I hate alarm clocks. It’s pitch-black outside, but I know in half an hour the first light will begin to glow, turning the night sky from navy to cobalt, followed swiftly by the first rays of gold. I scan the sky for clouds. Yes! But perhaps too much cloud? Well, that’s usually better than no […]
The 95% before the click 📸 Read More »
What? A road-trip without the furries… whatever next! Does it even meet the definition of a road trip?. Not sure who felt more dismayed – us or them? Wednesday Darcy watched disapprovingly as we packed our luggage into the narrow (but deeper than you think) boot, and into every other crevice we could find without
“Fun is Back” : Our MG Roadtrip from Joburg to Cape Town Read More »
It’s hard to keep your eyes on the road when your route is flanked with billowing fields of candy-floss pinks and icing-sugar white blooms. Heralding Easter holidays, road trips and the start of my favourite season, the fields of cosmos bring a final brilliant splash of colour to the South African landscape that will soon
Cosmos: A heavenly universe of pink and white Read More »
There is little more heartbreaking than seeing anyone who is sharp of mind ending up physically incapacitated. To be alert and willing in every way, yet unable to move about seems sadly unjust. This is how we felt when my parent’s beloved German Shepherd, Polo, became prematurely lame in her hind quarters at the relatively
Polo gets a new lease on life! Read More »
Possibly the only thing in Japan that isn’t completely punctual is the advent of cherry blossom flowering. The more I read about timing one’s trip to ensure that you experience cherry blossom season, the more emphatic the advice to just turn up and focus on enjoying Japan as a whole. Such is the transient window
Cherry blossom season in Japan 🌸 Read More »
There is nothing that makes a dog happier than the promise of miles of open space ahead of them, snaking, tree-lined pathways, and perhaps a dam or two to splash through. All of this preferably leash-free. For our two dogs, every car journey is filled with promise, unbridled excitement and the taste of adventure. “One
Wild at heart: Old gardens and young dogs Read More »
Although I have no idea how they quantify it, the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland are in the top 10 Happiest Countries in the world, according to a 2018 Forbes survey. Well, all I can say is that we could feel the warmth the minute we landed in Copenhagen airport. And
Getting to grips with the Danish concept of ‘Hygge’ Read More »
Retirement. Such an interesting concept.I worked in marketing for the financial services industry for many years and the images that we would select to advertise retirement products would depict a good looking, silver-haired couple gazing with confidence at the setting sun from the deck of their yacht or their palm tree-fringed patio. My point being
If this is “retirement”, bring it on… Read More »
I used to dream of being able to travel indefinitely. Of moving from one awesome destination to the next, enjoying one mind-blowing experience after another. I thought that if you had time you could really maximise the cost of an overseas air ticket, instead of having to rush back to the office.
Is there such a thing as too much holiday? Read More »
It’s still a few hours from dinner, but the restaurants and bars on the sidewalks of Milan, are starting to fill up with all kinds of people. It’s time for aperitivo. This is not just for tourists. Local families, the cool set, business colleagues and couples; gather for a sundowner and a snack. But to
Learning the aperitivo lifestyle Read More »
When I started packing for our trip to Italy and France, I googled the weather obsessively almost every day in the preceding week. It’s entirely impossible to imagine what the weather could be like a hemisphere away, when you are sleeping under a single sheet in a 30 degree Johannesburg, praying for rain.
What to pack for Milan in April Read More »
I had a cheese-curls-and-pajama day yesterday. Let me explain. I recently left my C-suite job in a blue chip company. I took a long, careful look across the abyss and leapt. I believed all the people who said, yes, there is life beyond the corporate world. You will never look back.
Cheese curls and pyjamas Read More »
A blind trust is a financial arrangement in which someone’s investments are managed without the person knowing where the money is invested. I had always thought a blind trust was when a blind person put their trust in a seeing person. What is it called when a blind person puts their trust in blind person?
The early 1990s were carefree days. Looking back, our life during this decade seemed to be characterised by being old enough to know better and young enough not to care. It was an historic time in South Africa – Nelson Mandela had just been released – signalling a period of enormous hope, uncertainty, excitement and
The early 90’s: Being social without social media 😎 Read More »
Les saveurs de la vie is a blog about lifestyle, travel, food, photography and other musings. We are Nikki and Geoff, married since 1995 and based in Johannesburg, South Africa 🇿🇦.