Jacarandas in bloom

When I moved to Johannesburg in September, I'll admit I was a little disappointed to be missing the fall foliage in Connecticut, where I'm originally from. Imagine my surprise when, come October, trees all around the city turned bright purple when the Jacarandas bursted into blossom! They're still in bloom here in late November, and make a pretty decent substitute for the oranges and yellows of the New England autumn... 

La Conga Roadhouse

I recently discovered that Johannesburg is home to many roadhouses - the type of drive-up restaurant where waiters bring your order to your car! Admittedly, I'm not wild about these photos but I wanted to share the find regardless. I'm hoping to get back to one at night so I can capture the neat way they're lit up, and the customers parked in the bays. Stay tuned...

Friendly ice-cream

This nice woman - our server at a small restaurant in Joburg's CBD - offered us free ice cream cones after our meal. My kind of gal!

How to fix a flat

In South Africa, petrol prices are set by the government, so stations compete on service, rather price. In practice, it means that when you pull in, a uniformed attendant will pump the gas, wash your windscreen, check your oil or tire pressure, or in our case - fix your flat when your fiance runs over this with your new car:


I saw it sticking out of the tire (or 'tyre' to you South Africans...) and immediately pictured the hassle and bill coming our way. Imagine my surprise when we pulled into a standard petrol station, asked the attendant to fix it, and 5 minutes and R30 (around US$3.75) later, off we go!

Here are some of the kind gentlemen who helped us out: