Johannesburg, South Africa

I was sorry to leave Nairobi, I felt so at home there and had such a good time with the family. Dan and Elisa made a lot of effort to show me around so I could see the country, and I loved it. However,  South Africa called. It is my birthplace, but there was a certain sadness of going back knowing so many of my family had passed on. I knew it would not be the same, but it was a good feeling that finally after years of regretting that I had not taken the boys to South Africa when they were younger, Dan was now coming with me and his family.

A final ride to the airport with a friend of Maina, who had a large van for all our luggage, and off we went to Johannesburg on Kenya Airways business class, courtesy of Elisa's frequent flier miles (there is a benefit to all those trips she makes. Hopefully easier now she is in Africa and not commuting from New York!) The flight was about 4 1/2 hours. It was very smooth and comfortable with great views of the Kariba Dam going over Zimbabwe. How I remember when a student in London, those wonderful summer holidays

I had in the Zambezi Valley with John and Betty, and John flying us in to the Kariba airport in the little Cessna 150.   On the Kenya flight, there was only one little thing that could have been better. More time to enjoy our meal. As we were the only people in business class, our flight attendant concentrated all her attention on us, and the meal was served very efficiently, with not much time to savour the actually pretty good food. As we went further south, the terrrain became greener. I learnt later that the Johannesburg area had had more rain than usual.

The airport is world-class, very impressive, spruced up I suppose,  for the World Cup. I could tell immediately that in the 44 years since I had been in South Africa, so much had changed. First of all it was no longer the Union of  South Africa that I grew up in, run by the British, now Africans were working in all sectors as equals.  The young African man that sold us the SIM cards for our phones was very knowledgeable, efficient and helpful, I hadn't a clue what to do about my phone.

We had arranged for a driver to meet us and take us to the B&B breakfast I had booked in Sandton. Frank became our driver on several trips, and he too was very interesting to talk to about many things. A great help to us as we were not the average tourist-type. He was very adept at getting all our luggage and us into a VW Passat.

Sandton was not an area I remembered from my schooldays. In fact, I am not sure it existed then. The whole area from Rosebank where I used to live, to Sandown where I went for my riding lessons, and is adjacent to Sandton, is now suburbs, where before it was way out in the countryside.  Sandton itself is a mini-city, built during the difficult 1980s when there was so much trouble in downtown Johannesburg. The Sandton Mall (as luxurious as any mall in the US), was built first to make shopping easier and safer for the suburbanites, then banks and businesses came out as well.

Frank was very patient with me, as I looked for familiar places which no longer existed. However, I remembered most of the locations and we drove around and found some of them. My earliest memory was of an hotel, the Balalika, where my parents and I would go for social events. There was a large thatched-roof rondavel which was used as a ballroom and dining room. I seem to remember a children's birthday party there. As South Africans spent a lot of time outside, there are always lovely lawns and playgrounds for children to run around in, while the grownups chat away. There were ponies for gentle rides at the Balalaika. A few years later, when I was with my father and his second wife Joy, we were living in a cottage on the Balalaika property with toddler Charles. It was there 50 years ago, during rest time after lunch, lying on the soft grassy lawn, listening to some heavenly music, I decided I wanted to be a musician. I have those memories of the Balalaika more in my head than the upscale modern hotel it has become in Sandton, surrounded by city streets and buildings.

Sandton Mall and Mandela Square

My old school, Redhill, was where I remembered it, although the road which we walked down from the main road was now paved, instead of being  gravel. Frank talked the security guard into letting us in through the main gate and we could see some of the older buildings with thatched roofs that I remembered. One had a particular memory for me. When I was a 7 year-old at the school (it was boarding), two of the older girls were planning to run away and asked me if I would like to join them. Although I was not at all unhappy at the school, I said yes, as I thought I would go visit my brother in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, a thousand miles away. So we carefully and secretly packed up our things, including toothbrushes, and somehow crept out of the grounds. As I mentioned, we were in the countryside (veldt), the road was gravelled and there were few houses on this very dark road. The girls decided to spend the night in the garden of a day-girl's home, down the road from the school (how far, I don't remember) and we settled in under a large tree. The day-girl must have heard noises,  as she came outside and found us, but assured us her parents were out and we would be OK in the garden. However, it wasn't long before the parents returned and were told we were taken back to school. I suffered the least punishment because of my age. The other girls were expelled from the school, but I was put into the headmistress's house and not allowed to go to my dormitory or classes for a week. I was given books to read and there were 2 kittens to play with. I was perfectly happy. My mother came to visit and brought me some sweets, but I was not allowed to have them.

