#Travel

On a recent visit to the Melville Visitors Center, I noticed a small brochure for a place called Lindfield House and was immediately captivated. It’s a Victorian home in Auckland Park, a suburb adjacent to Melville, which has been furnished as an authentic 19th-century English estate. The owner, Katharine Love, has lived there for half a century and spent her entire life restoring the house.

Soweto, the largest township in South Africa, is a country unto itself. About a million people live there – the same population as Swaziland. It’s a cultural and economic hub for black South Africans, and legendary for the historic events that happened there in the decades leading up to the end of apartheid.

My mother arrived yesterday for a 10-day stay in South Africa. It’s wonderful to have her here.

It’s Mom’s first time in Africa and Joe and I want to make her stay as nice and comfortable as possible. Before she came we spent quite a bit of time arranging the furniture in the guest room, clearing closet space, etc. We’re very pleased with our work.

Melville is full of interesting houses, lived in by interesting people. I’m slowly integrating myself into the neighborhood but I haven’t had the chance to visit many other Melville homes yet. So when Chris Green, a tour operator who lives around the corner, invited us over to see his backyard jungle, I jumped at the chance.