Durban Deco

One of the reasons Durban is such a cool place to visit, besides the sea and sun, is the architecture. If you've been to Miami's South Beach, it may remind you somewhat of being there... although I've been to South Beach and Durban is much, much better (having said that, is a good Cuban restaurant in Durban?).





















And the great thing about these photos, is that this is where my great aunt used to live! The mural is just beautiful - and perfect, considering the building is on the esplanade and opposite the harbour.






These pics are from the Shooting Gallery (except for the close-up of the mural, which is from here), and you can see more, get a tour and much more info on the Durban Art Deco Society's website.

Tour South Africa: Durban

After the wet and windy weekend, let's head to one of my most favourites places - Durban. My grandparents lived there for many years, so every second Christmas during my childhood we'd head down to the sea and surf, and have a wonderful time. It's where I learned to love the sea.

To recap, this is part of a series I'm hosting on South of the Sahara for anyone interested in where to visit, what to do, and what to eat in South Africa (see Cape Town's first post here). And do click on the images to see them better.

My thanks to Nicola Ashe for introducing us to her city, this is a treasure trove of info!

"Thanks so much for asking me to post about Durban. I’ve lived here my whole life, except for a 3 year stint in the UK, so it’s definitely home and I love it.
Durban is on the east coast of South Africa and much to the envy of our bigger South African cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg, we pretty much have summer all year round. Blue skies, gorgeous beaches, sizzling temperatures in summer and we’re all surprised if it drops below 20°C in winter! This weather affords us the opportunity to be outdoors most of the time, so if you’re ever in this part of the world, make sure you hit our beaches, even if you’re not a sun baby {I’m not!}

Hotspot One: A Durban beachfront adventure
Hire a vintage bicycle and pedal our beautiful promenade, from the spectacular Moses Mabhida Stadium, all the way to the Moyo Pier at Vetchies. Streetscene Tours can arrange a picnic on the stadium lawns or pop past Café Jiran for delicious cappuccinos and muffins. Or do the cruise at sunset and hit Moyo at the end of the pier for insanely delicious mango daiquiri sundowners!




Hotspot Two: Morningside, Berea & Glenwood
These Durban suburbs are jam packed with great restaurants and stores - Florida & Davenport Roads are very popular, as you can walk from place to place and pick and choose where to eat & drink. Given the opportunity, I’d start at the top of Florida Road, walk down to Mo Noodles which is next door to the Spar and have a starter lentil/feta & calamari combo – my favourite meal in the whole of Durban hands down! Then head further down to Spiga, an Italian restaurant run by the Santoniccolo family and polish off a pizza or pasta with lashings of balsamic, chilli & garlic. Finish off with a frozen yogurt from Yogaberry and then roll home ☺.

If you’re just keen on dinner and drinks followed by a bit of a party, hit Czar for sushi & tapas and cool music – especially on Friday nights.

Shop at Cecile & Boyd’s for gorgeous home décor, or pop in at The Space for local clothing designers Colleen Eitzen, Amanda Laird Cherry and Leigh Schubert, as well as beautiful home décor accessories, sourced by Neil Roake. You can also browse through the African Art Centre and Contemporary Life further down Florida Road. Once you’re at the bottom of Florida, you have to head to The Freedom Café for coffee and cake. This restaurant is adjacent to The Concierge Bungalows – an oasis of tranquillity in the heart of Morningside with beautifully appointed guest rooms all furnished and decorated by Neil Roake & Egg Designs.

Two other highly recommended restaurants in this area are Market on Marriott Road and 9th Ave Bistro in Avondale Centre. You should also head to Windermere Road and visit home décor store Karrin Hatfield, which stocks Pierre Cronje & Clinton Friedman, as well as gorgeous goose down cushions.
More home décor is available at Couch + Interiors further up Windermere Road – you can quench your thirst there too at Couch Café {shopping is thirsty business!}

On the Berea is a new spot called Unity which is owned by the Café 1999 owners and it’s already becoming a Durban favourite – serving craft beers & a delicious menu ranging from snacky starters & platters to burgers, curries and bangers & mash. My Glenwood store favourites are Mooi, where Genevieve Motley has a pop-up shop, Wow, Finder’s Keeper’s, Earthmother Organic, The NSA Gallery and iKhaya and I never pass up an opportunity to pop in to The Corner Café for coffee and either breakfast or lunch.



Hotspot Three: Durban’s Markets
We have quite a few markets in Durban, both food and craft markets which take place at various times of the month. Local crafters, foodies, creatives, clever-people, tree-huggers, coffee-addicts, macaroon-guzzlers, craft beer-sluggers and clothes designers all unite at these markets and showcase some incredible Durban talent – go hungry and with a full wallet!

1st Saturday of the month: I Heart Market at the DLI Hall Greyville
Find Cupcake Couture, Miss Molly Fashions, Daniela’s, I Love Bokkie, Freshly Found, iKhaya, Hey Cherry, Olivia Villet, Mint, Lulu Yesteryear, Whimsy, Genevieve Motley, The Thrift Collection, Mooi and much more!