When at school, or if I was at home nearby in Rosebank,  we were taken  to church on Sundays at St. Martin's in the Veld, and although it is in the suburbs now and has been renovated, (it seems bigger and missing the thatched roof), there still is the feeling of the old church.

Not far from St. Martin's it seemed, was my home on Bath Ave when I was a young child. It was on a small plot with a lawn in front and a driveway on the side. Although Bath Ave is still there, the  number of  the house, 52, does not exist, so I think it must have been re-numbered at some time. 54 Bath Ave is now a very elegant hotel, The Grace, but it is on the corner of Bath and Tyrwhitt Ave. I remembered that we would walk towards Tyrwhitt to go to Stuttafords for afternoon tea.  We walked away from Tyrwhitt Ave. along  a block which looked familiar, with small overgrown plots. The houses were either torn down or overgrown by trees and bushes. I like to think it was there somewhere, and hadn't been bulldozed away.  

Here are two photos of my third birthday there.


One place I remembered well was the Johannesburg Park. Frank drove Dan, Zoe and me out there on Dec. 28 (Elisa was tired and a cold was coming on). The park also houses the National Military Museum. As Dad was in the SAAF during WWII, I was interested in seeing it.
There are interesting exhibits, and a Spitfire and a couple of Messerschmidts which I suppose had been shot down. I was hoping to get a book or some information from the shop, but the owner or the shop assistant was very unhelpful, either talking on the phone or taking his dog out for a pee, so I gave up.

Johannesburg Zoo Lake



Mum and Jane(in Redhill uniform) on the lake in the Johannesburg Park





 

 

Going to the lake was much better and it was just as I had remembered it.

My brother John must have come up to visit us, and with Mum we went to the park and rowed in the lake. This is also where Mum met my friend Louise (about 3 years old) who had come to the park with her Grandmother and walked away, and Mum found her. Alice, Louise's grandmother, was visiting from England, so she and Mum had a lot in common and they became lifelong friends. The friendship continued with Louise's parents and Louise and I have become good friends. Louise was very good to Mum when Mum was living in sheltered accommodation in London and then in the nursing home in Blackwater. All that from a chance encounter in a park!

There was a lovely playground for Zoe, but no shade, and the kids couldn't play on the equipment as it was too hot.  It is the same in the US, designers build beautiful playgrounds which the children can't play in because the slides and swings are burning hot. 

We went to Moyos, an African-themed restaurant for lunch in the park overlooking the lake, and although it was delicious, it was mostly European food with a few African/exotic spices.

 

 

 Zoe had fallen asleep in Dan's arms during lunch, so we opted for a drive around the suburbs before returning to the B&B. Johannesburg is the best city in the world for greenery. Immaculate parks everywhere with pristine lawns that the public is allowed to walk on! Streets with canopies of jacaranda trees, even after all this time I still have a picture in my head of those gorgeous avenues, breath-taking in the purply-blue blossom time.

December 29, our last day in Johannesburg. We were packed up and checked out by 10:30 for Frank to pick us up. The B&B had been pleasant enough, with the lawn and pool, and having a guest kitchen/lounge, but the breakfasts were minimal - all cold, not scrambled eggs or other hot items we had in the other B&Bs we stayed in. It was also in deep suburbia and we felt far away from everything. Frank was able to get all our stuff packed away, but it was certainly tight.

