Welcome Back Indeed

Well the commute isn't getting any easier, my 'welcome back' to South Africa this week was made stunning with an AMAZING bouquet of flowers. I stumbled into finding out about flowers being sent on my last day here before heading back for Ben's wedding; apparently they were rescheduled. So, to those I dropped a note about the flowers - no, they are not from a romantic interest... instead a thank you for some work that had me pretty consumed the last couple weeks of my last visit.

Also, here are some more pictures from Molly's visit that I got from her camera while I was home. Enjoy!

And a view that just doesn't get old...

Wow - May 12th. This last trip flew by due to the constant influx of visitors (since day 3 in fact) and a demanding piece of work on which I’ve been focused. The major deliverable is now complete, which is why I’m not trying to get an update to my blog (aiming to please Ms. Evia who I have kept waiting!)

Molly and I return both begin the trip back to the States today, but sadly on different flights. Her trip takes her through Johannesburg, London, and Chicago and I'm blessed with a shorter journey - only London and Dallas... Matt is now staying in Constantia where he has access to a shop and more tools. Never would have believed that I’d beat him out of Cape Town – smile. We met up with him last night for jazz at the Green Dolphin and I asked him the chances of him still being here upon my return... we'll see!

Anyway, Stéphane arrived last May 2nd from Strasbourg and had the opportunity for a quick nap at the airport waiting for his ride… I was able to make up for it by arranging wine tasting and a fabulous meal at Terroir, a consistently ranked restaurant in Stellenbosch. Molly arrived Saturday morning and was welcomed with an on-time pick up! The highlight of the weekend was the Clifton-style braai (outdoor gas grill instead of the traditional open flame) that evening with the team. I’m not sure if the finale was the gifts from Stéphane’s shop (he’s a chocolatier: http://www.declinaison-chocolat.com/) or the after dinner game featuring Heineken… Here's a picture of my team trying to be mean, Julie can't help but have a friendly smile!

More pictures soon (when I get them from Molly and Stéphane); until then, here's one of some wine glasses at Haiku from one of my more creative moments.

Ana and Pablo (and Matt) in Cape Town!

I cannot believe how quickly the time goes! It was an amazing time with Ana and Pablo - and Matt. Matt arrived 2 weeks ago (sans luggage) to begin his African Down Shift journey. He flew to Port Elizabeth last week and bought his new KLM which he'll ride up the western coast of Africa on his trip to London before returning back to the States. He's a character to say the least - seen here as we're attempting to figure out my telescope :)

The time included the Cape Town usual: winetasting, rugby, moon hike up Lions Head, fabulous foods, our fair share of dancing, grilling at home... all of which I got to enjoy with them and they also fit in a safari, surfing, Cape Point exploration, shark diving (luckily the day after 3 tourists were killed doing the same), and Robben Island while I worked. Their last night was a surprise party at my apartment they they pulled off using my phone as the address book. I had no clue - Sarah suggests keeping the private investigation work to others. Another night closing down Dizzy's and we still made it to the airport on time for their flight - impressive, indeed.

Home...

On my way back to San Francisco, I was asked a few times whether I was going home or on vacation... interesting to go home to vacation.

The trip back was fantastic. The first week in San Fran seemed like I hadn't been away and was filled with morning walks for coffee with Natalia and Senan, a beautiful motorcycle ride to Stinson with the clan (perhaps even a gang), rock climbing, great food, and of course meeting up with friends. Snowbird was as to be expected - refreshing to be in the mountains and so good to see family... and the purchase of a new board from 'Mr. Black' certainly has me looking forward to next season!

So, I'm back in Cape Town. My trip back was not too bad (overlooking the lost luggage) and I visited the Tate Modern in London. I'm finally recovering from a 2 week cold, but the extra downtime helped me finish The Fountainhead. Reading that books makes me miss classroom discussion - there were so many points where I'd want to stop and just talk to someone about what they thought. Any takers??

It's interesting to be close to the coverage of the Zimbabwe election; it's appalling how a leader can continue so devastatingly for so long and remain in power. There are a lot of Zim expats here who still have family and friends back home. Sad story on many fronts... but the outlook appears encouraging??

Friday was another black-out; I'm not sure why they are called brown outs if they are scheduled. When all electricity is out (including street and traffic lights so you don't even know you are flying through an intersection if you don't know the roads) except for those with generators, I'll be calling it a black out in my book.

About to head to meet someone for my first Xhosa lesson (well, second if you count my overtired attempt on the LHR-CPT flight)... Grant is cooking dinner tonight - and then I get to go pick up Ana and Pablo at the airport - exciting!!

Oh and here's the picture from our full moon hike Lion's Head from February (that's the moon rising!):