Last Saturday of the month: The Foodmarket at the Hellenic Hall Durban North
1st & 3rd Saturday of the month: The Litchi Orchard Market in Salt Rock
1st Thursday evening of the month: The Wholefoods Night Market on the Point at The Quays
Every Saturday: Essenwood Market on Essenwood Road in Berea Park
Every Saturday: Shongweni Farmer’s Market in Assagay



Hope to see you in Durban soon!
Xox ashe"

Windy Sundays

As I write this, its Sunday evening, the wind is rustling in the trees and it's quiet. Well, the wind is rustling a bit more than usual - today Irene made her way through Boston, but luckily as a tropical storm and not as a hurricane. So lucky because she had lost a lot of steam along the way, and although we saw more rain and wind as we've seen in most of the area's notorious Nor'Easters, it seems most of Massachusetts is doing ok. We know people are without power, and some have had trees come down but it could've been worse. My thoughts go out to those without power and those further south (to read more of what a hurricane can do, go here and here).







Pics from our local news source, boston.com

Summer in New England

Yes, the silence can be overwhelming...

Its that time of year when autumn looms just over the horizon. So I haven't been blogging all that much. Two major factors, really - getting ready to launch my own project (yes!) at work for the first time at the end of the month, PLUS trying to enjoy the short New England summer as much as possible before the ocean turns chilly and I have to get out of the water. This summer the hubster and I also started a new hobby - stand up paddle boarding. And I am completely hooked. We are trying to get out on the water as much as humanly possible. So in between work and getting to the sea as much as possible, blog posts may be a bit thin on the ground, and I apologize. But I do have some awesome links on my blogroll, so do please take a look around.

And here's a taste of my ambitions on a stand up paddle board. Not anywhere close to this yet but a girl can dream.

Rosalind Stockhall

Ah, a new week! A fresh start.

I'm hoping you'll be as inspired by the work of Rosalind Stockhall as I am.













Go to her website, it's so much fun!

Faith47 in New York

Here's something for the weekend (thank goodness for the weekend... its the beach for me tomorrow! I'll tell you more next week...) More of Faith47, doing her fantastic stuff in New York.



Check out her blog. Interesting viewing.

And thanks again to Mark, for the info via wooster collective.

Big Cats

I love this new print from Sakura Snow, a fellow South African living in the Northern climes (but she's in Amsterdam, lucky girl!). A generous soul, her work constantly blows me away.





If you buy it (go to her etsy shop), you will be supporting a good cause. Read more on Sakura's blog... you can get it in chic black and white, too!

Ring-A-Roses

Earlier this week I came across the work of Amy Merrick, a florist in Brooklyn, New York... her work is just inspiring.











(And read her blog! Its ethereal!)



But what first caught my eye was her wonderful website design. So airy and calm. (You can read more about working on the design here)



And I saw this recently too, and it has the same feel, and exudes the same kind of calm. Love it. (Plus, you can buy it for yourself!)







Its the work of a photographer/graphic designer who goes by the very apt name of Miles of Light. Go get your prints here.

Keep Running

Remember Oscar Pistorius, the Bladerunner? I read this week he's been chosen to run in the able-bodied World Championships in Korea later this month.



This should be interesting! I say good luck... and hopefully there'll no controversy.

Pic from here

Cape Town Wedding

Let's keep the flavour (Cape Town) local!

I recently saw, and loved, this wedding that took place in a pear orchard near Cape Town on frolic! The lovely couple are Jess and Caleb, and it seems they did much of the decoration themselves, inspired by the Sami communities in Sweden where Jess has spent time.

I think its just delightful, and Kate McLuckie's photography is beautiful: you can plainly see the love between these two and the people they surround themselves with.













You can read more about it at frolic! and on Kate McLuckie's blog.

Tour South Africa: Cape Town

Today I'm introducing a series called Tour South Africa. I've asked a few of my favourite South African bloggers to share what they love about where they live. I so often am asked by people I meet here in the States, what is South Africa like?, where are interesting place to visit?, what I can I do in South Africa?, is the food and wine/beer good? So here's the first of a series of virtual travels in the beautiful country of South Africa.

"Hi there, this is Lana from lanalou style and I'm so happy to be here on South of the Sahara today! I'd like to share three of my must-visit places in Cape Town with you today...

Firstly, a trip to Kalk Bay is a must. It's a small seaside village that has that permanent holiday feeling all year round. Full of quirky, little shops, restaurants and galleries, it makes for a fun outing. I highly recommend having scrambled eggs and a croissant at C'est la vie, a sweet bakery tucked away on a cobbled side street. {C'est la vie, Rosmead Road, Kalk Bay}







A trip to The Old Biscuit Mill is another must, especially on a Saturday morning when they hold the Neighbour Goods Market there. Make sure you get there early to beat the crowds and enjoy a morning of discovering great local clothing, jewelry, organic foods and more. {The Old Biscuit Mill, 373 - 375 Albert Rd, Woodstock}





Lastly a trip out into the winelands makes for a great day out. There are so many wine farms to explore so make sure you have enough time. Along the Helshoogte Pass on the Stellenbosch wine route, you'll find three top wine farms right next to each other, Tokara, Delaire Graff and Thelema. Make sure you visit each and experience their unique differences and then enjoy a light lunch at Tokara's deli. {DeliCatessen at Tokara, Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch}"





Do you live in a beautiful part of South Africa? Do you want to share it with us? Email me at southofthesahara@gmail.com.