We decided that Dan and Elisa would go to the Apartheid Museum http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/ and I would take Zoe to the amusement park next to it. However, when we got there, we discovered it was a theme park, like Busch Gardens and quite unsuitable for Zoe. We all went into the museum  and I saw most of it before taking Zoe out into the natural bush area and wetlands nearby. It was a lovely day, not too hot, there had been storms in Johannesburg in the night, cooling down the temperature. There was a cafe in the grounds and we all met up for a good lunch together. Dan and Elisa were very interested in the museum, it was of course a real eye-opener seeing and reading how apartheid had come into being, and is now thankfully gone by law. 

We left for the airport, said goodbye to Frank and checked in with no complications, in spite of all our luggage.

I had mixed feelings about leaving Johannesburg, the place where I have most of my early childhood memories. It has changed so much, and I have no family or friends left there, but I was still sorry to say goodbye.

Interestingly enough, we had to take a bus to the plane.  








Christmas in Nairobi

Dan and I spent the morning of Christmas Eve shopping - first at a stall, (actually a blanket on the ground tended by an lovely older lady) who made beaded and other jewellery.  She had the nicest selection of all the stalls around and I bought several items for myself and to take home as gifts. She even made me a necklace to suit a top I wear, not too long and matching nicely. She also made Dan a necklace of black twine and beads. We then got Zoe's Christmas present, a tricycle. She had been  riding around the shop for days trying them out, but of course didn't know she was going to get one! We had lunch at the Java Cafe at the YaYa center, I had a delicious guacomole,cheese, tomato sandwich on a baguette. Their lemonade is also delicious, previously I had lemonade and ginger which was very strong, this time I had one with passion fruit, not quite as strong!

There wasn't a lot of evidence that Christmas was nigh, a few lights on hotel windows and some shops had decorations. There was a unique Christmas tree in Nairobi, perhaps used all over Africa. I wanted to get one for the apartment but Dan said no for this year as we were leaving the day after Christmas. It is made with some kind of tree trunk wrapped in banana leaves, the branches are also wrapped in banana leaves, and decorated with beaded and other ornaments.



Nairobi's unique Christmas trees

We really didn't have a lot to do, quite different from the Christmas Eve panic that manifests itself in Western countries, so before we returned to the apartment, we dropped in to the Nairobi Wildlife Park again, this time to go on the Safari Walk. It is basically an educational centre donated by the European Union so that African schoolchildren  can learn about the wildlife and protect them.

The animals are fenced off, but are in their natural habitat and just a few of each. There is a path that winds around the different areas and through a treed area, and makes for a good walk. We had started out just meandering, but then a guide seemed to attach himself to us, and was actually very helpful, telling us all about the park. We saw the rare white rhino, male and female lion, 2 albino zebras (very rare), and an ostrich, which we fed with leafy branches. We were let into the leopard area so we could see a leopard way up in the tree. We couldn't get a good photo as the leopard was so well camouflaged. The highlight of the walk was petting a cheetah. Our guide convinced the keepers to let us into the enclosure and pet them, which of course we did. The fur was not as soft as Wolfie's when I scratched him under chin (they are in the cat family after all!), and he was very patient with us, realising that his food was not us, but being held by a keeper. It was quite unbelievable, and so unexpected. We really lucked out with our guide. However, we had to say goodbye, having to get back to the apartment to get ready for the Christmas Eve service. 





Sign says "Warthogs and children have right of way"





Tea-time for ostrich





Keeper, where is my lunch?
Will I have to resort to white meat?



In the evening we went to the All Saints Anglican Cathedral for their Christmas Eve service of Lessons and Carols. We had been invited by the cellist in the string group I played with in the Mall (see Nairobi Dec. 11-26) whose brother is the organist there. The cathedral, a traditional Anglican stone building with a wooden ceiling and pews, was very full, and it was obviously well-loved and attended. The service was enhanced by the installation of flat-screen TVs attached to the support columns. It enabled us to hear well and see the readers at the lectern. The choir sang beautifully, and had two fine sopranos, one, the soloist in the traditional processional "Once in Royal David's City", and both in "O, Holy Night". The service was nearly 2 hours long, but I was glad to be there. It's good to have an Anglican church pretty much anywhere in the world, especially at Christmas time. Zoe was very patient, but able to come and go when necessary. There were other children to play with outside who found the service lengthy! Afterwards, I went to thank the organist, who is the head of the Nairobi Conservatory of Music, and we had a chat about Gillian's trip to Nairobi in July with her string students from St. Ignatius College in San Francisco.

