Fun Food

We said goodbye to Nana on Sunday after a terrific two-week visit.  There's lots to share from our time together as well as some final thoughts on Africa.  I'm gradually getting back into routine and will post soon.  

In the meantime, I was struck by what cool dining experiences we had last weekend.  Doug and I kicked off Friday night at De Kas, and I'm not sure if I was more impressed with the haute Dutch cuisine or the stylish interior.  In any case, it was really appreciated to have a night out with Doug.  Thanks Nana for babysitting!

This hanging glass piece reminded us of Chihuly, and totally made us nostalgic for Seattle.  It spurred a fun trip down memory lane.

We had very entertaining servers AND a fab family from Montreal at the table next to us.  Fun time all around.

  On Saturday night, we made our way to our favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant.

In the photo below, you can just make out our house in the background.

On Sunday, to bid farewell to Nana, we had brunch at the Bluespoon located in the Andaz Hotel.  Dutch designer, Marcel Wanders, designed the interior.  Wanders is internationally renown for his product and furniture design as well as his interior design, like the Andaz.  He plays on our sense of scale and texture, and some consider him to be the Lady Gaga of design.  He currently has an exhibit at the modern art museum of Amsterdam featuring his entire body of work.  The Bluespoon, among other things, is a play on Alice in Wonderland.

The lobby:

Wallpaper.

Delft pottery in the abstract.

Open kitchen and buffet:

Dining room chair with embroidered monster face.

The garden where they grow their own herbs and some veggies for restaurant:

 Delft-inspired meeting room:

Nana, we're sure going to miss you.

Out of Africa: Day 4

Fourth and final day on safari.  Morning game drive, then back to Johannesburg.

Sunrise.

After a wild ride, we found the entire population of wild dogs in the area.  They are only found in S.A. and are bordering on extinction.

 Then we found lion tracks:

Our guides tried hard to find them (they were gone for 45 minutes from the land rovers), but lost track of their scent . .  .

I'm sure those lions have had enough of us anyway!  We wound up seeing four out of the five "Big Five" (elephant, buffalo, lion, rhinoceros); we only missed out on the extremely elusive leopard. 

As anticipated, our safari has been a trip of a lifetime.  We never imagined we would have the opportunity to go on safari any time soon, much less expose our kids to such amazing sights.  We're crossing our fingers for a return trip someday.  Stay tuned for a fun video of our trek.

Out of Africa: Day 3 (Afternoon)

Awkward and elegant.  Quiet.  Abby's favorite. 

A small Smarties snack.

 Down for the count.

 Second flat tire of the day!

Following the herd to the watering hole.

Sunset.

Nighttime game and constellation hunt. Abby and Reese couldn't gobble up enough of all our guide had to teach them about the stars.  Reese totally into space stuff right now.  Too bad for Doug and me . . . our kids learned a boat load in the SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.  Hopefully we can keep it up in the Northern Hemisphere!

Special dinner back at the lodge.