With Tegan | Vredehoek, Cape Town |

Dapper Gentlemen & Cafe Racers | Cape Town, South Africa | September 2013

The Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride is an annual world-wide event that is all about being dapper, riding classic bikes and having a good time.

The 2012 goal was simply to spread some good old fashioned cheer, but in 2013 the event added fundraising for a charitable cause to the agenda. All funds raised are going towards prostate cancer research and men’s health awareness programmes.  Riders are able to register on the website for their country ride and share the cause through social media to encourage sponsors to donate. This year 38 countries took part with a registered ride, including, in South Africa - Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

At the Cape Town event - hosted by Los Muertos Motorcylces in Dorp Street, Bo Kaap -  the love for retro style café racers was enthusiastically combined with dapper dress sense. Whether it was through a maroon velvet jacket, a pinstripe suit, military-inspired cuffs and red lapels, mustard-yellow leather gloves or carefully tended facial hair – the riders embraced the theme and took to the road like gentlemen (and ladies).

Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride Website : https://www.gentlemansride.com

Los Muertos Motorcycles : http://www.losmuertosmc.com/

For a full gallery of photos by Edward Duckitt Photography from the ride see : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.546827765372308.1073741834.164242710297484&type=1

Two Types of Unreal | September 2011

 

Rain Africa is a South African bath and body company that creates beautifully crafted handmade products using natural ingredients and local inspiration.

Some inspiration from their website :

“In Africa, rain gives life and life depends on it. The cycle of the season is born into all living things, young and old. Rain is the gift that brings simple wealth to the plains, villages and mountains. Rain is refreshing in the still heat of the day; it cools the thirsty land, awakens the senses and sharpens the aromas of the bush. The dry wind brings the gift that African people can smell, a gift that is a cause for celebration. The Sotho people use the words ‘Khotso Pula Nala’ meaning peace, rain and abundance as their traditional greeting.”

 

(these are real khoi fish soaps with a saffron tangerine fragrance)

You can shop online if you’re in the United States, Europe or South Africa  - http://rainafrica.com/

Plate of Bacon | Red Sofa Cafe, Vredehoek, Cape Town | March 2012

Finding Peace Within | Durban, South Africa | December 2011

As we travel through life we connect, disconnect and reconnect with various people through our travels.  If you are a fan of the deep-of-thought and the eternally wandering I invite you to visit the blog of a fellow travelling soul – see her inspirations here http://beardlessgirl.tumblr.com/

We wish you exciting adventures, beautiful photographs and new friends as you head out into the wide world again!

Image courtesy of the artist herself

Rain in a Viennese Sky | Vienna, Austria | September 2013

Yes, travel was on the cards again this month with visits to a rainy tail-of-summer Europe.  

With the taste of Gatsby and the green light still tempting from a repeat performance on a ten hour flight, we walked the streets of Vienna under the chill of an overcast sky.  The incredible height of the buildings (so different to the bowl The Travelling Goldfish usually calls home), together with the tangible ancient history led to beautiful imaginings and cliché statue photo opportunities.

The afternoon’s palette was enticed by the likes of Picasso, Miró, Kirchner, Monet, Degas, presented together with Imperial Torte and Viennese coffee and a just-wet city landscape.

Around every corner sat empty street cafés  (the catalogued ambition of every trendy café back home), their umbrellas closed against the sky’s threatening rain, their seats glistening, positioned correctly but not offering a welcome seat. We walked the steps of Beethoven and Mozart from city apartments to the Schönbrunn Palace’s Mirror Room (where six year old Mozart first performed for Empress Maria Theresia) and marvelled at mankind’s potential for greatness.