When I went to London, I had three days to spend and I wanted to see as much of London as I could. Given that I was alone, the most cost effective way to do that was to do the hop-on-hop-off Red Bus Tour. For two days, it took me all over the most famous landmarks in London and I chose where to hop off and explore further on my own.

As with most people, I don’t know my own city well enough. Last week, I changed that by trying the Johannesburg Red Bus Tour. Although I had been to many of the stops on the itinerary, I hadn’t really done it as a tourist.

We took the Red City Tour and Soweto Combo. You can hop on at any of the stops but I suggest parking at Gold Reef City (parking is free) and starting from there. Here are all the stops:

- Gautrain Park Station

- Gandhi Square

- Carlton Centre

- James Hall Transport Museum

- Gold Reef City

- Apartheid Museum

- Mining District Walk

- Newtown

- Origins Centre at Wits

- Braamfontein

- Constitution Hill

- Back to Gautrain Park Station

We started with the Soweto Tour first which I recommend you do as well. The tour is done in a taxi so if you’ve never been in a taxi, you’ll get a taste of it here. The first taxi to Soweto leaves at 10am from Gold Reef City and because it was early in the morning, our group of 6 were the only ones in the taxi. It’s much more fun when you’re exploring with only your friends.

The Soweto Tour is a two hour tour with a guide explaining the history of Joburg, how Soweto came into being and how it has transformed over the years. The two hours is not enough to see everything in detail but it does touch on a little of everything so you can come back and do something specific in a bit more detail. We drove through most of the famous places in Soweto but our specific stops were:

- Soccer City (I’ve never seen Soccer City so quiet before, i.e. without a concert when I usually frequent this venue)

- Diep Kloof (The entrance of Soweto)

- Hector Pieterson Memorial (For a little bit of history not too far from where it all happened)

- Vilakazi Street (We walked past Mandela’s and Desmond Tutu’s houses)

- Kliptown (An amazing tribute to our constitution)

My crew in Soweto

A rather quiet Soccer City

If you look carefully, you can see someone bungee jumping!

Hector Pieterson Memorial

Craft market outside the Hector Pieterson Memorial

Desmond Tutu's house

A quote by Nelson Mandela

The pavement on Vilakazi street

The principles upon which our constitution is built

In no time, our Soweto Tour was over and we were back at Gold Reef City. We jumped on the bus and headed to the hipster hang-out – Braamfontein. Throughout the bus tour, there was running commentary of the interesting history of each area that we passed.

We soon got to Braamfontein and headed straight for lunch at Neighbourgoods Market. Given that we only had a day on the bus, in hindsight, we should have given this a miss. It is way too busy to try to fit in when you have other places to see. I would have rather scheduled this for another Saturday morning. Nevertheless, we checked out some cool stalls and as soon as we got (to the front of the queue to get) lunch, we were on our way to catch the next bus.

Because we spent so much time in Braamfontein and because things close early on the weekend, we weren’t able to do a proper tour of Constitution Hill. But we did get to check out the premises and give ourselves a tour.

The last stop we made was at Carlton Centre – once the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. A uniformed Red Bus Tour guide escorted us from the bus to the Top of Africa and back again. Although, I’ve never really had an issue in this part of town before, it is nice that the security of our tourists is being considered. We bought our tickets and went all the way to the 50^th floor. We did a walk around the entire floor checking out famous Joburg landmarks from a breath-taking bird’s eye view.

Will I do this again? Definitely…with friends that haven’t been before. Next time I will make sure that we are able to stop at the Apartheid Museum. This time I was just happy that I got to do the Soweto Tour.  

If you want to find out more, check out their website. 

A few months ago, the fiancé decided we should try to eat healthier which I reluctantly had to go along with. I hate healthy eating because I like tasty food and let’s face it, although healthy food is good for you, it doesn’t really taste nice.

