COSTIERA AMALFITANA ITALY

"See Naples and die"
This quotation means that Naples is so impressive that once you have seen it, there is nothing further left for you to do in life as nothing could compare with it.
But before you decide to see Naples, I have something really interesting to offer.

Costiera Amalfitana

I have never been to Naples, unless at the airport on my way to Costiera Amalfitana. 

Our trip started one Friday morning from the Milan Malpensa Airport. We hired a car from a budget rental at the airport of Naples  and the car looked like a low cost one. It was an old Ford Fiesta, but for us good enough to mix in the ambience. Although Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari are equally commonly used. 

Viaggi con Xena58

As a first thing we drove to this small village called Minori. The small cakes in Naples area are really famous in all Italy. But likewise to the northern ones, they are over the average size.

Baba al rum is a small mushroom like cake in rum and Campanian patisserie is made of a size of a sandwich. So we started our morning with huge quantities of calories. 

Our hotel was booked in Amalfi; a bit further from the village it self, and it was on a rock, so that from the breakfast table we saw this small under lying beach and a stunning see view. Hotel rooms were small, bed comfortable and breakfast typically sweet Italian with briosce, cakes, and toast with marmalade. 

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Amalfi it selves is like a jewell between all those surrounding hills and it's main square is said to be the most beautiful in Italy due to it's church, the fountain and all the cafes

Expedia

From Amalfi we followed a road that gave us a stunning view towards the sea and Positano. Our friend had some advices according to places where we should eat, and I can't truly complain about the choice  We chose one of those restaurants near the beach and had a typical Positano plate: Scialatielli ai frutti di mare. 

Positano looks like a narrow village between the rocky mountains and I still cannot figure out how all those houses are built  They are all close to each others and sometimes seem to hang in the air. 

TripAdvisor 

If you like to walk in the street, drink some wine and visit cafes, then staying in a village might be a suitable choice  But as I love the view, I always prefer the fatigue and take places that might be a bit further away. The idea of staying in a place like this with some good friends or with a loved one and enjoy the sunset or wake up in the morning to the sunrise just makes my heart beat few extra times. 

www.costiera-amalfitana.com

The atmosphere in this area is just so romantic and relaxed. As we stayed only three days and two nights, it appeared to be a little bit too short. My advice to this tour is 5 days and four nights. 

As we are in the coastal area, there is plenty of seafood. One of my favourite is scialatielli type of pasta with shellfish. I was so in love this type of pasta that I bought all different versions of it. Best one is the one with lemon flavoured.  

Giallo Zafferano

You all must know Limoncello, right. 

It is a typical liquor invented and produced in this area. It request special type of lemons, that only grow in this area. As you may see, behind of the main capture is the Volcano Vesuvius visible. 

No, you won't see Vesuvius from Positano, nor from Amalfi. 

This photo could have been taken from Sorrento, Capri or from Ischia. 

Napolinlove

We took our drive further away and visited Sorrento, that is in the side of Golf of Naples. Amalfi and Positano are situated in the side of Tyrrhenian sea. Not that I could notice any difference. 

The old town of Sorrento actually rises over the rocky hill of the mountain so that going to beach we needed to take the car. It differences also from Amalfi and Positano due to its medieval look a like down town, that even had such atmosphere withs small shops and restaurants. 

viaggiatoriWeb.it

There are places on earth that just can't be seen, and Capri is one of them. My advice is not to stay there as a hotel, unless you are looking forward quiete and romantic hide away. 

This island is perhaps the most famous of all the islands of planet earth, due to its beauty. 

The film "Contempt" with Brigitte Bardot was filmed at Capri. 

Wikipedia

The island is not really big to get you an idea, so that a day tour from anywhere from the villages mentioned above could satisfy needs of the most curious ones.

