I went from home to the entrance of the Cape Point Nature Reserve, and the roads were surprisingly quiet. This was not the case on the return cycle; by then Cape Town was awake and about a million people were headed off to the beaches along my route.

Anyway, I cycled for 56km so I am ready for tonight’s dinner out :-)

I took these pictures ages ago on my phone while going for a walk last August in Delaware. And then I forgot completely about them.

Anyway, this patch of monster mushrooms were growing on somebody’s front lawn, and all I can think of is how good they would taste lightly fried with olive oil and fresh garlic. That is of course assuming they don’t kill me in the process! I have no idea what mushrooms you can or cannot eat, so then only mushrooms that I eat come wrapped straight from the shelves of the supermarket.

I took these shots about 2 days before Hurricane Irene, so I hope the little folk living underneath them survived the storm!

This particular market was in the park directly across the road from  our holiday house in Langebaan. Langebaan is a small seaside holiday village on the West coast about an hour from Cape Town. Like most small town markets, it had an eclectic collection of great food, lovely hand-crafts and rubbish. It amazes me how you can see wonderful food and beautiful carvings right next to miscellaneous junk from somebody’s recently cleaned up house. And I am not talking about  old antiques. No, this is just junk that nobody wants, but is still for sale on the off-chance that somebody might buy it. And have you noticed how all markets have at least one junk stall?

Anyway, lets straight past the junk to the good stuff.

Big yellow blocks of Boere-kaas (farm cheese)

Handmade dark chocolate cupcakes

Handmade pepper grinders

These pepper grinders are hand made from tree branches, resulting in grinders that have a natural variation in shape and size. If you examine the quality of these grinders, and the hard work that went into the turning and varnishing of them, it is difficult to really put a fair price on them. They are truly beautiful.

These samosas were a little unexpected at an Afrikaans market (especially vegetarian samosas), but nevertheless they were freshly made, crispy and  excellent.

Like most small markets you can walk through and see everything in about 1/2 an hour. Will you life be unfulfilled if you miss it? No. Will you have an enjoyable 1/2 hour delay if you are driving past? Yes, worth the visit, but don’t stay too long.

Go hungry!

Ok, now that I have shared my knowledge,  it was still a fun project to shoot, a mixture between zooming in really close, and going really wide. Here are three of my favourite pictures from the shoot.

A big expensive quilting machine. Some of this equipment goes for R80000+ if you are buying.

Embroidery machine. You can upload any jpeg image into this machine, and it will render your design in 16 colours.

The studio

So if quilting is your thing, head on down to www.envianaquilts.co.za and check out what they can offer for you.

After the aweful weather we have had this weekend, it is lovely to be able to soak up some sun, and to go for a walk along the Muizenberg/St James beach. The sun is warm, the sky is clear, and it is simply an amazing day! The colourful beach huts in St James are still there, and they are still open to the public as changing rooms, (unlike Brighton where you can pay up to 20000 Pounds for the privilege).

While this particular beach is quite rocky, there is a lovely tidal pool you can swim in, and it was surprisingly empty today. I remember as a student coming down here for biology trips and having to walk among the rocks to find little beach animals and plants.

The walk from Muizenberg to the tidal pool is not far, probably about 1.5 km or so, but very pretty, and there are lots of people so it should be quite safe as well. And if you don’t feel like the walk, you can park on the side of Main Road and cross through one of the subways onto the beach.

I first read about Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE in Smithsonian Magazine. So when we arrived in Delaware and discovered that it was just an hours drive away, or course we had to go for a visit.

The first thing you notice when you arrive is the strange treehouse outside the main doors. This  8 ton  treehouse was originally created for the Burning Man festival, and apparently was bought by the brewery for $1, and it cost a few thousand dollars to move it (at least according to the tour guide).

The brewery is home to some unusual but yummy beers (but at 12%, be careful. Some of these beers will knock you down). My favourite was  Midas Touch, which according to their website is made to a recipe which

“…is the actual oldest-known fermented beverage in the world! It is an ancient Turkish recipe using the original ingredients from the 2700 year old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas. Somewhere between wine & mead”

At 9%, Midas touch is quite a light beer (by their standards). Smooth with a lovely honey taste (but not sweet), a very refreshing drink. The brewery offer a free short guided tour, followed by a tasting of four of their beers (it is best to book for the tour well in advance – we were lucky to get on the tour at the last minute).

Some of the beer is fermented in these huge wooden tanks, made from a really heavy and hard wood (you need diamond blades to cut it), and the tanks last for 10 years.

About 20 minutes drive from the brewery is their restaurant, where you can (again) drink their beers along with a selection of pub meals. A very civilised way to spend the day. If I could get their beer in South Africa, I would be stocking up.

Finally, thanks to much to the waitress that gave me a free pack of beer coasters for my braai room, much appreciated and they are safe in their new home.

To find out more or to contact them, call 1-888-8dogfish.

To do something a little different, I am going to post pictures of the real Venice, and the Venetian in Vegas.

Gondola’s in Vegas

Gondola’s in Venice

Just like the real Venice, you can go for a ride on a gondola,and just like in Venice, they are going to charge you for that!

Rialto Brodge, Vegas

There are however a few differences. The Rialto Bridge is a road bridge, and you can ride moving sidewalk up the bridge. And while I can’t confirm it, I suspect that the bridge in Las Vegas is much longer than in Venice.

Rialto Bridge, Venice

The water in Vegas is chlorinated, and it does not stink at low tide (ok, there are no tides in Vegas). And in Vegas St Mark’s Square is indoors, so no getting wet in the pouring rain we experienced last year in Venice.

St Mark’s Square, Vegas. This square is indoors.

St Mark’s Square, Venice

Like most places in Vegas, you probably want to walk through the hotel and perhaps have a drink at one of the café’, and get a break from the chaos and noise of the strip.

The street contains the old Vegas signage which is featured in the old Vegas movies, TV series and music videos (think Elvis, James Bond and U2).

I am sure that you recognise this Cowgirl. And yes I know, in Vegas sex is everywhere.

In the past cars drive down Fremont street, but now it has been pedestrianized.

There are three stages, each paying different music, and they are all free, so grab a Margarita and head on down for some live music and entertainment.This was one of the 80′s pop band.

And here is a 80′s rock band (the theme for the month was 80′s). Situated about 5 miles from the main strip, it is just as busy, but far cheaper, even cheaper than a meal in Cape Town.

There are plenty of celebraties there, including stormtoopers and a suite of Disney characters. I doubt that any are official, but they all will swap a photo for some cash.  2-3 hours is probably long enough to take in the street, but a different experience to the main strip and worth a visit!

Buy a chicken suit

Eat hot chilli sauce

Get tattoos done in a shopping mall

Goto a strip club. Ok, I suppose this one is not that unusual in Vegas, but in a shopping mall?

The whole neighbourhood is colourfully painted, and being a traditional Muslim area, they are lots of beautifully build Mosques to photograph.

You can find out more on the Bo-Kaap website: http://www.bokaap.co.za/