Kylemore - home sweet home!

Beyond the rolling-winelands-hills of the Stellenbosch region, lies the sleepy hamlet of Kylemore. Ask any Capetonian about it, and they will tell you that they have never heard of it. That's how unknown the place is. But, it exists. I was born in Kylemore and lived there for 23 years. The picture above is a view of the Dwars River Valley, with Kylemore nestled almost in the middle of of the slopes where the two mountain ranges meet.

My family (2 brothers, 3 sisters, mom, dad, cat, dog...) still lives out there. Every other week, Becs and I drive for about an hour to visit them. Growing up in Kylemore was one of the best things that happened to me. I am happy that I was born there. Happy because it was such a safe place to grow up in, surrounded by majestic mountains and where I knew almost everyone in the town. When we speak about Kylemore we often compare it to Franklin (Virginia, USA), where Becs grew up. It has the same small-town community feel to it.

During the last Christmas holidays I spent a lot of time with my family. When I was a kid, my mom, Mary-Ann, "forced" us to work in the garden - cleaning weeds, mowing lawns, etc. Although I hated it, it sowed the seeds for a later career in landscaping - albeit a short career. It was my life for a few years after school. I had a love-hate relationship with gardens, which nowadays is a love relationship only. Being back home in Kylemore over the holidays, I saw a patch in my mom's garden that needed some "lovin" and I sprung into action weeding it, composting it, and eventually planting vegetable seed and seedlings, and herbs on the patch. We've wanted to grow our own veggies and herbs for a while now, and finally its happening!

When we visited last weekend, it was so great to see the growth and some of my mom's well established butternut and green peppers in action. When I'm not there, my nephew Clarence takes care of the garden patch. Below are some pictures of what to expect and what to harvest soon! A recent book we read - called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - was very inspiring in promoting growing your own food, and or buying only what's in season, and preferably grown as close to home as possible. Living in the City it's very hard to grow your own food, if you live in an apartment complex. So, having a patch in my parents' garden in Kylemore, is wonderful!

Until harvest time, take care!

Peace and love!


Becs & Ali



My mom's butternut...she has about 8 butternut on one plant!



The rosemary...



And the bean plants...

Welcome to Cape Town!

Welcome to Cape Town!

Earlier this week Becs and I went for a run just below the infamous Table Mountain (this is all in preparation for the Two Oceans half Marathon - in April - of course...). From the road you have the most beautiful views of the City and Table Bay. The picture above gives you a sense of the development within the City, with the three round towers in the foreground being residential apartment buildings. Better known as the "salt-and-pepper-pots".

The road contours along the base of Table Mountain, where you have unlimited views of Lion's Head (see picture below), and the suburbs beyond the City borders. Cape Town is such a cosmopolitan city but has a quite a sad history to it. The City is host to a few different museums documenting its contentious past--from its colonial heritage to its devastating apartheid laws and forced removals of "non-whites" from within the City to the Cape Flats (literally flat land, below sea level, which floods during most winters). When you visit Cape Town, make sure to visit places like the District Six Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Cape of Good Hope Castle, the Bo-Kaap (traditional Cape Malay district), Long Street (for its frivolous night life!), and of course a trip up Table Mountain. And not to be missed is the notorious Robben Island, where exiled anti-apartheid political activists were imprisoned, including Mr. Nelson Mandela.

It's also a City that has much to offer for the outdoor enthusiast. Which is one of the reasons that Ali love this City so much! The greater Cape area is surrounded by two oceans (Atlantic & Indian), with the thin spine of the Table Mountain range being forced up in between it. The mountain range runs north to south, with the most south western point being Cape Agulhas. And the nothern end being the flat part (known as Table Mountain...). When Rebecca's mom, Ruthie, visited Cape Town a few years ago, we took her to see Cape Point and Cape Agulhas--she loved it!

If you're looking for a city that offers hiking, trail-running, mountain biking, kayaking, diving, surfing, paragliding, shark-cage diving, great food, wonderful people, the best wines, and more, then Cape Town has it all!

It ended being one of the best runs we've done so far, and we might have to go back again! So, clearly, if you have not been to Cape Town, then get yourself over here!

Peace and love!


Ali & Becca



Becs looking hot in her new running shorts! woohoo!



Lion's Head in the background, and look at those calfs...glistening in the sunlight.



And another City pic, with Robben Island in the background, and the new sports stadium going up in the upper left hand corner of the picture - for the Soccer World Cup 2010.

Kalk Bay, Cape Town

Dear friends and family,

Cape Town is arguably one of the best cities in the world! Yes, maybe we are slightly biased, but hey, if you don't believe us, come see for yourself. It has just the right mix of outdoor living, nightlife, restaurants, an eclectic mix of people, and great weather!

Being summer still, we went for a short walk along the False Bay coast to one of our most favorite towns - Kalk Bay. There's a pleasant little walk along the coast, from Muizenberg to Kalk Bay, probably not more than a mile long(1.4km). It is also the route for the local train, so we hopped on at our station, Wittebome, hopped off at Muizenberg station and walked to Kalk Bay. Muizenberg is renowned for its awesome surfing conditions, and its sharks...

Kalk Bay has cute little shops and eateries. From French artisan bakeries - with yummy baguettes - to antique furniture shops that are way overpriced... An all time favorite of ours is Olympia Cafe - Becs's first employer when she moved to Cape Town. The job lasted all of six weeks, then they dropped her like a hot potato. Too bad for them. But ultimately the best for Becs, since her job tutoring kids with autism arrived directly afterwards. (Ali wants me to say this is my life, but really- I just love it, it's not my WHOLE life!)

The False Bay coast is dotted with built tidal pools and Kalk Bay happens to be home to one of the best tidal pools, our favorite by far! Ali likes it best early morning and Becs late afternoon & only when it's warm. During summer, the beaches and pools are packed with people. And maybe more sharks in the waters also...

So, if you are from North America, and you would like to see Kalk Bay in all its splendor, we would be happy to host you here. But hurry, we might not be in Cape Town for long anymore...

Below are some of the pics from our walk. Enjoy!


Ali and Becs




Oh, we had to include the newest addition to our home - a bookcase that Ali and his dad made!

A small nursery on the main road.

Looking gorgeous!


The walkway along the coast.

Welcome to our blog!

Becs and I have had this blog for a few years now. We initially used it as a way of connecting to each other whilst we lived apart, she in the US and me in SA. It became our 'love nest'. A space to express our undying and hopelessly romantic love for each other. It was amazing! And then she moved to Cape Town, and the blogging stopped. We have deleted all the juicy blog posts of that time...sorry!

So it's 2009, and we are breathing new life into our blog. It's coming back as a place of connecting us to friends and family scattered across the globe. We hope to share with you our daily musings, some pics, our hopes, dreams and the challenges as they show up.

Bear with us. Enjoy with us. Explore with us! Welcome!



Becs and Ali