In the summer I love ice coffee, that is not the milky ice-cream with coffee, but caffe shakerato. A bit like a 007 style ice coffee that is espresso shaken and not stirred. It looks like a fancy cocktail, and yet is only ice cold espresso coffee with a slight vanilla aftertaste. I prefer it with sugar, something waiters will always ask in advance. And the best one I have ever tasted is from a cafe that is situated on the left hand side in the main square, once climbed up from the harbour. 

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I suggest to walk around. Take a walk towards Faraglioni that are remains of the erasion, just like Apostles near Melbourne; the so called the twin rocks famous to us from a perfume commercial, but it is said that when Homer ended up to the island of sirens it must have been one of those close to Naples; so why not Capri. 

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For Fashion victims, Capri offers the most elegant shopping street in the whole area, so prepare you credit card and be ready to go. 

Capripress.com

If you still have some spare days left, my advice is to take the ferry from Naples and direct to the island of Ischia. It is a volcanic island and filled with natural Spas, founded by Romans. It is possible to get cure to every possible disturb from skin rash to long deceases. 

I stayed in this small village called Forio, but if you are looking forward to something idyllic then Saint Angelo would do for you. 

There are Thermal hotels all over the place, but as we stayed in a small residence, we used services in a hotel not far away. The temperature is mite and even in April is possible to enjoy sunshine and warm thermal swimming pools. Some beaches have rock polls, and to get in one of those, you need to book in advance as they belong to private beach keeper. 

Also in Ischia most people use the beach services, that include two beds, umbrella and use of toilets. Bar or restaurant offers food and drinks to be payed apart. The best Bruschetta ever I have eaten was in one of these beaches; At Maronti Beach. We found also sea urchin stuck in the rocks near the beach. Do not cut them of, since the official sea urchin "fishing" period starts in November lasting only few months. 

Ischia TV

This particular beach is a natural Thermal beach called Sorgeto. The ground is so warm, you may cook a chicken for lunch if buried in the ground. Be aware of the sharp shells stuck in to the rocks, when going to swim. We got some cuts by those. 

Ischia.it

The main dish at Ischia besides the seafood is "Coniglio alla Ischitana", that stands for Ischian style rabbit. It is made with black olives and tomatoes, and it is slowly cooked in white wine. 

Sale e Pepe

Ischia has very little to offer what comes to wine, but we found this really strange and strong red wine to be used as a "conversation wine". Usually wine is drank with supper in Italy, only this wine appears best withs small portions, like a liquor. 

I suggest to stay one week at Ischia, perhaps two if you are planning to get some thermal cures too. 

Avoid July and August, when local inhabitants go there for a weekend and to holidays.

The traffic is something unbearable. 

Once you get back home, invite friends for diner. Perhaps offering them plates suggested above. 

My apology for the photos, all copied from the web. My own photos from this area are not available. 

Feel free to comment, ask questions or chat with other followers

Group reservations throughout by www.kairos-travel.eu

Cote d'Azur, western Liguria

The northern part of the Mediterranean

As someone living in the mediterranean, it is normal and easy to me to go to have a vacation to a places like Cannes, Nizza, Monte Carlo, San Remo or Bordighera. Most Italians from Lombardia and Piemonte regions have their summer houses over there. 

I truly understand the difficulties of many people living further away. So lets make this trip interesting and exciting enough so that you get in love in the beautiful French Riviera and Italian Liguria. 

How to get there? As most of you probably live in the US or in Asia, to get to Cannes ain't more difficult than getting from San Francisco to New Jersey or from Shanghai to the island of Sri Lanka. 

If you do not have trip planned, no worries as Aussie says. European low cost airline companies fly to Nice daily.  From Paris to Nice for example. Since I live in Italy and near Milan, I could fly from Malpensa to Nice. But I usually drive there. 

From Milan it is only 5 hours calculating traffic, some minor car accidents and road works. 

I understand that the late events in Nice might not invite you to go there, but if we think rationally, people die mostly for pollution and to cancer, than to terrorist attack. 

