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| Streets Cafe, Stellenbosch Square shopping mall, a must visit for anyone in this area! |
The title of today's post is the isiXhosa expression to say, "Farewell!"
IsiXhosa is one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, and a very beautiful one at that, ranking second, with English coming in at 5th place. Of further interest, Nelson Mandela is of isiXhosa origin.
Anyway, as a proudly South African citizen, I have chosen to use this expression, in particular, today, as a tribute to the final day of 2010. Furthermore, my wish for 2011 is that this wonderful country of ours will make even greater strides in our 16 year old democracy. Let us all build on the tremendous successes achieved in 2010! Please click the read more button below to continue...
How did YOU spend the very last day of the year 2010?
My husband and I had some shopping to do for the weekend ahead and drove through to our favoured mall, which is situated a leisurely 15 minute drive from home and on the outskirts of the very picturesque town of Stellenbosch (I will blog about this quaint historic town in a future post).
The mall is named Stellenbosch Square and is a delightfully convenient set up, not too big yet it has a good selection of shops and we find it ideal, especially when everywhere else is super busy.
The meaning of the Street in all ways and at all times is the need
for sharing life with others and the search for community
~ Virginia Hamilton ~
Anyway, as we quite often do, we had lunch at one of our favourite spots, a charming little restaurant named "Streets Cafe," which is a husband and wife owned and operated concern.
We really do enjoy going there. The range of meal options is good and varied. The food is of a consistently high quality, always well presented and, fairly priced. Everything is produced on site and is unfailingly fresh and tasty. The atmosphere is friendly, laidback and exactly as I assume one would find when patronising Street Cafe's around the world.
The decor is quite delightful, a trompe l'oeil extravaganza of beautifully depicted Street scenes from around the world, representative of the menu choices on offer. Today, while we were waiting for our meal to be served, I decided to capitalise on the moment and snap a few pictures to share with you on my blog.
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| Nobody can go back and start a new beginning but anyone can start today and make a new ending ~ Maria Robinson ~ |
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The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly ~ The Buddha ~ |
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And now, as each of us looks forward to the dawn of tomorrow, 1st January 2011, it would be prudent if we try to practise the following:
Resolve to be tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving,
and tolerant with the weak and wrong.
Sometime in life you will have been all of these.
~ Dandy Lion ~
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Desiree,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post to end 2010. The strides your country has made are wonderful. Nelson Mandela is an amazing man.
All the best to you and yours in 2011!
Annie
What a beautiful cafe !!...happy new year darling......just home from a very nice evening....love love Ria.....xxxx
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too! What a marvelous little cafe! I bet you had a delicious lunch. I just absolutely love all the trompe l'oeil murals.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing the photos of the place you like to eat.
ReplyDeleteHow close are you to an ocean? We live far from one here. In 2007, we drove a few days away to North Carolina to see the Atlantic Ocean. It was fun! I'd love to move closer so we could get there in a few hours. Also, I'd like to be a zone or two warmer for gardening. We won't move, though, because we like being close to our family.
I have never heard of that language. Thanks for the information about it.
Happy New Year!
Annie:
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely - this is a great country to be living in and to be part of the ongoing process of change! I do hope you'll be able to visit SA one day :)
Ria:
Good to know you'd had a great New Year's Eve - thanks so much for popping by :)
Alison:
Yes, lunch was very good - I had one of my favourites off their Specials Menu - roast lamb with basmati rice, roast potatoes, sweet butternut and broccoli-cauliflower cheese. My husband tried a new dish - filleted chicken breast wrapped around a cheesy mushroom and bacon filling, crumbed lightly and deep fried. It was served with a substantial fresh green salad. He said it was very tasty. We had wine with our meal and shared a slice of their decidely wicked, homemade carrot cake served with whipped cream. We washed it down with filter coffee for afters ;)
Their Streets Menu consists of a range of options featuring, among others, Moroccan, Asian, Indian and Mexican dishes. They really do cater for most tastes and as I mentioned, everything is freshly prepared on site!
Sue:
We are so very, very lucky. We live surrounded by towering mountains (The Helderberg and greater Hottentots Holland range) and can see the Indian ocean (False Bay) from our house. We are within 15 minutes drive of both sea and mountains, so really do have the best of both worlds right on our doorstep. To top it all off, we live in the winelands and therefore have easy access to some of the best winefarms in the country.
IsisXhosa (pronounced Khosa by most Westerners) is a beautiful language. It incorporates 3 distinctly different clicks, written as x, c and q and these add to the musicality of the language. I learnt to speak it at school, but it's not an easy language to master and so I unfortunately never became proficient. It's also spoken very fast and so is much easier to read.
Desiree...I was...just delighted to see your comment. I don't believe we have met and it is no wonder with as many blogs as there are. SOUTH AFRICA! I have never spoken to anyone from South Africa..
ReplyDeleteTo me it is amazing that we find people from other countries and are able now to communicate with them..may never meet..and yet have the chance to know one another through this new age.
I am so pleased! I will return often to see your posts learn all I can about your part of the world.
It's so much better than just looking up a place on the computer..
This is wonderful!! Happy New Year!!
Mona
I hope that your wishes for 2011 and your beautiful country come true.
ReplyDeletelove the walls of the restaurant
Thank you, Diane :)
ReplyDeleteLike your Buddha quote. Difficult to master for me. Happy new Year, blessings to you and yours, Gina
ReplyDeleteNice new icon, Gina. I have noticed you change the picture fairly regularly.
ReplyDeleteI realise that trying to follow the Buddha's injunction would not be easy or simple in your circumstances, Gina and I do empathise, deeply and sincerely.
I really do hope, though, that 2011 will bring you and your loved ones rich blessings and, in some small way, help to ease some of your ongoing pain.
Take care!!!
Hugs,
Des xo
As a fellow lover of murals I love these photos, Desiree. What a beautiful place. I hope your 2011 is fabulous. Hugs, Grace
ReplyDeleteGrace:
ReplyDeleteIt makes me so happy to know that something I'm able to share through my blog gives pleasure to others! I must admit I'd love to get hold of the artist to paint a wall for me ;)
Looking forward to being one of your many regular followers through 2011, Grace. Your blog is one of the best out there!
Hugs,
Des xo
Thank you so much for the kind and beautiful words you shared about our little place! We really do appreciate getting such positive feedback. I only have a small role to play at Streets, but it is Marcus' absolute passion and I think you will agree that his passion is obvious for all to see and enjoy! Thank you for your continued patronage and we wish you all the best for 2011. Kind regards, Marcus and Zita ;-)
ReplyDeleteZita:
ReplyDeleteTruth be known, we'd happily eat at Streets on a daily basis! As it is, we feel we're part of the furnishings already.
Take care,
Des.
After a few days in London, I'm only just catching up with my reading. Sorry I'm late :)
ReplyDeleteI sat and watched TV for hours on the day that Nelson Mandela was released. What a giant step for your country to be able to change so much without civil war.
So good to have you back, H. I missed you! I've enjoyed all your posts over the festive season and am looking forward to following you through 2011. It was my lucky day to have discovered your blog. Definitely one of my absolute favourites!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, we are indeed very fortunate to be able to enjoy this glorious country. A lot still needs to be done to redress the huge inequalities, but much progress has been made. Nelson Mandela has given us the formula - it requires every one of us to step up to the task, to fulfill the dreams and enormous potential that we all have.