This weekend, I was invited to try out the health food sensation that Cape Town’s been enjoying for a while now, Nu Health Food Café in Waterfall Corner. I had a look at the menu and grimaced at the thought of how all those healthy ingredients would taste and I already decided that I’d probably stick with oats as the safe option.

When I got to their little café and spoke to the staff and eyed the other customer’s plates, I decided to be a bit more adventurous and I was not disappointed. This restaurant offers mostly vegan/vegetarian food with a few other protein options. Their aim is to provide an outlet for people to get healthy food that tastes good. I tried the breakfast wrap made with eggs, avo, tomato, rocket and mozzarella. The finance decided on an open smoked salmon omelette served with the creamiest avocado. I can’t believe how delicious the food tasted. I was also surprised at how light the meals were and I didn’t feel stuffed afterwards.

Speaking to the staff who worked at Nu Health Food Café, I was amazed at how passionate they are about their food – from the waiters to the managers. They work hard at sourcing the freshest organic ingredients, with no additives, all from within South Africa. You really can taste the freshness like with the avocados and the honey.

I know all about the honey because we were treated to a little bit of dessert after breakfast – gluten-free and sugar-free banana-coconut bread served with honey, slices of cinnamon-dusted banana and peanut butter. This did not look healthy at all and it tasted so sinfully decadent. I had so much fun cutting my bread up into little squares and deciding on a topping for every bite. This is the one dish that will keep me coming back to this restaurant and it is the dish you need to try!

The restaurant’s ingredients are halaal although their restaurant isn’t halaal-certified but they take their food preparation so seriously that they only use certain knives and chopping boards for certain ingredients to reduce the risk of cross contamination. I love that special attention because it really gives people a great deal of comfort especially if you’re restricted to eating certain foods for religious purposes.

They have a wide range of sugar-free hot drinks and smoothies made with their own low fat plain frozen yogurt. You can also have that frozen yogurt on its own or topped with an array of yummy bits like goji berries and flaked almonds.

We had breakfast at around 10am and it kept us full until 5pm. I love eating lots of little meals but I am definitely a believer in this low GI thing now – especially if it means I can eat a filling breakfast and have dessert for much less calories than my usual greasy breakfast fare.

I later tried the nu-green quinoa salad and given that I don’t like salads in general, it’s no surprise that this salad wasn’t too my taste – way too many raw ingredients for my liking. A lunch-time wrap that I can definitely recommend, though, is the iron kick. Among other ingredients, it’s made with chickpeas and lentils lightly spiced and wrapped in a low GI multigrain wrap.

If you’re keen to find out more, check out their amazing website, www.nufood.co.za – it breaks down every meal to its ingredients list and gives you the nutritional values. Or pop in to their café at Waterfall Corner and try it out for yourself.  

Oh the shock and horror of realising that I hadn't put up a new blog post in over a month! And it's not that I have nothing to write about; it's all the busy bits of life that just get in the way. Last Sunday, I decided to take a break from it all, gather some friends and chill at the Fourways Farmer's Market. This place isn't new to me but I liked it so much when I checked it out last year, that I decided it would be an awesome place to get some friends together for a catch up.

Seems like people need their morning cuppas on the weekends too

I've been to a few of these outdoors markets - it's a great way to catch some sun while checking out the artisanal food vibe. Stall vendors showcase their spreads of jewellery, fresh veggies, jams, biltong, ice-cream and anything else you can imagine and all of these aren't the normal flavoured stuff you find at the supermarket. I even have friends that frequent this joint for a specific brand of coffee that isn't readily available in Joburg.

Champagne breakfast!

I like trying out the different foods on offer. There's a huge variety of foods ranging from different cultures such as Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Asian and proudly South African cuisine. The balkan burger is a firm favourite and I just love Vuyo's fancy boerewors rolls. You know Vuyo from the Hansa Pilsner ads? The story is real!

