Julius is more and more becoming a very passionate smoocher and big hugger (He actually announces his ‘big hugs’) .. in this little video you can hear him doing the mmmmhhh smooch sound .. very cute .. I wonder when I get the first phonecalls from little girls’ upset parents.
 |
Teaching a kid to brush teeth can be a bit tricky … while he knows that we do it on a regular basis … he sometimes just chews on it … and since we started with some kids’ toothpaste … he just wants to suck that off the brush … but when like in this case, mama wields the brush and he is cooperative … then the brushing goes very well.
 |
The other night I wanted to recreate the shrimp out experience we had at Ocean Basket in Cape Town. The trigger was a 5.99 € special on 500 gr of frozen shrimp at our supermarket.
Little did I know that butterflying the shrimp is quite some hassle .. cut them along the back, clean out the intestines, wash and rinse, keep them from closing … took me at least a minute per shrimp .. so we talk about an hour here.
I then created, as much as I could, my own Cajun spice mix, but I had no onion powder and no blender to blend the bay leaves. But it came along quite nicely.
So .. once I had all the 39 critters nicely flattened, sprinkled them with Cajun goodness, I put them in the pre-heated oven at 220 C on the top shelf to get some grill effect. And after 7-8 minutes they looked ready enough.
Sure enough, more than half of them decided to close up again .. and well .. it was taste-wise not what he had at Ocean Basket (they also were a bit on the rubbery side) .. and in the end it cost about the same BUT it was a lot of work … will not try that again I guess.
I just realize that I have not posted this picture of my wonderful yukata yet. Ritsu had her mom bring that from Japan and gave it to me a bit early (pic was taken early July). As mentioned before she also gave me that great Cape Town cook book. Thanks my love and thanks to everyone for the nice birthday wishes!
Also a great pic to see the size difference between me and Julius 
 |
In Julius’ defense, I have to say that he has been pretty easy on the tantrum side for the last month … the only few occurences were, of course, at the worst times possible .. like going through security check at the airport or when the airplane had to land .. but we think that his achievement in verbal skills helps him cope with frustration … he can now tell mommy and daddy what dumb asses they are for not recognizing his needs ..
but .. once in a while .. we have something like this ..
funny about this one was … as before .. he wants to throw himself on the floor when he is cranky … but while sitting on his chair .. he only got half way down, kinda … not sure what he tried to achieve there …
Oh .. and what was the fuzz about? Our very strict rule that there is no TV watching while we are having dinner (or lunch or breakfast) .. and he tried to undermine that … but no way ..
 |
We have been very good during our summer vacation … no gelato, no pizza, no pasta (no Italian food) … so .. now that we are back .. the 2 gelato lovers really deserved their portions .. and our dear gelato sales lady wanted to hear where we have been …
 |
The interaction among little kids is still a riddle to me …
It seems that Julius is only interested in older kids .. or maybe girls his age .. or as it seemed today, younger kids. But that was a funny approach, too.
This time we took one of his balls with us .. but sure enough, dragging twigs around and try to poke his eyes out with them (running with scissors, anyone?) was far more interesting … until this little curly haired boy showed interest in the deserted ball.
Julius got furious … but would not persue the matter (or the ball) but only sit down, cry, stretching his hand in the ball’s direction … hoping that his jedi force would magically retrieve this ball. Sure enough, when he had it back, it was all about twigs and stones again … but after a while longer both boys found some little girl’s abandoned toys at the slide .. and they had a blast with that.
 |
For dinner we had Adwoa and a new colleague of Ritsu, Ayse, over, and finally I could try the very typical Cape Town dish: Bobotie.
We had bobotie twice on our trip, the first time at the wine festival in Stellenbosch (which was excellent) and then again at the dinner buffet at Aquila (this time it was somewhat too sweet and needed quite some extra hot sauce).
The recipe in my Cape Town cook book was asking for buttermilk, one of the things unknown to the Italian market, so I look around on google and found several recipe variations, some of them using regular milk, some of them using chutney instead of apricot jam (In Cape Town it was usually served with chutney on the side).