At home after getting Zoe settled, we had lots to do, wrapping up  the presents ( mostly for Zoe). For a tree, we used a standing lampshade with leafy branches, and hung the ornaments I had brought from the States. Each of my grandhildren has their own Christmas tree at my house, and gets an ornament every year, so I brought Zoe's. In addition I had seen some lovely zebra ornaments at the Talisman craft shops, and bought a set for her and for Kate and James.



The Western Christmas tree by the pool



Christmas Day! Zoe is beginning to put it all together. At her school, they had a nativity play, and she was an angel (literally and figuratively). She learnt some carols, mainly jingle bells, but didn't quite realise the meaning of presents. However, she learnt quickly and had a great time opening them. It was so lovely to be altogether, although of course I missed Kate and James.

However, I had given them a Christmas party before I left, with games and stocking stuffers, so that was a good time for us all.  

The hotel we had booked for a Christmas lunch was north of the city, and on the way we stopped at the Memorial for the victims of the American Embassy which had occupied a corner block on a very busy street. The building was totally razed after the bombing in 1998 and the site is now a moving tribute to those who died, mainly Africans going about their business in the city. The garden has a fountain and a memorial wall surrounded by trees and benches. There is a small information center in the back. 

The American Embassy Memorial Wall

We drove on to the Windsor Hotel and Golf Club. It is the premier place for conferences and golf. Originally built in the 30s, it has 2 wings of Victorian style 3-storey accommodation. The central building has a dramatic staircase leading up from the foyer, and the main reception rooms. We had pre-lunch drinks in the clubhouse (cooler, it was so hot outside) before going to our table on the terrace. The large umbrella over the table shaded us from the burning sun. The heat is dry, so as long as one is in the shade and not moving around much, it is quite pleasant.

As a good Englishwoman I selected the roast turkey with all the trimmings, but there were many other dishes more suitable to the climate.  The Christmas pudding was  brought to me, as I hadn't seen it on the dessert table. It was two tiny mounds of pudding, which actually was very delicious, and a huge mound of what I thought was creme fraiche, but turned out to be solid Devonshire clotted cream. I saved some of it for the fruit salad I had later. A friend of Elisa who worked for the Swedish Embassy joined us for lunch and it was very enjoyable sitting there, which we did for quite some time. 



The Gingerbread House at the buffet.





The languid afternoon slipped by and we knew we had to get back to get ready for our flight to South Africa the next day. It had been a really enjoyable Christmas day with my family, out in such a beautiful spot,  lovely lunch and atmosphere. Bliss.

On our way back Maina, our driver, mentioned that the Masai Market was open in the city location (it moves around during the week to different locations). There had been many references to the Market, and I was eager to go. It was near closing time so wouldn't be a long stop. Zoe was asleep in the car, and Elisa stayed with her. Little did I know what Dan and I were getting into!

We were not prepared for the bombardment of the vendors when we walked in. I think that business had been very slow on Christmas Day, it was nearly closing time, and here were 2 unsuspecting tourists. They were like bees around a honeypot. I was not afraid, but overwhelmed by all the chattering, offerings and deals that were heaped on us, each one talking louder than the other. All our pleas to let us walk around to see what the vendors were selling fell on deaf ears, and we could hardly move. I clung on to Dan's arm, and finally said in a very firm voice that if they didn't leave us alone, we would leave immediately and not buy anything. I think they realised what I meant, and enough left so we were able to walk around a bit, with a few of them trailing behind. Dan was very good at negotiating, and we did purchase some lovely items, but as I told them, we would have bought a lot more if they had let us look around without being hassled. It makes for a good story.

A truly memorable Christmas Day, never to be forgotten.










Life in and around Nairobi.

