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Friday, November 24, 2017

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






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12 comments:

  1. ParnassusNovember 25, 2017 at 4:22 AM

    Hello Mariette, Those Jacaranda trees really are spectacular, although I am not sure if it would be better to have hundreds massed together, or just to discover a single specimen off the the side somewhere!
    --Jim

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elisabeth PalzkillNovember 25, 2017 at 5:12 AM

    Liebe Mariette,

    herzlichen Dank für deinen eindrucksvollen Post.

    Alles Liebe
    Elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
  3. SamiNovember 25, 2017 at 10:08 AM

    Being November now as well, some of Perth streets are lined with jacaranda trees, they are so pretty.
    Our first apartment when we lived in Johannesburg was in Hillbrow, so I enjoyed seeing the Hillbrow tower.
    Also good memories of the Grand Bazaar where we would go and buy curry powders and other spices, and before returning home we would always buy Indian samosas, so yummi!

    ReplyDelete
  4. TamagoNovember 25, 2017 at 6:13 PM

    Wow it’s Jacaranda City indeed! Looks like they are everywhere..and adding beautiful color to the city :-) Open market looks fun to look around!

    ReplyDelete
  5. krishnaNovember 26, 2017 at 11:58 AM

    Wow!! what a beautiful city!

    ReplyDelete
  6. JoanNovember 26, 2017 at 1:36 PM

    Mooi vooral de bovenste foto,!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tammy@T's Daily TreasuresNovember 26, 2017 at 11:26 PM

    Those trees are incredible. The local market is a definite must see anytime one travels.

    ReplyDelete
  8. NieprujsietakNovember 27, 2017 at 6:52 AM

    Cudowne miasto.Drzewa prześliczne.Pozdrawiam serdecznie.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karen @ Beatrice EuphemieNovember 27, 2017 at 3:05 PM

    So beautiful to see the city and Jacaranda trees lining the streets. So fortunate to arrive when they were all in bloom! The market looks wonderful and I can just imagine the sights and scents. Don't you look so sweet in your flowery skirt :) Sending hugs xo Karen

    ReplyDelete
  10. TomokoNovember 28, 2017 at 7:10 AM

    Dear Mariette.
    I think it is for the first time to see Jacaranda City even in photos! So beautiful and I like to see the photo of the open market,full of life.
    Good day to you and Pieter.

    ReplyDelete
  11. kleine-creative-WeltNovember 28, 2017 at 1:00 PM

    Liebe Mariette,
    ich danke dir für diesen tollen Bericht und die Bilder - diese Häusermeere mag ich nicht so sehr - bin eher für kleine Orte - aber die Bäume und Blumen sind wunderschön - so ein großer Basar ist sehr beeindruckend - was ihr alles zu sehen bekommen habt-

    hab eine schöne Zeit - herzliche Grüße - Ruth

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dies und Das vom NeckarstrandNovember 28, 2017 at 4:24 PM

    Liebe Mariette,
    es ist schön, dass du diese Reisen noch einmal aufarbeitest und
    uns teilhaben lässt. Wundervolle Fotos.
    Einen schönen Abend wünscht dir
    Irmi

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...