A short visit in Johannesburg

 (NOTE: due to technological malfunctions-aka I forgot to bring my Iphone USB with me to the Internet cafe to download photos, I will have to add photos to this post at a later time.)
 

We flew out of London on Friday night, August 30^th, and arrived into Joburg on Saturday morning at around 830am.  It was a looooong 10 ½ hour flight, more or less because neither Matt nor I slept more than 3 hours.  But, I’m happy to report that this time around, Virgin Atlantic’s service (and food!) were MUCH better. 

Our original plan was to fly straight from Chicago to Joburg, and from there spend a few days getting our jet-lag worked out.  But as plans progressed and we decided to meet up with Steph and Todd in Barcelona, our flights to Zambia via Johannesburg had already been purchased, which meant our time in London/Barcelona ended a few days sooner than our arrival into Zambai.  So since we had a few extra days before heading there, we decided to stick to the original plan and experience Joburg with a few former BVI friends, Lynsey and Gareth.

What an awesome weekend.  Their lives have definitely changed in the 5 years since we last saw them-from living in the BVI to now permanently stationed in Johannesburg, and now with an adorable 15 month old, named Aidan.  I took to this little guy like a fish to water.  SUCH a sweetie! 

Anyway, we spent Saturday night in an African restaurant called Moyo and ate some fantastic African food (Matt had the curried lamb, I had a filet with creamy African spiced sauce, Gareth had a lamb tagine and Lynsey had braised Springbok).  Not to mention the atmosphere of the restaurant was amazing-4 levels, 2 of which were below ground, of stone and miter (L&G commented that it looked like a mine shaft), and when someone had a birthday, the whole staff came out and performed an African song, complete with drums and singing.  Oh, and they painted our faces so we looked more “authentic”.  What an awesome night.

Sunday came and greeted us with chilly weather (we were so not equipped for how cold the weather was!) so we hopped in the car to get more cold-weather gear, as we will most likely need it for nights in the desert.  After we got back, Gareth fired up the grill and we had our first official braai of the trip (which is a cookout or BBQ in American terms).  Gareth and Lynsey invited some other friends over and we sat in their spacious back yard all afternoon and ate steak, lamb, salad and milk tart and sipped on wine.  It was a gorgeous sunny day, and in the heat of the day we weren’t cold at all!!

It was such a great way to be greeted into Africa: good friends, excellent food, sharing memories of the BVI, and sitting back and relaxing.  After a solid week of walking walking walking, we were both happy to sit back and take it all in.  Not to mention, it was a great stepping stone for our excitement that awaits us in Zambia!!