I spent nearly 4 summers in a place called Bordighera. It is a small touristic town near the French border and a town called Ventimiglia. 
Italians are similar to penguins according the fact that they all look pretty much the same, are well dressed and like to stay in large groups as an acquittance of me would say. And this is a bit true, ironically. It is mainly to notice in  the beach area where the sun beds are so close to each other, that you feel to belong to an other family, or that they all belong to yours. And in those families everything is possible; from diaper changing to skin cleaning. It is incredibly popular, specially among teenagers to clean up the skin in the beach. 
Another thing Italians love is to go everywhere at the same time. If you want to travel with comfort, use meal times. In Italy people have lunch between 12.30 and 14.30. At this period of time, highways are free and most people avoid taking flights. 
Also the beach suddenly empties when people go to have lunch queueing  and complaining at the same time. Best lunch time is just before, or just after. If you practice this "just before", you shall find everything in the menu and less nervous waiters. 

Some Italian hotels do not include any breakfast or overcharge it. Cappuccino and brioche would cost only €2,30 in the bar next door. Although you may find a bottle of wine in a shop for €5, restaurants charge again 400% on it; one glass costs €5, but a bottle might be 200% more expensive. Note that in Italy alcohol is poured with the discretion of the bar tender. Sometimes the glass is really full and sometimes just half full. 
With this I am not saying to avoid wine. Not at all. Just keep in mind that Italian government has risen every tax there is to be charged from small companies, like hotels and restaurant and alcohol is easy to overcharge. 

In the beach area you might get surprised that you actually need to hire two beds and an umbrella. It is a common costume in Italy. Hardly no one lays just on their beach towel. These beach stands offers showers, bar/restaurant, toilets and changing rooms. You are kind of left alone in a public beach. Add this to your holiday budget. In the Ligurian area a daily rent for two beds and one umbrella varies from €25 to €50 daily  depending of the beach stand. Italians have some barriers what comes to speaking other languages. Although they might understand english pretty well, many of them seem to be shy or have never practiced foreign languages and do not know how to build a sentence. If you speak even a tiny little bit of Italian, I can be sure you make friends for a life time. 
Italians love to listen how people live aboard, to comment it later on with friends. Sometimes they need to be assured that life in Italy is actually pretty good. And it is. Italians are warm and kind, and usually not vindictive towards those that may cause little trouble unconsciously. All those bad rumours about organised criminality do not disturb those who live an average life. But it is alive everywhere. 
As you may ask why some prices are unreasonably high, think that these people need to pay the organised criminality to keep their store safe. It is called "an extra insurance". And a lots of taxes. 

I used to holiday in Bordighera for few years, because one of my friends have the family summer house in there. The seawater is clean and the town small enough and safe to children. There is no sandy beaches, that makes you to wear gum shoes to be able to go to swim. 
In the evening and after diner, most people just hang in the "lungomare" that stands for the beach road showing of with their fancy clothes. Italians love fashion and certainly will not hide the wealthy life style. Make sure you fit to these "standards". Or just be yourself. Italians love gossip and giving them a reason, they won't waist it. 

Bit further away you may find San Remo that is well known to Italians for two reasons; Festival di San Remo and Flower Festival. Festival di San Remo is a sort of local song contest to old and new talents, and each year they invite international stars from show business. It usually takes place in the month of February or march. It is visible at Rai 1

I am not quite sure wether the Flower festival and the Carnival are at the same period of time. San Remo is known for beautiful flowers that are visible in the whole Liguria. I guess they just figured out how to merchandise it. 
San Remo is a larger town and it has sandy beaches. 

Ventimiglia is at the border of France and it is more a town than just a place for summer vacation. I used to go to do some shopping at Ventimiglia that is easy to reach by train, from both towns mentioned above 

Then moving to France one of the first places after the border is Menton. It is also a beautiful town and has sandy beaches. You might feel a medially that you left Italy and entered to France. The division is so clear. Food is different, and even the air is different. It is warmer here than in the Ligurian part of this sea. 