Instead of posting one of the recipes here, I recommend to check out several of them and then adjust to what you have (e.g. you don’t need lamb, but you can use chicken, beef, even fish). My other 2 pieces of advice: make sure it does not turn out to sweet, it is not a cake! And be very careful when using tumeric, as it has incredible staining power.
My secret ingredient is some chipotle Tabasco which is milder than the regular Tabasco, but adds a nice smokey flavor.
With that we had yellow rice (just add some tumeric to the cooking water) and a salad, desert was watermelon and a sip of Amarula! Enjoy.
As I hear, longtime reader Koomi is already working on his own version! Way to go! (Yes, some recipe ideas suggest bananas on top, though I have not seen that in Cape Town)
 |
This week has been kind of special … since kindergarten is still closed, and Julius just got back from a big long trip .. of course his sleep senses are everywhere and nowhere … and more and more I realize that we have to drive a harder regime on his sleeping habbits …
On our last trip he surprised us with his first napless day … and now .. being back home .. he pushes nap time back further and further .. and equally then the evening bed time … I am open to any kind of suggestions … but it is not easy .. he just has this ‘I don’t want to miss a minute of what’s going on’ attitude … I guess pretty much all kids have that …
But today was especially funny .. I had tried to nap with him several times .. no success .. so I let him sit in his TV chair and put in the movie he calls “Paon” or “Baby” (= Ice Age) .. and 12 minutes later I had this:
 |
This charming lady is somewhat of a janitor / housekeeper to our house .. and she is very nice .. I am not sure what her name is (language issues) .. but our next door neighbour (who speaks German) once referred to her as Ms. Donatella.
Anyways .. she always starts talking to Julius when she sees him and today she picked him up (no objection by little J) to show him that one dog that kept barking from one of the balconies.
 |
School is still closed, as are most shops .. and it seems a bit eerie at times … very deserted … but the weather is nice and we went to the playground and Julius had lots of fun again.
 |
We had the great opportunity to do some serious toy shopping in Cape Town for Julius’ 2nd birsthday. We were happy to get some electronic learning toys (like a kid’s mobile phone that does the alphabet, numbers and some tunes) and this really cool Winnie, the Pooh interactive learning computer. And they speak English, not Italian.
While he had some trouble at first (he kept hammering the on/off button) he slowly seems to get it … and theres a lot he can explore and hopefully this will be a lot of fun and learning for the years to come.
 |
Today started very early … actually I wonder if I had slept at all … fearing that we might miss the alarm .. I got up just before 3 AM .. woke up Ritsu at 3:30 .. we had packed quite some the day before .. but you know .. the PJs you wear .. the last minute stuff to pack and so on … but we got that all done while we let Julius sleep .. and we actually got out of the door in time and with the kid half asleep, half ok about being shoved back into our trusty car .. and then we were off to the airport …
This ride was much nicer than when we arrived (no rain … but equaly dark) .. and the sign for international car returns needs some more lights … I missed it twice .. we had to go around the airport loop 3 times again .. just like when we arrived ..
Before we checked in we did our VAT refund .. which was much easier than I thought. See, in SA you pay 14% VAT on stuff .. but if you are a tourist and take this stuff out of the country .. you get the VAT back .. it means that you keep the receipts and do some paperwork .. but they have an office conveniently located at one of the bigger malls .. so you can do some of the paperwork there .. in the end it was less extra work than I thought and we got a check that would buy us another meal .. (of course, the VAT office takes its fee, as is the bank that cashes your check .. everybody makes some money)
Check in was easy since we used the ‘we are traveling with a small child’ line and we got to line up at the short ‘crew and stand by’ counter .. we bypassed the boarding line in a similar fashion .. but once again .. the plane was super full .. but at least the lady sitting next to Ritsu was medium sized and not a big guy like me.