My special place to write

We didn't go on game drives every day, occasionally I stayed at the apartment, keeping an eye on Zoe, or sitting out in the little gazebo writing my journal and just enjoying being there. Although I had never lived in Nairobi, I felt very much at home and very comfortable. I missed my cello of course, but if it had been during the school year I would have been playing in the Nairobi Symphony and teaching.

One day out was to visit the Nairobi Waldorf School. As I teach at a Waldorf School, I wanted to visit them, and I knew my fellow teachers at home would be very interested in my visit and seeing photos. I was warmly invited to visit when I phoned the school. It is out in Karen on the Miotoni Road. As it was holiday time, there were no children but some of the teachers were cleaning up and getting ready for the next term. I was shown around by Irene who was one of the  kindergarten teachers.  Dan and Zoe were joined by the 6 year-old daughter of one of the teachers, and was so friendly to Zoe. They had a wonderful time on all the play equipment while I went around the campus. It is small, with wooden buildings, but has great open areas, a nature walk, bike paths and playground. They also had a small garden patch for the kindergarden where the children learn to plant and grow vegetables. Surrrounding  the buildings are flower beds, beauiful colorings and plants. The school goes to 8th grade, and there are separate buildings for each grade. In addition there is a large eurythmy room with an attached music room, which doubles as an instrument storage room after class. There is no string program, but if a child wants individual lessons, a private teacher comes to the school after classes end. The staff I met were so friendly, I think it must be a very happy school. The Waldorf atmosphere is very evident. I hope that my school can develop a friendship with them.

Crossing the wobbly bridge

After visiting the school, we went to the Karen Blixen House featured in the film "Out of Africa". It is clearly recognisable from the movie, even though the actual esate is much diminished what with the coffee barn burning down and then later the sale of land around the house. One can tell how much the house meant to Karen Blixen, and can almost feel her love of the view to the Ngong Hills. The sunsets must be spectacular,I would have loved to have been there one evening. The lawns were immaculate and the trees stunning, with of course, bouganvillia.  The house is now a museum and most of the items were bought back to furnish it. (Before she left to go back to Denmark, there was an auction of everything, an agonizing part of the film.) There are the costumes Meryl Streep wore in the film, and even Robert Redford's jodhpurs! Oh, the memories of my beating heart! The little museum shop had some lovely jewellery, I bought a pair of "trade" earrings, made of traded beads from other countries for Kenya goods. The little triangles are made from bone.



The Ngong Hills



The Karen Blixen house

We went for lunch to the nearby Utamaduni Crafts Centre, a cooperative of local artists and craftspeople. As it was getting late, we thought we would eat first, then look around the centre. We sat under an ivy-covered trellis enjoying the beautiful plants beside the slate paths, and the stone pond. The place was not very crowded, but the service was very slow, and it took us some time to realise that they wanted us to look around the centre BEFORE  having  lunch. We did manage to get our waiter instead to bring us lunch right away, and it was delicious. I had a fish soup "Zanzibar" with all sorts of exotic spices, but fortunately not hot. Zoe had her fish fingers (fresh fish is served everywhere, not those horrible frozen things) and Dan had fish as well. The Centre was in a former house, and each room had a different craft, all beautifully presented. Beaded work is very popular, and I bought several  items for gifts. There were hand-designed fabrics made into tablecloths, aprons and other household items. I bought Elisa a beautiful cotton dressing gown for Christmas. She travels a lot and she didn't have one.

By the time we got into the car, we were pretty exhausted with our day out, and were glad to get home after the ride along the dusty and noisy Ngong Road. Traffic in Nairobi is an quite an experience.