I was once invited by the company if my husband to attend F 1 race in Monte Carlo and I must admit that it is a good reason to visit it. I have been to Monte Carlo several times and I must admit that unless you have so much money that you barely know how to spend it, this micro state offers nothing to average tourist. It is nice to visit the old town and see where Grace Kelly lived her entire life after she left the film industry. 

To continue the coast line it is easy to arrive to Nice. Many acquittances I know love to spend their vacation in the area of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferret that is a small peninsula just before Nice. 
Nice offers a lot as it is a small town. The beach is not sandy, but with small stones. It didn't seem that deep as the one in Bordighera. Nice offers shopping areas restaurants and many hotels from which to choose. French hotels are not quite the same as you may think of German, or American ones. In some hotel the twin bed is actually a french twin bed and size 150x200cm. Two friends in such bed might feel a bit awkward. 

To continue the road towards Cannes I suggest to visit Antibes at Juan-Les-Pins peninsula. It is a small picturesc town and extremely popular among Italians. 

From all these areas my favourite is Cannes. It is an elegant town with beautiful buildings and shops. I love the atmosphere although I never have money enough to buy even a simple wallet from any of those shops. It is a place where I feel I can dream. I have never been to Cannes more than 4 days, and I guess it is kind of enough too. 

Cannes holds an annual event that is well known to everyone. It is called the film Festival of Cannes. At this town is to be seen George Clooney, Susan Sharadon, and many more passing by the red carpet showing of the latest fashion in evening dresses. 
It is usually kept just before the F 1 race of Monte Carlo, in the month of may. 
If you have the opportunity to visit both, do so. 
Cannes offers also sailing competitions and several beautiful yachts at the tourist harbour. Nothing to envy Monte Carlo. 

The best way to go around in Cannes is with a bicycle. I use to bring my own, but hiring isn't really expensive. I guess we were also lucky not to get rid of our bicycles while leaving them to the harbour and visiting the island of Sainte Marguerite. 
I suggest to visit and dine in the old town where a restaurant sets seats so close to the street it feel like dining in the traffic. 
At the top of the hill where it is easy to go with this touristic train; a sort of tram with the wheels. It offers a magnetic view. 

What comes to the island, be sure to leave early in the morning. There are no served beaches and finding a small spot in some of these bays can be hard after the second ferry. We settled to one of these bays that was far from every services and it took us 20 minutes to walk to the nearest bar/restaurant. A picnic basket is a valid option. I have seen people with canoes and small boats. It is a beautiful island to see it from the part of the sea. One disturbing thing that happens a bit of everywhere is that speed boats seem eager to anker just around the island. 
If I had a boat, last thing I'd like to do is to be close to the shore. 

Both France and Italy are part of EU and Schengen and € is the currency. 


If you want to know wether Cote d'Azur fits to your astro cartography, mail to astrologa.orsetta@gmail.com  for further information. 

For group reservations, please feel free to contact www.kairos-travel.eu

South Africa part 6

General feeling

I have never been keen to travel to Africa. I don't know why. But the feeling to go back to "my roots" didn't occur to me. 

www.saintecrois.org

Now that I am back, from the civilised area of the old continent, I am thrilled to discover more. This might have to do with astro cartography: one night I checked out our astro cartography and the area we visited had something with all of us. Wether it was negative or positive, I don't know quite sure, but certainly there was something that unified us all. 

To those that still seem to be unsure wether South Africa is a valid destination, I assure it is secure. At least in those two regions I visited: Eastern and Western Cape. 

First of all, families with children can feel themselves comfortable. Early dining fits to most families schedule. Restaurants, even in Cape Town close at 10pm and children are allowed to go with parents. 

In a smaller town you may feel surprised by the closing time of the restaurant 

that could be even at 9 pm. 

Most hotels offer a baby pool and restaurants once again, a special menu for children. 