Now for the surprise part … Julius behaved !!! The whole flight !!! He fell asleep at take off … slept like 90 mins .. then watched TV .. ate his meals .. slept some more .. walked around with daddy a bit … watched some more .. NO major tantrums .. for 12 friggin hours .. amazing … one German tourist complimented him “I have never seen such a well behaving child on a plane before” .. my reply: “me neither” .. It was good and fun .. and Ritsu and I actually got to watch some movies …
We had horror visions of this day-flight .. but it was actually quite ok .. the food could have been better .. and the drink service .. But one of our flight attendends (Gurshwin) was super motivated and sold drinks and duty free goods as if he would get commission. He must be new … You rock Gurshwin!!
We arrived in Frankfurt in time and this was when Julius’ revange kicked in .. now he wanted to run around .. while we just wanted to get to that one supermarket just outside of the airport to get some stuff we can’t find in Italy .. like these dinkel cookies Julius loves .. and my favourite chips .. and then Ritsu had that noodle craving .. and we found a Chinese restaurant to take care of it … that bit was a bit stressful … but we managed .. and when we were about to board our plane to Turin, Julius switched off the boarding card reading machine (note to machine developers .. no on/off buttons facing the passenger in child’s height !!!) that caused a delay for another five minutes.
Once we were on that plane, Julius fell asleep again .. and very soon we arrived in Torino .. to one of the worst weathers that one can imagine .. in summer .. we were wondering why our luggage took so long to appear on the belt .. and why it was all wet … but once we were out in the taxi we got an idea .. we saw hail along the roadside the size of quail eggs .. we saw cars, blocking the highway because they sought shelter under a bridge .. it was incredible .. but we got home .. with just a bit delay .. and could finally open those windows to let some fresh air into the house …
As you can see by the pictures .. we had especially some fun with those airline socks to keep Julius warm He looks like some kind of orange-blue diaper super hero …
 |
We have gotten lucky with the weather on this trip … the very few rainy days we had matched perfectly with the times that we should take a break .. now that it comes to packing and getting ready (and so some last minute shopping) it appears to be great that the sun is hiding behind clouds and the Table Mountain under its famed table cloth.
So .. all we have for today is a fun video of Julius playing with the resident dog Jackie …
 |
a.k.a. “Shrimping out at Ocean Basket”
After all the fancy seafood places and rather high priced shellfish, I wanted to totally shrimp out. At least once. Thing is, shrimp dishes are cheaper, because the little critters are small and people hate peeling them. But the way they make them at Ocean Basket (butterfly and Cajun) they are actually very easy to eat … and I doubt that 8 queen prawns for 88 Rand have more meat on them than 24 prince prawns for 85 Rand.
Anyways, we ordered 2 dz of prince prawns plus the ‘top up’ (basically supersizing it) with 5 more prawns for 17 Rand (the math geniuses here will find that this actually lowers the per-shrimp price!)
We had earlier a very bad experience with Julius at an Ocean Basket outlet at the Canal Walk mall, so we were not sure how he would react this time. But there was so much going on, there was a TV showing sports and people were super nice to him, the hostess lady actually took him a couple of times and greeted new guests while he was on her arm. He also enjoyed playing with the icecubes in our whine cooler a lot.
And he loves shrimps .. he kept eating and eating .. to a point that I realized that 29 prawns have not been enough for this family .. and we just ordered the same thing again (knowing that there is just no such place in Torino) … and we kept eating, enjoying and had a great time.
This chain restaurant is nice, very very good quality, very low price (e.g. normally you get 12 – 15 prawns in other restaurants for 99 Rand) and the one on Kloof Street gets my award for nicest atmosphere. (The mall ones are all a bit clinical cold) I am not sure about the Greek influence on their menu, but you get tzatziki among other Greek starters and lots of desert along that line.
They also do sushi, which I have not tried, and I would have loved to have an Ocean Basket t-shirt .. but the best they had to offer was a sushi hat .. but I decided then that I would just never wear that one again and saved the 75 Rand.
There sure are way more fancy seafood places in Cape Town, and some of them we have visited, but if you do not mind that it is a franchise and you need a crustacean fix badly .. that is the place to go!
