Day One Hundred and Whatever! Who Cares? I’m Freezing!

Day 21: It Would Have Been Parole Day

Today marks the day the pre-extention-lockdown in South Africa would have been lifted. As many people have been referring to it, parole day.

Day 8: Hippos, Ravioli and No Mona Lisa

Friday, Day 8 of 21.

I didn’t feel much like coffee mug traveling this morning. I woke up with a jolt and started working seconds after I opened my eyes. I only had my wake-up-warm-beverage an hour and a half after I woke up. This morning it was a Red Velvet Latte from Woolies. It has beetroot in it. Delicious!

Review: Bellevue Restaurant

I’m a firm believer of taking the road less travelled, because often, they do lead to stunning destinations, unless you get lost, of course!

On Saturday a friend celebrated her birthday and invited me to join her and some others at a place called Bellevue Restaurant, at The Village Lodge.  It is about 40 minutes’ drive from my house, seven kilometres of which are on a well-maintained gravel road.  A bonus is that on the way, you may get to see some game.  In this instance we saw zebra, Cape Buffalo and some antelope (but they were too far away to photograph).

It is essential to book ahead if you’re planning a visit, as the lodge may have guests, and they have preference to dine at The Bellevue.  The atmosphere is relaxed, as both the lodge and restaurant are child friendly.  There is a luscious green lawn where kids can run around to their hearts’ content, as well as a jungle gym and tyre swings.

Saturday’s meal was so impressive, that I booked a place for Sunday, intent on taking a follower-friend and my parents for lunch.

Saturday’s meal consisted of two harvest boards:  A Ploughman’s Platter and an Antipasti Platter, and three pizzas:  Parma Ham, Cajun Chicken and Pulled Pork.  The platters are colourful and fresh.  The orange slices on the ploughman’s were sweet and juice, without spitting in your eye.  The pizzas were delicious too, and have super-thin bases, making them easy to fold to enjoy your pizza calzone-style if you prefer.

Afterwards we had milkshakes for dessert.  I’d seriously go all the way back there just to drink another one.  The Lemon Meringue one I had was out of this world!  There are other options, like Bar-One, Salted Caramel and Peppermint Crisp to name a few.

Sunday, after our coffee-stop, we hit the road again; this time we saw zebra, some antelope and rhinos.  Even if we’d gone home starving, seeing the rhinos would have been enough.

We were seated outside, close to the bar area, and if it’s a little chilly, there are light blankets available for patrons on request.  There is also seating indoors and in the evenings the fireplace is lit.

Our lovely waitress, Claudine, took our drinks order and within a few minutes we were clinking glasses, drinking to happy days and new places.

I ordered a Ploughman’s Platter for the four of us (which mind you, was enough for us to all have our fill).

Follower-friend opted for the Parma ham pizza (as I told her it’d been a hit the day before), Mom had battered fish, hand-cut chips and salad, Dad had pork hock served with mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables and I opted for a rosemary Karoo roast lamb sandwich on seed loaf with sweet potato fries and salad.  That seed loaf tastes almost sweet and has a cake-like consistency.  Deeeeee-lllliiiii-cious!!!!

At the beginning of our culinary adventure, we’d wanted dessert, but we were so full we had to take the leftovers home, so we’ll have to go back for sure.

There are dishes for every taste, ranging from mid-level to high prices.  The quality and freshness of the food justifies the price, as does the service.  The waitstaff are always close by, without hovering over patrons, which is a huge plus.  There is also a large selection of beers and ciders I’d not seen before until my visit.  The cocktails described on the drinks’ list sound superb, but if you’re driving, I’d probably say it’s safer to give them a miss until you can savour them and have someone drive you home.  The setting is tranquil, and given the distance from home, a delightful place to escape to over a weekend even if only for a cocktail, coffee and something light to nibble on.

My rating:  5 out of 5 stars.  Highly Recommended.

Hypoglycemic Brain-Roar

As many of you know, I lead a relatively healthy lifestyle.  Healthy Herbalife shake for breakfast, healthy snacks, moderate exercise (which has gone for a loop recently due to a recurring injury) and water or tea as opposed to coffee.  Yesterday though, Eve, Elizabeth’s elder sister celebrated her 50^th birthday, and so they packed in some sugary treats for me today: marbled meringues and a generous slice of lemon meringue cheesecake.  On some plane maybe they knew that I’d be getting news today, news I’ve been waiting a long time for.  I’d been expecting the information to be exactly what it was, but the finality of it clearly messed with my brain chemistry.

Every so often, the company I work for arranges for short training for us – usually it is by the same person, a relationship psychologist who teaches us to apply the skills we already have to improve both our relationships within- and outside the workplace.  His last talk was nutrition-based and how blood-sugar levels affect our moods.  In very simple terms, he explained that if our blood sugar reaches a certain low level, the adrenaline and nor-adrenaline our body excretes has the same impact on our brains as a person seeing a lion.  Judging by the number of calories I’ve consumed already (I’ve devoured every morsel of The Toppie’s homemade steak & kidney and all the sweet goodies Eve packed in for me) I must have a pride of lions on the prowl in my subconscious.

Pic from PetRescue.com

Time for water to flush them out and replace them with delighted, rainbow-farting unicorns, because goodness knows, I can’t pack up and move to Scotland.  For those of you who don’t get the reference – Google is your friend – search for Scotland’s national animal.