Game parks in Nairobi

 

One morning, Maina, our driver, drove us to the David Sheldrick Elephant and Rhino Orphanage on the edge of the Nairobi National Park, just a few miles from the apartment. These baby and young elephant had been orphaned, their mothers for the most part having been killed by poachers for their ivory tusks. Sometimes the babies are very young, perhaps just a few months old, and they stay in the orphange for quite some time until they are ready to move out into the wild. The public is only able to see them once a day at 11am for their bottle feeding and play time. It is quite a sight, a line of baby elephant rushing down the hill from the bush to get to their bottles of milk formula, drunk in about 30 seconds. We were distracted for a couple of seconds when we saw a lion rushing across the bush behind the babies, but he wasn't interested in them, but in a warthog. Maina was in the parking lot and he told us the lion tore through the parking lot after the warthog. We didn't find out the end result. After the babies have gulped their milk, they are encouraged by the handlers to play, some with soccer balls or on a huge mound of earth where they jostle and push each other over. It is truly an incredible sight.


                                                                  We're coming!

Bottle time

A fun dust fight

The babies played for quite a while, then it was time for them to get back to their enclosure and a second group came tearing down for their turn. 

After that, we drove to the Giraffe Centre run by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, founded by Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville. It's the home of the "Rothschild" giraffe, they have white socks. The giraffe are in the wild, but a treehouse with a deck all around allow visitors to be at eye level to them, and to give them a kiss, which I did several times. It's actually a way to feed them a little pellet, which you put in between your lips, and the giraffe very gently licks it off. (They have gorgeously long black eyelashes and brown eyes, by the way!) Their tongues are not germy, nature has given them saliva that is antiseptic, as giraffe eat spiky leaves and cut their tongues, and the saliva heals them up.



They are really sweet.

From the tree house, you can see the Giraffe Manor, built in the style of an English manor house, somewhat incongruous in the middle of the Africa bush, but time has weathered it, and it seems quite at home there.  Previously a private home, it is now a top-notch hotel. I had hoped to go out there again for afternoon tea, where the giraffe join you, but time ran out.

By this time, we were quite ravenous, and Dan had chosen a very special restaurant, the Talisman, rated #1 in Nairobi. Situated off the Ngong Road in Karen, it had been an old colonial mud and wattle bungalow. As I discovered in this land of outdoor living, most places have large lawns with play equipment for children, and this one was no exception. A lovely green lawn below the outdoor patio with a double swing for me and Zoe to swing on while waiting for our lunch which was superb. Dan had pan-fried tuna, and I had a pork escalotte, both served with a medley of delicious fresh vegetables - spinach,broccoli, green beans and carrots. We gave in to desserts - a raspberry pavlova for me and chocolate mousse for Dan. We waddled to the car.

On another day we went for a game drive through the Nairobi National Park adjacent to the elephant and giraffe sanctuaries. This was Kenya's first wildlife reserve and has lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino. No elephant. The babies from the orphanage nearby are transported to other reserves, Tsavo or the Masai Mara, for instance. The city is gradually encroaching on the park, it is now between the Wilson Airport (small aircraft, local flights and charters) and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. There are issues along the corridor where the animals migrate. The Masai villagers have moved up very close to the corridor and the wild animals often attack their goats and other animals.

We saw a number of birds, ibis for example which had beautiful yellow crops. Game was sparse in the middle of the day, but we had good views of zebra and impala.

In the middle of the reserve is a very moving tribute dedicated to the elephant.  A stone circle surrounds a huge pile of ashes. This is where hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ivory was burnt in a protest by the Kenyan Government against the poachers. There is a large statue in brass of a group of elephant, and panels around a block describing the event. On the way out we passed through a troup of babboon who hang up high in the trees at a certain time each day at feeding time around an enclosed orphanage for monkeys. It must be a very frustrating existence for babboons, no wonder they are so bad-tempered. They are scavengers and probably get left-overs.

It had been very hot, in fact Dan had literally taken the shrt off his back to cover my arms which were getting quite sunburnt. The car did not have air-conditioning, so we had the windows open most of the time. However, we were able to cool off on the terrace of the Rangers Restaurant, part of the park.  It must be a great place in the evening to sit with a sundowner and watch the animals come to the water hole below. I had a delicious entree of grilled tilapia with lemon sauce, and the usual excellent medley of  fresh vegetables.