Vuyo's boerwors rolls

There are plenty of places to sit down on the picnic benches or tree stumps near the craft beer stalls to enjoy a drink or food and listen to the live entertainment which is mostly just background noise while you're busy browsing through the stalls. When I'm done walking around, I like finding a quiet little spot to just enjoy the feeling of the sun on my skin and the music drifting through the air. All that's missing is a place to nap ;-).

Mmmm delicious fried foods

There's also a nursery on the premises. I usually find that area to not be as crowded as the rest like on today's busy Mother's Day.

Pulled pork and other meaty stuff

If you're looking for something chilled to do on a Sunday morning, try Fourways Farmer's Market. This market is open every Sunday from 9 - 2 and is right across the road from Montecasino. Bring your kids and your dogs.

While at the Hair2Go launch last week, I bumped into the sisters of Trinket Trove. I fell in love with their jewellery the moment they showcased them.

I tend to think that all jewellery are the same but these ladies really offer some unique products. I was amazed by their Inspirational wraps. It’s a long chain of pendants with inspirational words on them that can be worn as a necklace, bracelet and even an anklet. How cool is it to look down at your wrist to see some beautiful inspirational words. Sometimes that’s all you need to cut through life’s stresses. The Inspirational wraps come in 3 different categories: Crystal Wraps (glass crystals with inspirational words), African Wraps (African charms with inspirational words) and Standard Wraps (Inspirational words with metal beads).

The next product I loved was a pair of earrings. It had that mismatched-yet-still-goes-together-type theme. The earrings I was given comprised of one earring being a hairdryer and the other a comb! How cute is that? I was ogling through their earring photos on Facebook and I found another pair I love – a wine bottle and a wine glass. If you like the normal matching earrings, don’t despair – most of their earrings are made like that.

Their latest product range introduces the small wraps and Love necklaces which will be in stores shortly.

You’re probably wondering what's the damage on these items and you’ll be surprised to know how affordable they are. The prices range from R30 (for certain earrings) to R150 (for the crystal wraps).

If you’re interested in their products, it is sold at Crafters Market Stores at Cradlestone Mall, Clearwater Mall, The Glen Shopping Centre, Woodlands Boulevard and The Grove Mall. Watch out for them as they’ll be expanding into more Crafters Markets Stores over the next few months.

If you absolutely can’t wait to get your hands on one, you can contact them on Twitter and Facebook.

And the best part is that ladies at Trinket Trove are giving away a hamper of some of their products worth over R700 to one of my lucky readers. Here's what you can win!
- 1 3-braid-with-chain bracelet

- 1 love bracelet

- 1 multi-cord bracelet

- 1 3-in-1 African inspirational wrap

- 1 3-in-1 Crystal inspirational wrap

- 1 multi-trinket necklace

- 1 3-braid hoop earrings

- 1 pair of large trinket earrings

- 2 pairs of small trinket earrings

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what you favourite inspirational word is. Don’t forget to enter through the Rafflecopter widget in order for your entries to be valid. I'm very jealous of this prize so good luck :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last week I was invited to the launch of Hair2Go at Blo Hairdressing Salon. Now, despite my long tresses, I don't frequent salons much but I loved Blo's look. I has such a young and vibey feel - I can definitely see myself getting my next haircut here.

Hair2Go is all about being able to style your hair differently for any occasion in only a few minutes. It's for busy woman who are always on the go. I'm blessed with long hair but my usual "styles" involve me leaving my hair loose or tying it up in a pony tail. I was amazed by the hairstyles that these ladies come out in. They modeled a day look for their hair and then in a few minutes, they completely transformed their hair into a night look...right in front of us and all by themselves. I was amazed by it!

The day looks

Two of the transformed night looks

Blo is introducing Hair2Go courses to teach women how to do this on their own. Included in the course will be a bag with all the accessories need to create and transform these looks. Snacks and drinks will be served along with a step-by-step manual to take home so you'll never forget what's taught in the classes. I think I definitely need to go to one of these courses.

If you are interested in the Hair2Go classes, you can contact Blo Hairdressing Salon on Twitter, @blohairsalon.