Sorry about the vast amount of pictures … but it was hard to edit out … and as you can see, I am enjoying using the slow synchro flash setting ..as it keeps the warm colors and keeps also some of the dynamic.
|
- “The photos remind me of a question I’ve been meaning to ask…..what sort of digital camera are you using now. The photos are just beautiful. I’m thinking of upgrading my Sony DSC.”
And I thought I post that here so I can always find it again:)
Tammy, on this trip we used 3 different cameras. My main is a Canon Powershot SD30 which I use mainly for all pics and also most of the video.
Unless I want to do longer video and better quality, then I take my older Sanyo, which still does a great job, but takes a while to open / get ready, so not that great for spontaneous shots. This cam also has a very powerful zoom, so I used it’s still photo function a lot on the safari. It is more of a digital video camera actually with still function. At the time I bought it (March 2004) it was the perfect hybrid for me.
And last but not least, Ritsu has the Canon Powershot SD20 (which I also used before) … I really like the Canon cameras .. I had a Casio in between, which was very small and fun (most of the early Fiji pics were taken with that one) but towards the end the flash went totally out of synch. It really depends on what you want from a camera. For me: it has to be small … A big camera can do all kinds of tricks .. But if it is too bulky for my to bring it with me all the time, it is worthless. Size of the back LCD … Yeah .. They are getting bigger and bigger … But really .. They eat up a lot of battery .. So .. I am fine with small. Zoom: Not really a need for me .. I prefer point and shoot. My main cam has now a 3x zoom, which is nice, but not used very often. View finder: Mine had none .. And I am very happy I saved space that way. Megapixel: 3, 5, 7 .. And more and more …it really depends what you end up doing with the pictures … I hardly ever print pictures .. My main use is online. Email / website .. On the other hand, I take a LOT of pictures .. And they eat up space on my computer .. So .. I am happy with 5 mpx .. And I am not even using that resolution.
Seems nobody noticed, but the “someone” who got one year older is Peter!! Happy birthday, my love!!! I asked my mom to bring a yukata (Japanese summer kimono) as his birthday gift when my parents came to Europe last month, but in addition to that, I bought a cook book, “Cape Town Food“, to make sure he will cook us nice South African dishes when we get back to Italy!
To celebrate someone’s getting older one year, we all went to one of the hippest restaurants in Cape Town: The Showroom.
According to our hosts Beate and Bernd, the chef there is crazy The menu is already lots of fun to look at and includes silly items like oysters on canvas for like 5000€ (which means you are actually getting a painting) or a 300k€ Lamburghini .. and yes .. you would get the car then (the restaurant is adjacent to an actual car showroom) … I doubt many patrons have ordered these items.
As for the food: A very nice mix of flavors, presentation, service we have gotten used to from high class New York restaurants (and some extra), a nice wine list and a personal hand shake and happy birthday from chef Bruce Robertson.
What is pretty special is the extra page of sauces in the menu .. and one is encouraged to mix and match .. or find the wildest match possible. Also new in the sauce section are the ‘sundaes’ … sauces based on yoghurt. Like Ritsu had the Chakalaka sundae with her oxtail / crayfish tail main dish. Other sauces ordered were a pesto (so fresh, it came in a mortar for you to mash it yourself), I had a champagne veloute and there was a Durban sundae (Durban being South Africa’s capitol for curries). Beate and Bernd both had the parma ham wrapped Salmon.
Oh, forgot the starters, 3 prawn poppers (with monkfish medallions, scallop liver and crawfish cream), which were very nice and Beate had the abalone bolognaise (with vanilla linguini, butter scallops and forest oysters)
The deserts were to die for: B&B shared the honeycomb panacotta (with chilli pineapple carpaccio, bubble paper chocolate and basil foam) and Ritsu and I had the glühwein pear brûlée, which comes with spicy baby pear, glühwein and vanilla pod custard.
We shared a bottle of High Constantine Champagne, which I heard was impossible to get at the stores, as each years vintage is pre-sold to restaurants and wine collectors due to its popularity. And then some white wine (totally forgot the name, but it was very nice, it was categorized under the ‘wild whites’)
Overall it was fantastic, highly recommended, the portions are on the small-ish side, which I think is good. And if you request a table downstairs you get to see the whole kitchen action, which is fun.