Waiting for our lunch at the Rangers' Restaurant

Nairobi - Dec. 11-26, 2010

The flight was eleven and a half hours, and the seats quite uncomfortable. Food very so-so. The plane was full of people going home for the holidays, so no possibility of empty seats to stretch out. I sat next to a mother with 2 children around 7 and 3. They were very well-behaved and sociable. Another early arrival, this time we were allowed to land, but had to sit in the plane until a gate opened up. The airport looked much the same as I remembered it from 44 years ago, maybe a few buildings around it, and no animals on the runways. The good thing about the flight was there is not much jet-lag, so apart from missing a night's sleep, I was feeling fine. Had to hang around waiting to get a visa. Fortunately Dan had told me to have $25 ready in cash for the visa. Not the greatest of welcomes - the lift was not working to go down to baggage claim, and the guard I spoke to made no effort to help me down the stairs with my carry-on luggage. Did find a lady porter downstairs who put my 2 bags and carry-on on the trolley, then there was Zoe on top of Dan's shoulders and Elisa. What joy! 

They had arranged for the use of the apartment complex van to pick me up, which was big enough to take us all and the luggage. The apartment complex is not far from the airport, so we were soon there.

The first impact was that it was warm! a balmy 78 F, it felt so good. Then there was the red Kenya soil and wonderful bouganvillia trees in different colours. I was sorry it wasn't jacaranda blossoming time, I could see the trees and picture the glorious purple-blue blossoms everywhere. The infrastructure around the city is interesting - there are tall, beautifully-designed (for the most part) buildings along main roads, but the roads themselves are appalling - no sidewalks, just paths in the grass or rubble alongside the roadway. I tripped onto the road once, stepping from the sidewalk on to the road, as the tarmac was higher than the dirt path and I didn't lift my foot high enough. There was lots of traffic, (driving is impossible for a newcomer, no-one takes any notice of traffic lights as there are so few anyway, roundabouts are very hazardous as everyone is trying to squeeze in.) but also many people walking on the sides of the roads. Later on I saw very nice sections of the city, and there was a lot of road construction going on to the north, so progress is happening. 

The apartment complex which is totally enclosed by a wall with a security gate and guardhouse, is well laid out with lovely gardens and swimming pool. There is also a bar and a chef who cooks meals on demand, and we would have lunch in a little pergola next to the pool. Dan and Elisa would take Zoe in for a dip, but it was surprisingly quiet, not many of the residents of the 3 blocks used it. I didn't make use of the pool as I had forgotten to bring my swimsuit, and didn't find one when I looked in the mall. All they had were the skinny sports suits. I would take my writing pad down and catch up on my journal. It was bliss. Remember, the weather is always perfect.  

 The apartment on the second floor was spacious and well-designed. The front door opened onto a foyer with built-in shelves, mirror and hooks for hanging hats and coats. Doors lead  into the living room (lounge), and the kitchen, which also had a balcony where clothes could be dried. In the foyer there was a good-sized storage closet to put Zoe's stroller. In typical African fashion, the floors were lovely wood parquet throughout. The living room had a built-in entertainment center to fit a large flat TV, bookcase sheleves and cabinets.  The dining room had a built-in china hatch with sliding-glass doors above and cabinets below.   The textured walls are an earthen color reflecting the Nairobi soil. The dining room, overlooking the pool and gardens, was through an archway from the living room, which had a balcony where we had tea and watched a troup of monkeys watching us. As of now, they have not figured out how to jump from the roof covering the cars, over to the balconies. From the dining room, a door leads to the  hallway with three bedrooms, one with the bathroom ensuite. There is a second bathroom, and  a small office.



I was well-rested the next day when we went out to the Karen Blixen Coffee House run by the Tamambo restaurant, (formerly the plantation manager's house), in the suburb of Karen. This once part of the estate where Karen Blixen came from Denmark to start a coffee farm. The house which I visited a few days later is still there, but the rest of the estate has been sold off. We had a wonderful brunch, it was a great start to the holiday and we celebrated with Mimosas (and Bloody Mary's I  think). The Eggs Florentine with salmon were superb, as was the setting.