I’ve had countless discussions with people with money and they always say “money doesn’t buy happiness”. It’s something I’ve heard all my life and it’s definitely not a revelation. Of course money doesn’t buy you happiness! But the rich bemoan as if it’s the one thing that they can that they can complain about; that their lives aren’t filled with happiness because of money.

Basically, the argument is that even though the rich grew up with money, it doesn’t mean they had a happy childhood. And they’ve seen that poor people are much richer in terms of the friends and family that they have. This opinion piece is why I think their argument is flawed.

We all have our problems and while money does not solve all of them, it does make things easier. Here’s an example. Person A professes to have daddy issues because daddy was never around because he was too busy making more money. Person B also has daddy issues because daddy was never around because he was too busy working a menial job in order to put food on the table.

In both cases, they weren’t happy. But Person A got to be more technologically advanced, got a better education and got the advantage of a head start in life because of money. Person B followed in his parents’ paths in life and struggled to make ends meet. Yes, in both cases the individuals weren’t happy but didn’t money in this example make life just a little bit easier.

There are a lot of reasons for unhappiness: poor health, the inability to make ends meet, suffering of loved ones – these are things that afflict both the rich and the poor. Money solves these problems or makes them a little easier.

And granted there are sources of unhappiness that can’t be solved with money like the search for a soul mate or being in a job you hate. Again these things affect both the rich and the poor and money will probably be of little help here.

Then there’s the theory that poor people are rich in family who love each other. What bullshit! Not having money is extremely stressful. It’s the source of many fights between couples. When you need to make sure that the basics like food, healthcare and school fees are covered when you’re in a minimum wage job; it’s certainly not a happy place to be in. And even if you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by love and family, it still doesn’t mean you’re happy.

So to the rich people out there, the poor don’t have the upper hand at happiness. Let’s level the monetary playing field first and then we can all bemoan about how our money doesn’t make us happy. Don’t believe me? Get rid of all your money and prove me wrong. Go be happy.

Dhall, as it’s more commonly known across the globe, can be likened to a lightly spiced lentil soup. In Durban, we pronounce it dholl and it’s pretty much a staple in every Indian home.  It can be used as gravy for a dry meal like rice and roast chicken. It can be used for some additional flavour in breyanis. It can be eaten alone with rice or bread. I like to use it in meals where I have tomato chutney where I need to cut the richness of the chutney. Or you can even drink it plain. Here’s how I make it at home.

You will need these ingredients:

1 cup of yellow split pea lentils

1 teaspoon of hurdee or turmeric powder

2 tablespoons of salt

1 tablespoon of oil

1 tablespoon of jeera or cumin

1 sprig of dried curry leaves

Half an onion sliced

3 cloves of garlic finely sliced

3 green chillies with a slit cut down the middle

This is how you make it:

Rinse the lentils in water until the water runs clear and leave it to soak in water overnight. Boil the lentils for an hour with salt and turmeric powder. If you live in Joburg where cooking takes so much longer, I recommend blending the lentils after you boil it. Then put it back on to boil with about three cups of water. Allow about a cup of the water to boil off so that the consistency is still runny. It must not be as thick as a cream-based soup.

When you’ve achieved the correct consistency, temper the rest of the ingredients in some oil in another frying pan. Add the fried spices to the dhall. Have a quick stir and a taste test for flavour and there you have it: comforting dholl. 

I don’t particularly like the bacon-and-eggs type breakfasts. I don’t usually have them by choice and I always find a way to find something different for breakfast. One morning I fumbled around in the fridge and came up with this awesome alternative: a breakfast wrap that doesn’t taste too eggy or bacony…or toasty.

Here’s what I grabbed from the fridge

2 wraps

2 eggs

1 cooked chicken breast, shredded

¼ sweetcorn removed from the cob

1 tablespoon of mayonnaise

1 tablespoon of Nando’s hot peri peri sauce

Here’s how to create this awesome breakfast

1. Heat up some oil in a pan and warm up the chicken and sweetcorn bits. Add in 2 whisked eggs and cook until the scrambled eggs are still soft. Overcooking scrambled eggs makes it quite dry.

