its corner of the drawer to get some sun and fresh air and I tagged along. All roads lead my passport, my friend Nomsa and me to Barcelona and Paris. We luckily escaped the cold front that hit SA and enjoyed a European summer for a little bit.
Travel has gone back to normal covid regulations-wise, just as long as you have your vaccination certificate and in Spain’s case you have to fill in a DCC form if your vaccination was done outside of Europe.
Anyway, the first leg of our trip was Barcelona, I had no real expectations of the place I just selected it because it gave me a beach and city holiday in one. Turns out I really like the place. Day one we took a walk around the neighbourhood where we were staying to get the lay of the land, then we took the bus to Barceloneta beach.
We had tickets booked to an art exhibition at Moco Museum which featured a few of my favourite artists. After the exhibit we went to dinner at a restaurant called Morelia where we scored a free dessert thanks to the friendly owner 🙂
We had so much fun here, day one definitely set the tone for the stay in Barcelona, 10/10 I highly recommend.
I know I have not been the most consistent when it comes to posting over here but this time around I have an actual reason. Its ironic that the name of this blog is Lost in the world because for the past 10 months that’s exactly what I’ve been. And there’s no amazing grace over here as I am still not found.
My mom passed away in June last year and to say my whole world shattered is the understatement of the century. I’m still trying to figure out who I am without her, I think I spent the majority of my life just being her daughter I’m not sure who I am without her. I am lost!
I woke up missing her like crazy this morning and instead of the usual staring at pictures of her and listening to her voice notes I decided to write this post. I’ll most likely still do those things after posting this though.
My mother was my everything and probably the best person I will ever meet. She literally lit up every room she walked into, the darkness I’ve been in is unimaginable. I’m basically taking it one day at a time but I’m missing a huge chunk of my heart so even that one day at a time is hard to do. April is my mother’s birth month, so I find myself thinking of her even more.
This is proof of life post really to say I am still around I’m grieving my mother.
I’m writing this post to express my feelings I suppose. I’m in therapy now can you tell?
One thing that the lockdown travel restrictions brought about by Covid19 is we have been given the opportunity to explore our country and find some gems. We found one such gem in the Western Cape in the form of a fishing town called Paternoster 2 hours outside of Cape Town. A town made up of gorgeous beaches and white houses.
We stayed at Gonana Guest House in a sea facing room where we could walk from our bed right onto the beach. They serve breakfast and have the friendliest most helpful staff, big shoutout to Sis Thandi for taking such great care of us and all your recommendations.
Quick room tour
For 2 overworked girls from the city this beach holiday was just what the doctor order 🙂 . There are quite a few activities offered at Paternoster but to be honest with you the beach was the only thing on our itinerary. The water is cold but you can go in, here’s a quick tip if you prefer a private beach vibe visit Paternoster during the week because we had the beach to ourselves. When the weekend comes the whole town hits the beach, which makes sense because the weather called for it, it was nice and hot.
Obligatory arrival shot
Our guesthouse house had the best view of the sunset and on a good day you can see dolphins in the water, I caught a sneak peek of the dolphins when we checked in and on our beach buggy tour, but nothing caught on camera.
View of the sunset
We took a beach buggy tour on Saturday morning with Deon a longtime resident of Paternoster who legit knows everyone in town.
POV from the beach buggy
Here is a shot of me staking out the dolphins after breakfast and a few balcony shots.
We have finally made it to the end of 2020 and so I rewarded myself with a little getaway but not too far from home I’m still quite cautious about Covid 19 and all. So I checked in to the the Cradle Boutique hotel which is about 40 minutes from Sandton. I enjoyed the fresh air, the animals (excluding the monkeys and baboons that pop up anywhere) and feeling like I was far away from home.
We went on safari in the morning, we didn’t see any predators but we saw a bunch of other animals and birds, sidenote I didn’t photograph the monkeys and baboons because those things freak me out so I just sat still and waited for the vehicle to keep moving.
I enjoyed the peace and quiet I would highly recommend the Cradle Boutique for a quick weekend away. A quick tip though the deck/balcony is the best place to chill the pool area is legit directly under the sun your feet will burn taking a few steps to get into the pool. Our balcony was my favourite place to just chill, if for nothing else but the view (we saw Zebras from our deck when we arrived). Bring a book and plenty of snacks and take it all all in.
2020 what a year right? This pandemic has literally pressed a pause button on the world, travel plans included 😦 . This lockdown has given us all cabin fever, so when SA’s lockdown status was dropped down to level 1 we were all so happy to finally go outside again. Those who know me even a little bit know that I am not a fan of physical activity but when my sister suggested we go hiking I said “Yes” me a whole me, I agreed to take part in strenuous activity. I’m actually so glad I did because WOW, I kind of forgot how beautiful our own backyard actually is.
So far we’ve done the 10km hike at the Cradle Moon hiking trails and the waaaaaay more than 10km (My step counter said 17km #justsaying) Hennops hiking trail and all I can say is South Africa is beautiful. I tried to capture it and I hope these images do it some justice.
Cradle Moon Hiking trail
Views from Hennops Hiking trail
These places are not more than an hour outside JHB , this lockdown has actually given us an opportunity to explore our beautiful country and what a beauty she is.
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