Back to South Africa

South Africa is one of the countries that I love to visit. It is a country of hope, despair, poverty, beauty, talent and life. The list could go on and on but it is absolutly amazing being here. Even though this trip is for work, each time and being able to experience the dialy life in Johannesburg.

As you know there are tons of power cuts happening in south Africa right now which has been declared as an "electrical emergency". The issue as I see it is that everytime the power companies make a "fix" it is a temporary one and not one that they have been warned about so many years ago which is that they would be without power. So what does that leave you with now.

No Traffic Lights "Robots" during the day that work.

This is causing a disaster for businesses, employees, children going to school and the likes of just about everyone in this country. I am feeling the wrath of it just commuting a few miles into work from my hotel which is about 4 miles down the road and takes about an HOUR to get to work. Typically traffic is bad, worse than a NYC rush hour commute, however this is by far worse. One thing that is remarkable is how patiant the South Afrikans are about the loss of power and the enhanced driving time they have now.

As for the beauty of the country there are numerous things that amaze me. I have been to South Africa now 5-6 times and a few of these times I have ventured my way around and enjoyed the life in Africa. Here are some pictures for those travels:

an African Sunset

"SIMBA" a cub at the Lion Park in Johannesburg

Zebras in Pillanesburg Game Park

A Giraffe having a feed in Pillanesburg Game Park

Lion in Pillanesburg Game Park

Black Rhino in Pillanesburg Game Park

Cape Town Waterfront with its "Table Cloth" on.

"JAWS" Great White in Gaansbai, South Africa

A "Township" in Cape Town

Now for the talent of this country:

An Ostrich Egg carved out to make a light.

Talented singers singing their songs of praise.

The women who weave rugs/slippers/purses/bags/tapestries

One of the completed tapestries that is handwoven.

So if you are not yet inspired to come to Africa yet this might help some more:

Chicken Mayo Sandwich (handmade fresh daily) R12.50 (Approx. $1.78)

Filet Mignon (250g) medium R79.00 (~ $11.50)

Bottle of Wine with dinner R110.00 (~15.70)

Getting to see an AMAZING 3rd world country PRICELESS

Spring Time in London?

If I am not mistaken it is still January (granite not for much longer) and it should be the rainy/cool season in London, correct?

Well, I think we are all mistaken, at least for the time being, since it was a gorgeous weekend here!

Friday we stayed in and I recovered from a cold and we watched Shooter with Mark Wahlburg in it which was pretty good considering it is a shoot 'em up movie (not really my type).

Saturday- Scott worked and I laid low still trying to recover from my cold. Took Bailey out for a walk after her spa day on Friday! Went to Harrods for the last day of the Holiday Sale and came up shorthanded :-( Met some friends out for dinner and we went to Sale e Pepe http://www.saleepepe.co.uk/ in Knightsbridge for a nice Italian dinner but that waitservice was horrible.

Sunday- we played double tennis against some friends and then had a nice Sunday Roast on the Chiswick High Street. Picked up some books for our next few months of travels and set off for a relaxing afternoon at home!

Cheesehead Nation

I am back from my trip to Cheesehead Nation/Hunting Country/Land of Brats and Beer/wearers of animal heads for hats/crazy girls wearing bikinis in -25 degree weather. Yes I am talking about Wisconsin!

Flew out on Friday afternoon to Chicago and had a lovely view coming in below:

A bit hazy flying in but a view of Chicago

Saturday was all about the preparations for the game on Sunday. Ensuring that you had the proper attire for the -1 degree weather and with wind chill -25. One thing to note about Packer fans is that fashion is not a word in their vocabulary. You see people wearing Cheeseheads, their hunting clothes, snow mobile outfits, fur coats and the list could go on and on. Here are some preparation photos:

My dad trying on an "old school" football helmet from his Alma Mater UW Madison

My Brother trying on some of my uncle's hats.

When you live in Wisconsin or are from Wisconsin, you know that Sunday is a sacred day, not for worship at a church, at the Football Field to watch your home team the Green Bay Packers. Your day is filled with Bratwursts (Brats as they are called) which are soaked in Beer and then put in a bun with kraut on top, lots of Miller beer (as there is no other type of beer in Wisconsin) and watching the Packers. So in the spirit of being in Wisconsin and going to the game we had our own preparations:

Our Tickets for the game.

Chris, my brother, with his ticket and his pregame drink, Jagermeister!

Lambeau Field Pictures

The Family (Chris, Dad, Mom and me) at SkyView Bar for the PreGame. Too cold to tailgate.

The stadium starting to fill up. The man to the right in the middle of the picture is Howie Long. He was out walking around the field checking things out prior to the game.

Chris all decked out in his orange hunting outfit.

Announcing the Packers Starting lineup

The National Anthem (pulled out the large American Flag) which was followed by a Navy F-16 Flyover.

GAME TIME! We were 6 rows off of the field in the endzone.

Despite the fact that the Packers lost in OT to the Giants it was a fantastic weekend spent with the family! So all I can say now is Let's Go GIANTS!

Are you ready for some Football????

Sunday night football??? I am!

You guessed it, Green Bay beat the Seattle Seahawks (sorry Conrad) and the NY Giants beat the Dallas Cowgirls (yes that is what they are now) which equals GB Packers vs. NY Giants in Lambeau Field on Sunday night!!!

::back to the regular program::

Our weekend was really nice! Friday night we spent the night relaxing after the first full week back to work after the Holidays :-( Saturday we met up with some friends for lunch and then split off guys and gals. Jenn and I did some shopping in Sloane Square and I managed to buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik's (below).

(Needed to buy something unique if I were going to own a pair)

Saturday night started off by playing some cards with Conrad and Jenn, then cooking a Turkey dinner then off course as already stated watching the Packers/Seahawks game.