Smoking is forbidden even in terras areas in most restaurants. Smokers need to exit the restaurant area if they wanna smoke. Throwing a cigarette out of the car window may cost 3 years in prison. 

If you are a smoker, buy a small jar from a supermarket and if you don't want to eat it, throw it away and use the jar as a car ashtray. 

In the summer the weather can be windy and dry and in just few week in the area we visited has got 104 bush fires. Some of them are set like the one you see down below near the Elephant Sanctuary at Knysna, but he other one was not. The South African fire department is so efficient that when bushfire occurs, in no time they fly over with helicopters. If the weather conditions allow them to. 

You may follow the fire brigades at Twitter to see wether there is a danger. 

Although it is nearly impossible to smoke anywhere inside in South Africa, The International departure terminal at the Cape Town's airport offers a smokers lounge with a bar. 

Each park we visited are family and wheelchair friendly; no stairs to climb up. With few exceptions: Cape of Good Hope. It is not possible to go to see the light house without climbing several steps. 

And in the cave near Oudtshoorn. No wheelchair path. 

Most parks are also educational since they help us with public awareness. There is still a lot of illegal hunting in South Africa. People buy small wild pets, teach them human friendly and once they are in the wilderness, they have no sense of fear of the humans that hunt them. I think it is coward and brutal behaviour. 

In every park the tour guides were kind and gave us huge amount of information. 

In this particular, I'm petting a cheetah baby. These animals can't be left free in the nature because they are used to humans and therefor an easy catch to hunters. 

As I am from Finland and we are famous of eating candies, specially salted liquorice; I didn't find anything to satisfy my need. Make sure you bring something from home. Candy eating is not what South Africans do. Shops have some sweets to carry on for the emergency bite, but candy stores are hard to find. These people eat fruit. It is nearly impossible to see obese people in South Africa. The aborigine population has some weight problems, but I assume (and I say assume, meaning that I don't know) that it might caused by their "irregular diet"; eating left overs and grasping something from here and there ain't good for the health. 

If you don't want to carry shampoo and balsam or shower soap among other things, you can find all the brands here. But the confections are family size. One bottle of shampoo wash the whole tourist group for two weeks. 

Fruit and juices are fresh and they really taste good. Our hotel offered good fresh fruit, but we wanted passion fruit or mango to add to our breakfast so we bought it.  As the climate is mite and similar to mediterranean it is possible to eat everything that is grown in the mediterranean area. 

And some exotic fruits too. 

My mango pineapple smoothie at Camps Bay

I didn't find areas in Cape town with high fashion shops. Some small boutiques sell brand clothes, shoes and leather goods. But areas as we Europeans are used to, like in Paris, Rome and New York with Channel, Armani or Ralph Lauren were no where to find. 

People in South Africa dress sportive elegant. That means golf or tennis like clothes. 

Sportive shoes and straight trousers. Wearing a skirt in a windy day may give that Marilyn Monroe effect: 

gds.it

There were no special occasion to attend any fancy party, but as I met this south African girl in my plane towards to Cape Town and we are friends at Instagram I saw photos of her in some party and they dressed really well. 

One night in a restaurant we saw a small girl, perhaps 2 years old, all dressed up with Burberry's. 

So elegance is there too, but you can't notice any "hoite coiture" in a street picture, like you would in Milan, in Berlin or in London. 

South Africans are also really nice. They treat tourist with great respect and we all have something to learn about them. Also people coming from elsewhere seem to adapt this attitude. I never got the feeling that I am fooled. One price fits all; tourist or local. 

As we all struggle with economic crisis, and companies fire people in order to download responsibility to few only, South Africa has adapted the "Asian" system. Every restaurant, hotel or shop has many employees. This makes the service efficient and fast. I understand that that with our actual trade union regulations we cannot afford this kind of system. But it is good to keep in mind. Giving job to many even with lower income and serve as many as possible secures income to many families and leave customers satisfied. 

