2015: Where did you go?

I cannot believe that 2015 is now done and dusted. Doesn’t it seem that the older we get, the faster time goes? I really try my hardest to slow down and live in the moment but still, time just keeps flying by. We have been here in South Africa for over 2 years now. The first year we were really in transition mode; getting settled in a new country, making new friends, and me, starting a new job. The biggest change back in 2014 was that the Frenchie became the “trailing spouse” as he was not allowed to work while on my visa. 2015 saw us get back to a bit of normalcy in our lives. Late in 2014 the Frenchie was able to secure his own work permit and left his trailing spouse role for a paid position in the South African work force. Our household roles were redistributed and I found myself slaving away in the kitchen much more often (haha, not really, but we have started eating out a lot more lately).

When I look back at 2015, it seems I have been away more than I have been home. I haven’t added up the time, but I am sure it is not all that far off. I traveled quite a bit for business and pleasure and at times, there would be luggage from more than one trip lying on the bedroom floor waiting to be unpacked. I started to go back and look through my photos to remind me just what I have been up to this year and I thought it might be fun to post a recap of where I have been month by month. Some trips I have already blogged about and others not as I sometimes just didn’t have the time. Let’s have a look.

January 2015
The new year started off calmly enough. I didn’t have any trips outside of Joburg in January and that gave us a chance to spend some time in this fabulous city we are proud to call home. One of the reasons I love Joburg so much is due to its diversity. You can really find just about anything here. Two of the things we did in January I think illustrate this quite nicely: a visit to the Norscot Koppies Nature Reserve (a lovely reserve right in Joburg that I wrote about here in 2014) and a walk through Cyrildene, the new Chinatown of Joburg (you can see more photos from our first visit here).

BlesbokThis trip to Norscot was specifically to photograph this baby blesbok, isn’t he sweet?

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Restaurant Review: Escondido Tapas and Wine

I had been hearing a whole lot of great things about Escondido Tapas and Wine lately and a couple of weekends ago we finally got a chance to try this place out. I have one sole regret; why oh why did we not come here sooner ?

Escondido Tapas and WineEscondido Tapas and Wine

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Restaurant Review: Silver Orange Bistro

A couple of weeks ago we took a drive out to Hartbeespoort Dam for lunch at the Silver Orange Bistro. I had seen a lot of good reviews of this restaurant and I have been wanting to try it out for some time now.

Silver Orange BistroSilver Orange Bistro

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Restaurant Review: Salsa Mexican Grill

Update 24 March 2016: Salsa now takes reservations and it is highly recommended to make them at least a week in advance.

Salsa Mexican Grill is the newest addition to the Jozi Northern Suburbs dining scene, just officially opening this past Thursday. They are located in the Pineslopes Shopping Centre at the corner of Witkoppen and The Straight, right next to the Beerhouse. The really great news for me is that this is really close to home and I couldn’t wait to try this place out.

Thursday evening I rang the restaurant to try and make reservations for Friday night and was told they aren’t currently taking any reservations, they are doing walk-ins only for the moment. A bit skeptical about getting in, we rocked up a bit early (for us) for dinner around 7 pm on Friday. We were warmly welcomed and had no trouble getting a table at that time though things were starting to pick up later as we were leaving.

The dining area features attractive wooden tables and chairs and an open plan kitchen. I felt the décor was a bit subdued for a Mexican restaurant and I would love to see just a bit more color added. There is a large outdoor patio area which I am sure will be great fun once it warms up a bit.

Open Plan KitchenOpen Plan Kitchen

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Restaurant Review: Shun De Chinese Restaurant

During the past 2-3 months the subject of finding some authentic Chinese food has come up in conversations between the Frenchie and me several times as the strip mall/take out places you find all over Joburg just don’t cut it. I knew we needed to get over to explore Cyrildene, the neighborhood which is now considered to be the new Chinatown in Jozi (with the orignal one in Newtown though it is mostly abandoned these days). We have driven past many times and just never got around to actually stopping to check things out. Earlier this week, I read the new Johannesburg Travel Guide on Trip Advisor and the feature Best Food in Johannesburg from blogger 2summers. In the article she recommends Shun De Chinese Restaurant in Cyrildene (23 Derrick Street) and I immediately knew where I wanted to have lunch on Saturday.

Shun DeShun De Chinese Restaurant

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