Our sweet Zoe

Yummy

After brunch and looking around the lovely gardens and little shop, we went back home, stopping at a roadside basket display. Elisa wanted some laundry baskets and I bought the best purchase of my stay in Africa - a straw-woven hat.


Baskets galore

Your dolls fit better in there, Zoe!

With Zoe still taking naps occasionally, it was easy to have a lie-down in the afternoon to escape the heat of the day after a strenuous morning of sightseeing.  Unfortunately that can be very habit-forming, but blame it on the ever-present sun! It was lovely to sit out by the pool in the cool of the evening, no humidity and amazingly free of biting insects. We did have mosquito nets to pull around the beds, and Zoe had hers over her crib which she called her "house". It didn't always stay in place, but she was surprisingly good about keeping under it.

On days we didn't have a touristy event, we went shopping at a nearby supermarket or to one of the many malls in the outskirts of the city. The exotic smell of the fruits in the supermarket sent me into a heady spin -pawpaw, mango, grenadilla and so inexpensive. Fresh fruit was on our menu every day either at home or when eating out. Another delectable inexpensive treat was avocado. It was in season and in all green salads. How I miss them all. 

One morning in a mall, the Junction, a smallish mall with a variety of very nice shops, I saw a notice about a string group playing carols that eveing. Thinking it might be a violin teacher taking his/her students to play, I suggested to Dan we take Zoe, as she loves the violin and is always playing hers ( usually a spoon and a straw for the bow, but she'll use anything, fork and knife etc!) Off we went in the evening and found a string trio with a bass, playing carols beautifully. We watched, Zoe was fascinated, then during a break I went up to the first violinist and introduced myself as a friend of Gillian. He brightened up and said they all knew her, and were in fact using some music that she had left them.  Gillian was an orchestra student when a young girl, and had gone on to become a fine violinist. For her PhD project, she had gone to Kenya to start a string program in a school near Mount Kenya. During the time she was there, she met and played with a number of musicians. She is sorely missed there. I was invited to play with the group, the cellist was very accommodating and lent me his cello and I enjoyed playing with the group very much. I was pleased that Zoe got to see me playing. The cellist is a sub-organist of the Anglican Cathedral, All Saints, and he invited us to attend the Christmas Eve service of Lessons and Carols, which we did. His brother is the organist and I got to meet him after the service. I was sorry that the musicians I had been introduced to were gone for the holidays. I would have enjoyed meeting them and playing chamber music. The Nairobi Symphony was also on a break.
One Saturday afternoon, Elisa. Zoe and I went to the YaYa mall which she frequents often as it is close to her office. While not terribly big, it has a good grocery store, well-stocked, and a number of boutique shops. It had some Christmas decorations, but no-where near the American-style hype.  The most fascinating thing were the Christmas trees of various sizes made from banana tree leaves and decorated by traditional beaded ornaments.
Another outing one day was to the Diamond Plaza. An interesting square of Indian shops on three sides. Everything was sold in the small shops - clothes - exquisitely embroidered saris for women and little girls, tunics for men and boys. For everyday wear or weddings, the selections were breath-taking. Jewellery of course and leather slippers, electronics, a small convenience store and of course the mobile phone shops. The fourth side had long tables and benches where one sat and got bombarded by waiters trying to get you to order from their restaurant. Fortunately Dan and Elisa had a favorite Indian/Chinese restaurant, "Chowpaty" so we didn't have to battle too long. I was very conservative and had a vegetable samosa and a cheese marsala dhosa which was very tasty. To drink I had a mango lassi (mango puree yoghurt, delicious). It was way too much food, and I took home a good portion of the dhoso. Poor Dan bit into a chili seed and was in agony for some time. It really affected his tongue. I felt awful for him, but then found out that this was not the first time he had done that. Those chili seeds are hard to see in a dish.
The next day were were leaving for our big trip to the Mount Kenya area, so went home to get over lunch and pack for the trip.
The Mount Kenya trip has been described in the Mount Kenya, Nyeri, Aberdares chapter, and we arrived back safe and sound the day before Christmas Eve.