Just to give you an idea. If I go to have a diner in some restaurants, even in Milan, I must choose a time the restaurant offers. Like either 7.30 pm or 9 pm.

This means that they want to have as many eaters as possible with a limited amount of personal. 

This don't apply in South Africa. These people are so efficient that you are out of the restaurant, before you even sit down. Several times we required slow dining. And I don't mean this negatively. It means that we asked the possibility to choose when the main course was to be brought in order to enjoy our meal, as mediterranean population would do.   

Eating to us is a social event. And we want to sit  around the table to chat and enjoy the taste of the food. Don't be shy by requiring it, if you are not in a hurry.

And in South Africa the food is excellent. There is no hurry to throw it to the throat at one bite. 

Generally 5 of us payed 1000 rand for a lunch and 1400 for diner, that included either cocktails or wine. That would make in those days currency € 65 for lunch and €100 for diner: dividing it to 5. Our tour leader said that the prices have risen since his last visit the year earlier. 

Don't forget to tip the waiters. Salaries are low and that little extra may be a relief. 

What comes to hotels and residences, our daily balance was €40 daily per person, including breakfast in most cases. 

ZAR 100

If you have left overs, it is all right to ask a doggy bag. You may eat it later or in case it is untouched, give it to one of those guys that assist Parking the cars in the streets. But then again, this issue is like a knife with two blades; giving food to others we assure their unbalanced diet. But also might help them out. I don't know what is the best solution. Money perhaps? 

We saw several charts against drinking and driving and we never saw anyone drunk. Although there is a lot of wine in circulation, the limit to purchase any alcohol is +18. And people seem to use it with moderation. 

In some parks people seem to sleep on a grass. But I don't know wether they were just homeless, or people that are used to do so. 

In Finland we also lay on a grass even in a central area and in a public park and in a warm summer day. 

So it didn't seem disturbing to me. 

If I would add a sport to this country it would be indeed cricket. It is an elegant sport with no aggressive outburst. 

South Africa is a safe country to visit. 

Interested in astro cartography? Mail a request to astrologa.orsetta@gmail.com

Want to join me to my next trip on January 2018? 
Mail me a request. 

For group reservations, contact www.kairos-travel.eu 

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South Africa part 5

Where to stay and what to buy

Our journey started from Cape Town and we stayed in a hotel of 3* in the district of Gardens, just under neath of Table Mountain. It was a nice hotel with extremely kind personal. Breakfast was regular and we had plenty of fresh fruit each morning. Coffee, tea, water and apple juice are available 24h for the hotel guests. Near to our hotel are plenty of restaurants, and locals to chill out. I found a beautician and thai massage close to our hotel.

Long Street Cape Town

At Oudshoorn we had a lovely residence, again in a 3* hotel, with swimming pool so clean that even frogs swam in it. We tried to kiss them but by the morning they were all gone. The owner told us that he sold all his properties 20 years ago and started this hotel business. On our arrival day we were nearly the only ones, but by the weekend it was fully booked. 

The place offers a bbq area, swimming pool and small cabins for 3 to 4 to sleep.

(Two beds are upstairs with no light.) 

Our hotel at Oudtshoorn

At Knysna we had a major surprise; it was nearly unpossible to fit us 5 in one place and the only one we could find was a house to rent for those three days. What a pity. I would have loved to tay there much longer. We stayed in this marvelous place called Thesen Island, where to get in, in order of security reasons, our driver needed to registrate his fingerprint, that was used as a key to the gate. And thos one here; this was the view from our terrace:

The first two nights were so bright due to the wind of erlier days, that I could even catch a shooting star, by laying one of those beach beds the landlord had left us to be used. 

I felt in love to this place. I feel I wanna go back and perhaps rent some of these houses for a longer period of time. This island offers nice boutiques, and beautifully elegant dining. 