Sunday was a relaxing day to catch up on laundry and getting bank statements from 2003 to 2006 in order to complete the http://www.ccfsettlement.com/ paperwork to claim some money back for being overcharged in fees by the banks. I like the posibility of getting some money back!

Chelsea vs Everton

Yesterday Scott and I went to the Chelsea game with our friends Jenn and Conrad. The night did not start off that well since I left work at 5:45pm to meet Scott at Hammersmith Tube Station. As I am walking in they shut the station down due to a person caught under a train at the next stop. What does that mean.....CHAOS. Piccadilly/District/Circle lines were shutdown east and west bound for an indefinite period of time. So I call Scott to see where he is and he is on the District Line waiting to pull into Hammersmith station. Well they can't move since there are too many trains and no where to go. I waited for him to give me an update from their driver and about 20min. later he texts to say they are moving. Good sign! So they open hammersmith station back up and down to the train I go. We meet and off we go to Fulham Broadway, not so much :-( Earl's Court now is majorly backed up due to the incident so there are like no Wimbledon trains so all of the fans start walking to Fulham Broadway. Scott and I waited to see if they would make an announcement for a Wimbledon train and they diverted a train there....well that was packed like a can of sardines so a no go for us. We finally get to the Stadium and Scott goes to meet the couple and I go to get our tickets at the Box Office.
WHAT A NIGHTMARE. The line was coming down the street from the far stadium gate to the tube station. UNREAL to say the least. They all meet me in line still 20min. later. We get into the stadium at 7:45 (just in time for kick-off).

All in all they won which was the important part since it was the Semi-Final for the Carling Cup.

Lesson Learned: Pick up your tickets prior to the game at the Box Office.

Weekend's over....

Well the weekend is officially over but was very nice!

Friday my best friend and my other friend from the States took Scott and I out to dinner. We had a nice Paella for dinner followed by lots of Sangria! We called it an early night since the two of them needed to pack up for their flight in the morning.

Saturday we said good-bye to my two friends and then I headed back to bed since I was a bit under the weather with a cold. Scott headed off to get a few things of work done and I then just cleaned the house up and got us back to normal after 2 1/2 weeks of company visiting.

Sunday- a relaxing day to say the least. Went to Harrod's for the sale to pick up a few things (Christmas gifts for this year) then came home to watch some American Football! GO GIANTS!

The best news of all was that my brother and his girlfriend will be visiting in February for a long weekend! I have been here for 2 years and a month now and this will be my brother's first time over the pond to see me. They will have lots of sightseeing to do but will have a nice time with them!

How I love the weekend!

I am not quite sure what it is about this week but man am I happy that it is Friday! Eventhough we only worked three days this week with the holiday it seems like Friday was never going to come. Maybe it was due to family leaving after the holidays, getting back into the daily routine of work or that we are coming down with a cold. In any event, IT IS THE WEEKEND!

Plans for the weekend? Tonight my best friend Katie and my other friend Allysen are taking Scott and I out for dinner as it is their last night in London. Tomorrow they are both off for the airport and then I am home getting the house back to semi-normal. Need to run some errands then for a relaxing evening in with Scott! Sunday I am hoping to go see The Kite Runner and will have to persuade Scott to come since he did not read the book.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

I can't believe that 2008 is already here. The year has flown by so quickly and I know 2008 will too.

Where to start? Christmas!

This year (and our only year) we celebrated Christmas in London with my in-laws. They flew over the Thursday before Christmas and we did some London sight-seeing, some pub hopping, shopping, cooking, eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. We celebrated my Father in-laws 79th birthday with a traditional Sunday Roast on the 23rd!!!

(Ryan, Jack and Scott at dinner)

(The Tune Family)

Christmas Day, I was up early (well not early but earlier than everyone else). We made coffee, started the dough for pull aparts (or as some call it Monkey Bread), and then settled in for the gift opening. I received a gorgeous necklace from Scott which goes with my bracelet that I got from my parents for my birthday. It isn't just an ordinary bracelet (or necklace for that matter) as it was the replica of the bracelet my grandma wore everyday on her right wrist. So when I got the necklace it brought tears to my eyes as my grandma passed away Dec. 16th 2006 :-( It is my momento of her since I wear my bracelet everyday now! Anyway, the necklace is fantastic and I absolutly love it. We were also surprised by gifts being put under the tree from my parents, as we celebrated Christmas with them the week prior in the US. So what did we get: Macaroni and Cheese, hand knitted scarf and some games! My in-laws opened their gift from Scott and I which was a Canvas done of the Tune Family (me, Scott, mother in-law, father in-law and brother in-law). They were so surprised and so happy to have the canvas.

(Bailey coming down the stairs to see what is in her stocking)

(Bailey opening a gift from Uncle Ryan)

(Our gift from Ryan. He made a video since he didn't bring the gift over from the US with him. It was very well done and Thank You Ryan for the Food Processor!!!!)

(Bailey and Scott relaxing after opening gifts).

We then had a wonderful Christmas dinner which included: turkey, cranberry, corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, nut bread, broccoli, califlower and wine. We were so stuffed that we didn't have dessert but that did get eaten over the next few days.

We then said good bye to my mother in-law and father in-law and said hello to my Best Friend Katie and another friend of mine Allysen!

On to New Year's:

We started out at the Absolut Icebar London. It was a great time and the drinks were WONDERFUL!

Then it was off to dinner at a Thai restaurant, then to a wine bar and finally to a traditional pub! We had a great time and got home around 3:30am (YIKES!).

Last night, we went on the London Eye and here are a few pics.

(You can faintly see St. Paul's in the distance)

~Wishing Everyone a Healthy and Safe 2008~