Part II - Pretoria and Sandton City, South Africa

Pretoria, Gauteng Provence in South Africa

Union Building in Pretoria with Jacaranda trees in bloom...

This was on an airmail letter sheet.

Pretoria has some 70,000 Jacaranda trees and is called Jacaranda City!

It is also the Administrative Capital of South Africa

On November 18, we both woke up at 3:00 on our first morning at the Holiday Inn, Sandton... 

Time difference and the unusual long day of 42 hours without a bed, was the culprit.

We got up by 8:00 and had breakfast.

For my Dutch or Afrikaans speaking readers I will quote here the funny language we found in our hotel, for emergency exit safety procedures:

U is hier      Onthou
1. Bly kalm
2. Volg die ontsnaproetes aangetoon op die diagram tensy andere instruksies oor die interkom gegee word.
3. Gehoorsaam asseblief onverwyld brandbeamptes se instruksies.
4. Stap vinnig, moenie hardloop nie.
5. Gaan onmiddellik na die versamelpunt en wag op verdere instruksies.
6. Vertel 'n brandbeambte onmiddellik as u weet van iemand wat vasgekeer of beseer is.

Moenie:
1. Paniekerig raak nie.
2. Hardloop nie.
3. Brandbeamptes, brandweermanne, ambulansmanne, die polisie, ens in hul werk hinder nie.
4. Enige deel van die gebou weer binnegaan nie.
5.Wegdwaal van versamelpunte af voor of nadat die naamlys gelees is nie.

The view from Holiday Inn hotel in Sandton.
Again a Jacaranda tree to the right.

In the distance, left from center, you see the tallest man-made structure with an elevator in the African continent!

Hillbrow Tower in Joburg from wikipedia.

Looking at our new surroundings, as seen from hotel in Sandton.

Another sunny day in Sandton, South Africa

Jacaranda trees lining the streets near our hotel in Sandton.
We also got to see the South African Weaver Bird's Nest; they just hang in the trees!

What a lovely sight those Jacaranda blossoms!
A true nature lovers' paradise...

Walking in Sandton, South Africa.

Grand Bazaar and its open market.

Here I walk with the wife of one of our hosts.

Always fun to stroll over such markets and getting a sense of the local spices and aromas.

We went shopping later in the immense large shopping center in Sandton City.

For Pieter I did find a Lanvin shirt for only US $ 32 as the SA Rand was one to one to the Dutch Guilder at that time and the US $ was R 2.62.

By 14:00 we got back to our hotel, took a bath and lazied for half an hour.

Used my travel iron, after Pieter first had taken apart the wall plug and loosened the wires... But he got it working! We had 4 different travel plug converters but nothing did fit!

By 19:15 we got picked up by our host for dinner at his home.

Lovely home and delicious dinner. Back in our hotel by 0:30.

Thanks for your visit and stay tuned for Part III

Related links:
Part I - Johannesburg, South  Africa | previous post by me
My South Africa Publication Around Husband Pieter's Lectures at Congress | previous post by me