We had a lovely neighbours too; three german ladies that kindly borrowed some coffee at the first morning to be able to wake up. Our land lord had left some coffee, but we are Serbian, Finnish and Croatian. We bath in coffee: We need a lots of coffee. 

Our last overnight place was at Franschhoek, known for it's wineries. We rented again one house with three bedrooms and it looked like this: 

Our landlady was a really nice person who had left to us some of their own wine to taste, among some olive oil (to be payed apart). As a dog lover it was to our pleasure to notice they had 5 dogs. 

And again I felt I want to come back some day soon. In this very same house. 

Generally speaking, South Africans are really nice and it attacts to those that work there although they might come from other countries. 

If you plan your older days and do not want to spend winters with dark and snow or icy rain, South Africa can be a valid option. There are several houses to buy or rent and depending of the location and the estate, houses with garden, swimming pool, view and other extras these houses are still less expencive than in most EU countries. The choise of a real estate to custom your needs is various. 

I am seriously thinking of invesing to South Africa, as soon as I am finished with my parental obligations. 

If house is a bit too much to buy, then try other options. 

If you love Italians shoes, hand bags, and design, South Africa is not the right place to plan such purchases. South Africa is certainly wellknown about diamants and stones called tanzanite. It is a bright blue stone and beautiful with diamonds. 

For a modest souvenir, there is plenty to choose in order of local jewerly and bigotterie. 

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At Cape Town the Green Market Square holds a local African market, where visitors can buy painted and printed art, fabrics or small statues. It is normal to bargain. 

For the bigger statues, I suggest Franschhoek 

You may also like to buy some wild food cans, available in some small shops, and in the airport, or perhaps wine you have tasted. Wineries are more than willing to  deliver it to your home, unless the suitcase can handle the weight of these bottles. I am an expert traveller, and I can proof to you that in a small hard covered trolley I can fix up to 8 bottles of wine. But it must be able to carry up to 20 kg of weight. Each bottle holds 750 ml of liquid and the botel with the liquid weights 1,5-2 kg and I use some laundry to soften the area around the bottles. Nowadays, and to my own comfort I let the delivery company to handle it to me, or I contact the import company. Witch is actually really hilarious, since they allow you to taste them all over. We felt in love to this Sauvignon Blanc and thought that it might be available in every liquor store, but it wasn't. It is produced near Mossalbaai and we couldn't find the winery to go and purchase some of it. 

I never found any pearl in my oysters, but I noticed that ostrich leather is available every where: Also the fake ones. And so are the pearls; fake and real ones. 

At Outdshoorn we found beautiful lama wool covers for reasonable price. 

The local lamb's skin oil is available as skin care items. It didn't smell. 

One of the first thing I bought was a hat. The sun is really strong and there is no way to put sun tan lotion, nor sun protection to the sculp. 

My souvenirs cost about €300 all together and some of the daily extras I payed in cash, that makes my pocket money to €500 for two weeks. 

Hair dresser for wash and blow dry my hair and nails done with a nail studio cost like in Italy; €12 to €15

We also used laundry services and for few € all our clothes came back clean in just 24 h. 

Hotels may charge more for their laundry service. 

In smaller towns shops close at 5pm while supermarkets stay open until 8pm, and restaurants close 9pm mostly. 

We had some trouble by changing currency. Some of the exchange offices are closed on weekends and they do really a lot of paper work. Be prepared to wait a half an hour before you change €100 to Rands (ZAR) 

You can also withdrawal money out of cash dispenser, remembering to switch it to international withdrawal. I forgot to do so and I had to use the exchange offices instead. 

In one of those I met a flirting guy who promised o pay a visit to my hotel. 

But I guess he was married, because he never showed up. 

Wanna join to my next south African tour in January 2018? 

Read my earlier posts and mail a request. 

For group hotel reservations only contact www.kairos-travel.eu

All photos above (behalf one) are from the author. Please ask a permission to copy and paste them elsewhere.