Friday, November 1, 2013

A lazy to crazy day

Thursday started as a lazy, as Emily says, "chill" day but didn't end that way. 

We leisurely slept in and nearly missed breakfast since we slept until 10. I called down to the front desk and found breakfast was served until 10:30 so we quickly brushed our teeth threw some clothes on and went down for breakfast. The hotel has a nice buffet and a chef who will make eggs.  We both ordered fried eggs and added grilled tomatos and mushrooms.  The buffet is quite nice with cereals, breads, juice and the hot foods.  
After breakfast we needed to go to Emily's home stay so she could get more clothes before our massage appointment at 2:00.  I was able to write my blog with unlimited wifi, as at the hotel I am limited to 120 mb per day.  When I booked the hotel it said free wifi, but I guess that doesn't mean unlimited.  Such is the life of a traveler.  
Talia used almost every spice and my glasses case to demonstrate to Emily how to get to where we were going.  After all her time and energy it was fruitless because Emily took a wrong turn.  We got so terribly lost but, as always,  in the end we got there.  I was quite impressed with how much of the city Emily has learned to navigate through especially since she is driving on the other side of the road. 
Well, we finally got to the Medi Spa and since it had been raining most of the day the walkway was very slick and I turn a little spill onto my right back thigh.  Good thing I was going for a massage.
The room where we had our massages was in a large communal room with 4 tables.  We were the only two so it was o.k. but it could have been a bit awkward to take our clothes off with others in the room. 
We both enjoyed our hour long massage for $40.00.  Because the U.S.dollar is so strong, nearly 10-1, everything is quite reasonable for us.  Food and drink is also extremely cheap for us.  I know it will be quite the opposite when we get to Europe.  We're living it up now.
Since Emily needed to be at her dance call at 5:00 we decided to have a meal after the massage across the street at Arnolds.  
They offered fresh squeezed juice so I tried the "green" juice.  I trying to be good and eat my fruits and vegetables.  We enjoyed a local fish that was grilled and a greek salad.  The portions are large here so we share just about everything and still can't always finish what they serve.
It was about 4:15 and still raining but Emily felt she could make it back to campus.

Then the nightmare began.  The roads were completely gridlocked.  We tried 3 different ways to get around but only continued to get stuck.  You can only imagine how frustrated and helpless we were.  Wait, I'm not in L.A.  Believe me when I tell you that Cape Town has traffic that rivalys L.A.  The only good part is that there are only 2 hours for "rush" time 4-6 p.m. and we were right in the middle of it The rain also did not help one bit.  Given this horrible situation,and by the way we were only going about 10 miles, we arrived at campus at 6:00 p.m. and in desparate need of the toilet.  So much for our relaxing "chill" day at the spa.

I dropped Emily off and went back to the hotel to take a shower and change my clothes.  Poor Emily couldn't have a shower but she was performing and going to sweat anyway.
I was in such a rush that I forgot my tripod to video tape the performance so I used my iphone and figured I'd video tape the next night.  Fortunately there were two performances.
Emily's performance was smashing.  She was in 3 of the 7 dances, and one of the stars (I might proudly add).   This dance group, while classes are held on campus, is a private company that Emily has been taking lessons with twice a week. The classes have been going on for 4 years but this was their first public performance.
Here's some of the first nights photos:



           

                 


After all her hard work, Emily wanted to have ice cream.  Her friend Chiari, who had attended the show and was going out with Emily after, went with us to the Creamery.  Yummy ice cream.  



Emily ordered her favorite, a waffle with a scoop of peanut butter ice cream that also came with chocolate sauce.  These were all hand made ice creams using all natural ingredients.  Of course I was offered to taste every one of them.  The people in the shops and restaurants are extremely gracious and want to make sure you are happy.







I wanted something a bit lighter and had the apple crumble.  It was so cute, it came in a mason jar and on a plate with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream. 
After our sweet stop, I dropped Emily and Chiara off at a club called The Tiger.  Since it was Halloween, even though it isn't really celebrated here, many people were dressed up.  
I on the other hand, drove back to the hotel and after such a hectic day was glad to be back in my room.












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