The weather was great and as a very special treat we booked ourselves onto a very special helicopter ride.
I had done heli-rides twice before: In Las Vegas and in New York. But this one was very special as they used an old vietnam-war veteran “Huey” (Bell UH-1 series Iroquois) helicopter and flew with the doors open! This way we had the best possible view and the wind was turning our hair into 1980-ies style Duran Duran hairdoes.
The flight was 32 minutes and we even got to spot a whale off the coast of Muitzenberg (the pilot then added 2 extra turns to the ride so that we could try to catch a better glimpse).
Ritsu was initially a bit scared and asked a bazillion questions (will it shake, is it scary) … and she was the only one screaming in joy and excitement at the beginning (but ended up loving the whole thing), while Julius was neither overly impressed nor scared at all. But for us it was a very memorable experience!
|
After yesterday’s experience with the morning game drive we decided that we deserve to sleep in and opted out. Instead we had a very nice snuggly morning under many blankets and then went straight to the huge breakfast buffet. Then it was time again to make use of that huge bathtub and then we checked out some more animals. The cheetahs, which are kept in a small caged open area. And they are young enough that grown-ups can get into the area and actually touch them.
Julius would have been seen as easy prey and was not allowed to come with us, so we took turns. We also checked out the crocodiles again and the lynxes. But most exciting for Julius was one of the most unpredictable predetators of all: a little girl! There was a 2.5 year old girl with those hockey players and the kids played quite some together. It started getting dangerous when the girl (Lili) grabbed a hockey stick. But no injuries occured.
We had one more buffet lunch, then we settled the final bill and were on our way back to Cape Town. This time diverting from the straight highway N1 and taking the R62 scenic route, which was very nice, but we enountered 3 construction sites that allowed only one lane traffic, so we had to wait like 10 minutes each time before we could proceed.
|
This day started cold and very early at 6:30 AM to get ready for the 7 AM game drive. To keep warm we had tried to keep the fire on all night, but thanks to pretty wet wood, we all smelled like smoked salmon now.
Julius was not too happy about the early wake-up call and did not want to wear his shoes. Finally we were all huddled together under blankets in our 4×4 and had the same guide / driver team.
The first nice surprise on this drive was that we got to see hippos out of the water. While we were waiting and watching even the 6 months old baby hippo showed up. Cute. Next stop was the bushman rock art site … a painting done over 2000 years ago. Sizewise a bit underwhelming and actually hard to spot, but interesting. We then continued a similar path like the day before with some variations. Most animals were sleeping it seems. I kept wondering why they offered the 7AM drive .. and the only reason I can imagine is that they want the cars and guides available later for the day visitors.
The lions were no-show, but we saw pretty much the same animals as the day before. We returned just before 9 (no snack or drink on the drive this time) and a huge breakfast buffet awaited us. Pretty much everything you can think of for a very hearty breakfast including all kinds of meaty dishes. After that time for hot bath again, getting the fireplace back up and running, and then exploring the other animals that are around (peacock, crocodiles and other critters)
Lunchtime was 1 PM and again, huge buffet with lots of everything. The buffet style made it much easier for us to take turns and actually enjoy hot food, and there was also lots of stuff for Julius to eat. After lunch we were up for game drive number 3. This time we shared our 4×4 with a couple from Parma, Italy and another from Robertson, South Africa. And we had a new guide (Jaques) who also was our driver. Different in style, he explained much more details about the geology of the environment or the fine differences of animal poo (holding up examples, dried ones). This time around the sun was out and all hippos were out of the water hole and did some sunbathing. The lions were out as well, but much lazier than the day before. We got very lucky towards the end as we found the herd of buffalos (hanging out peacefully with the hippos). Interestingly, on this drive we only had drinks (no hot drinks though) but no food … hmmm …
Dinner was again a big buffet (a large group of American field hockey player ladies had arrived) and it was pretty yummy again. After that we were so full and tired that we went pretty much straight to bed.
|
Recent Comments