When I first moved to Joburg I blogged about everything I did. Going for a walk, shopping for groceries, sitting in the yard watching birds…No activity was too trivial. Everything was bloggable.
Nearly three years later, my blogging habits have changed. I do a lot more exciting things than I used to and I don’t have the time to blog about them all. I also don’t bring my big camera with me everywhere I go anymore, which means I’m at the mercy of my iPhone camera. Sometimes I get good pictures and sometimes I don’t. If I don’t get enough good pictures, I don’t blog. Hence, I pick and choose my bloggable experiences.
It occurred to me yesterday that I’ve done all kinds of interesting things in the last two weeks and I’ve hardly blogged about any of them. So here’s a quick round-up of my recent (almost-bloggable) adventures.
Yeoville/Ponte walk
Two Saturdays ago I took a walking tour of Yeoville hosted by Dlala Nje. (You might remember that I went on a walk around Hillbrow and Ponte city with Dlala Nje a couple of months ago.) I really like Yeoville and I enjoyed the walk, but I didn’t bring my DSLR along. This resulted in a dearth good pictures. I did get a couple of decent iPhone shots, below.
A Yeoville ridge overlooking the city. This is one of my favorite views in Joburg – I’ve written about it once before.
Yeoville kids.
The Yeoville walk did not officially include a tour of Ponte City, even though the walk started and ended from there. But the Ponte core is open to the public so my friends and I went down for a look after the walk. (If you want to know how to get in there, send me a message and I’ll explain.)
Ponte core. So awesome.
Chinese New Year Celebration
Later that same evening, I went to Joburg’s Old Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I left early – my ears were ringing from all the fireworks going off in every direction. Plus the food lines were too long and I got hit in the leg with a firecracker. It wasn’t very pleasant.
Commissioner Street in downtown Jozi, decorated for the Chinese New Year. The lanterns were nice but I was otherwise unimpressed. I did hear that the big fireworks display was amazing, but I was gone by that time.
One Billion Rising at Constitution Hill
This event actually deserves its own post. But I missed the boat on that so I’ll include it here.
On Valentine’s Day I attended the Joburg One Billion Rising demonstration at Constitution Hill, on the site of the old women’s prison. One Billion Rising events took place all over the world last Thursday, protesting the pandemics of rape and violence against women.
View of Hillbrow from the ramparts of the Old Fort Prison at Constitution Hill.
A powerful, graphic protest against rape.
The other day, while waiting in line at the bank, I saw the following news headline flash past on a TV screen: “144 women report rape in South Africa each day. Research reveals only 1 in 25 women report rape.” These statistics are unacceptable. Enough is enough.
Sunset at Constitution Hill.
Miscellaneous weekend fun
This past weekend was filled with quirky fun stuff.
On Saturday morning I attended a photography exhibition about the Troyeville Bedtime Story at Gallery MOMO in Parktown North. This kid is posing in front of a huge piece of wallpaper made from a photograph of the Troyeville Bedtime Story headboard. Please don’t ask me to explain. Just enjoy the photo.
Crazy shot of Moonchild rocking out at the Afrikan Freedom Station. I’ve written about both Moonchild and the African Freedom Station in previous posts.
I ended the weekend with a sunset Instawalk on the Melville Koppies.
My Instagramming friend Tim.
Wild dagga flowers in the koppies.
Sunset behind the power lines.
Writing this post has made me exhausted and I haven’t even written about the all the things I did over the last two weekends. These are only the highlights.
I need a holiday from all the Jozi fun.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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