Anniversary on the Rovos Rail!

So after 10 years traveling the African continent, I finally decided to take my hubby of 1 YEAR on this prestigious train for a very slow journey from Capetown to Pretoria (yes the train goes 60 Km per hour!). The journey starts at the Rovos Lounge at No. 1 Adderley Street and it is all a bit surreal.....red carpet, champagne, violinist playing live in the lounge....you get the picture. Very OLD school...and normally NOT my scene! but Tony and I knew what we were in for (Tony has been before!) so we embraced the journey to the fullest....

Ready to board.....

Our Cabin....much better in person. The train is actually very impressive and immaculate. From the moment you step on it, it is truly a journey back in time...(including the staff uniforms , which could definitely use a bit of re-fashioning!!)

Us leaving Capetown......

One of the lounges...

Tony enjoying the views from the observation deck!

One of our brief stops....

Some gorgeous landscape....the first day of the journey is a lot more exciting than the second, as the landscape in the Karoo gets a bit boring....but it was still all very interesting!

Nice Look!!!

Gorgeous winelands...

Entering one of the many tunnels...

Me after a sleepless night....the noise of the breaks was unbearable. Tea in bed and a Panado did the trick!

Yes- that's the Big Hole of Kimberly behind me.....it has produced 14,504,566 CARATS of diamonds= 2722kg...I own a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,very, very,very,very, small portion of it!! 

 Bye Bye.....until next time!!!! I don't think I will do the Capetown to Cairo anytime soon but it was a wonderful way to spend 2 days with my Tesoro!!!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to us...

BEAN THERE- Fair Trade Coffee

Another fantastic Coffee spot in town on Walle Street corner of Loop.....I'm not a coffee expert (I should be by the number of cafes I have been to in my life!) but I do recognize a perfect cappuccino and they sure make one. Even better- they make ICED LATTE and they have a huge glass bowl filled with marshmallows- FREE for the kiddies. Vesper and I had a great Coffee Break this morning....

Dani's Tip: Get a Coffee Card when you go. Your 2nd and 8th coffee are FREE

Vesper Enjoying her treats....while Mamma enjoys her perfect cappuccino.....

 

WHY FAIR TRADE? Fair trade means that all partners and farmers are paid a fair fee for their crop.

 

Huge Coffee Roaster right in the middle of the Shop!!!

 

They offer 3 different kinds of Ethiopian Beans and they roast all their coffee in house....Bean There is the only Fair Trade shop in SA that roast its coffee on the premises....It does not get Fresher and Tastier than that!!!! 

Homemade Middle Eastern Food- I LOVE!!!!

I Love Middle Eastern Food....maybe because it reminds me of Sicilian food - it incorporates a lot of the same ingredients: Aubergine, Mint, Chickpeas, Couscous, Almonds, Parsley etc...so today I was really happy to find sababa  at 233 Bree Street.

Some of you may already know the Seapoint branch, but this one is only 2 months old and has a great vibe with chairs and table on the sidewalk, a very friendly staff and a HUGE vegetarian selection. YEAH!!! so I decided to take the Lunch Box home. For R40-R45 you can get yourself a Meat + 3 SIDE SALADS!!!! or a Vegetarian Main + 3 salads. I just finished eating mine and licked the eco-friendly take away container. Sababa is very GREEN, with solar heated water panels and all eco-friendly bio degradable packaging. One more reason to go.

Oh Yes....and the sweets do not look that bad either.