#Johannesburg

As most of you know, I’m on a quest to visit all the places featured in the Hidden Johannesburg book. Last week I went to the View, a historic Victorian mansion in Parktown, as part of a tour with the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation. This brings my total number of Hidden Joburg places visited to 18, with 10 left to go.

My quest to visit all the places in the Hidden Johannesburg book – which began with my pilgrimage to the Lemon Squeezer Church and then a [visit to the Lions Shul](http://lions shul) – continues. I recently went to Glenshiel, a historic mansion designed by renowned architect Herbert Baker, on a tour with the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation. This brings my total number of Hidden Joburg places to 17, with 11 left to go.

Last Saturday afternoon I stood on Mbolekwa Street in Dlamini, Soweto, with a couple of hundred other spectators, watching teenage boys spinning around on super-long, low-slung bicycles. Most of the bikes didn’t have brakes, or even seats in some cases. The bikes were almost double the length of normal bicycles and their back tires were wrapped in cut-up plastic bottles.

Last week Thorsten and I spent the night at the African Penthouses – a group of five luxury, rooftop apartments in the center of downtown Joburg.

The African Penthouses are at 87 Commissioner Street, right across from the Rand Club. I know this part of Joburg well and I was already an African Penthouses fangirl before the visit – I’ve been following them on Instagram for years and knew this is the coolest, most photogenic place to stay in Joburg. But I still wasn’t prepared for the real thing. These apartments are so chic and full of character, and the view from our penthouse was mind-boggling. It feels like an African Manhattan.

Several months ago, Thorsten and I took a walk through the old Johannesburg Gas Works. Our visit happened spontaneously and we definitely shouldn’t have done it. Most of the Gas Works has been abandoned since gas production terminated 30 years ago, and the buildings aren’t safe. I felt guilty afterward and I don’t want to encourage anyone else to do this, which is why I didn’t blog about it for so long.

More than a year ago, I blogged about a yarn shop in Edenvale and planned to start a longer series about knitting in Joburg. Somehow I never got around to expanding that series until now, but I’m glad I procrastinated: My favorite yarn and fabric shop, Arthur Bales, is turning 120 years old in August and it’s having a huge sale for the entire month. So I’ve picked the best time to finally blog about this wonderful store.