2. Heat up the wraps in a dry frying pan and then butter it with the mayonnaise and peri peri sauce. Just a little goes a long way. The mayonnaise keeps the wrap feeling light and moist and the little bit of peri peri sauce adds some flavour without the heat.

3. Divide the scrambled egg mix between the two wraps and roll tightly. Cut in half and serve.

There you have it! The wrap gives it a nice light fresh taste unlike the usual toast. One egg is enough for one wrap as it doesn’t taste too eggy but if you prefer it that way, go ahead and load it up. 

I’m getting married in less than 7 months and I’ve pretty much only got the honeymoon sorted out. I figured where better to learn about what else I need for the wedding than a wedding expo.

I’ve wanted to go to these wedding expos for a while now but I’ve just never been in town at the time when the expos have been on. I’m still bitter about missing my chance at winning the million rand wedding at The Maslow.

I’m lucky enough to be in Joburg for the weekend of 5 – 6 April where I’ll be spending my time at the Coca-Cola Dome. I had a browse through The Wedding Expo’s website with its list of exhibitors and I am quite excited to see what’s out there in terms of décor, invitations and jewellers. Somehow I’m still excited about the travel exhibitors too. Just because I booked my honeymoon already, doesn’t mean I can’t start planning the next holiday ;-).

If you’re getting married soon (or hoping to get married soon), check out the wedding expo’s website to see what’s on offer. The expo will be held at the Coca Cola Dome during 5 – 6 April. Tickets are R100 and available through Web Tickets.

The organisers have kindly offered to give me a double ticket to give away on my blog. To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me what you’re looking forward to at the expo. Enter through the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

St Andrews is a 5 star boutique hotel situated in Bedfordview. I didn’t really know it existed until my fiancé booked us in for a weekend to hear me say “Yes”.

St Andrews over looks Gillooly’s Farm and that’s the first thing I noticed as we walked from the parking to reception: a full view of the little lake and the lush green trees and grass at Gillooly’s Farm. The hotel actually borders the Gillooly’s Farm but it’s fenced so you can’t quite get access through there; although, that area is a pretty good spot to sit on the grass and take in the picturesque scene.

This was my first time staying at a 5 star hotel in South Africa and when I heard about the price for a night, I was really shocked that my fiancé would spend that much! But after that weekend, I realised it was totally worth the price.

The rooms are super spacious; it doesn’t just feel like a bedroom. There were the usually 5 star amenities in the room but I really loved the open plan bathroom. I love big showers and this one was a shower for 2 to match the his and her basins. There were two shower heads and each had its own taps to control the water temperature and pressure. I decided there and then that if I ever get to design my own bathroom, that’s exactly what I would like my shower to look like. I also love that there’s a strong wifi signal in the room.

 

The luxurious feel of the hotel feeds through from reception right through to the rooms and other areas like the spa. I generally feel that massages are a waste of time. There’s my brain going into overdrive and I’m supposed to just chill there and be pampered when I feel I need to be productive. Afterwards I felt completely relaxed despite my racing thoughts. All I wanted to do was take a nap next to the pool.

The hotel restaurant is Trents at St Andrews and I was totally blown away by both the service and food. The staff was really friendly – chatty, offering to take our photos and constantly topping up our glasses. We had a springbok carpachio starter served in a balsamic reduction. My fiancé always chooses better mains than I do; it was a pepper beef fillet served with potatoes and artichokes. The food was delicious – definitely one of the better restaurants I’ve been too. I definitely recommended you try this restaurant if you’re celebrating a romantic special occasion.

In no time, my surprise weekend getaway had come to a close. We had breakfast at the restaurant and I was still wishing I could have spent a longer time there. I kept forgetting that I was still in Joburg the entire time I was there. If you’re looking for a weekend getaway in the city, then you should definitely consider this.