Here are the tidbits I had written as notes on my phone over the past few days! Ill try and keep up to date from now on so they wont be as long..
Wednesday June 1st
Ok, so it's day two of our travels to Joburg. Currently feeling a combination of exhaustion, "I told ja so" attitude, and impatience - but desperately trying to find the humour in all of this. Running on about 1 hour of sleep from when we first began our journey in Providence, and unfortunately we still have a significant leg ahead of us - 10 hr flight to JB. All i really want right now is a good nights sleep. In a bed.
Let me just recap the past few hours for you...
So we (but really Alanna) decided that we were going to go to Zurich for a couple hours before returning to the airport. I expressed that I didn't think it was a good idea given that we were venturing out so late in the day but knew that Alanna really wanted to get out and explore. In any case, we had several rude encounters - with one man literally grabbing my arm and pushing me a side while waiting in line for groceries, and we never made it to the Lindt Factory - the "highlight"of the trip. Realizing that we didn't have enough time to visit the factory, but having nothing else to do in the area, we decide to head back to the airport earlier than we had planned. After paying for our tickets we miss the train while Alanna is asking for directions to the appropriate train terminal. The joke is that I thought I knew the right direction to go in but apparently I didn't make this clear enough - Alanna made her point by informing me "I don't speak German". Anyways, after catching our breath from having sprinted to the already departed train, we purchase another set of tickets and hop on the next train. Of course we get on the wrong carriage - business class - and have to walk through two carriages until we reach standard class.
Feeling relieved that we were finally on our way I start to chuckle while Alanna sits across from me straight-faced and shaking her noggin as usual. We get up to leave the train and I hit my head on the overhead luggage container - hang on I though the Swiss were meant to be tall?? Leave it to me to hurt myself wherever possible. Poor design I must say.
Upon arrival at the airport we try to do a quick check-in at a kiosk and, after first selecting the single malfuncitoning machine and then being asked to enter some random numbers (we had no idea what they were asking for), we decided to hit up the regular line. Thankfully it didnt take long and we quickly headed through security where I finally had the chance to nap on a bench for 45 mins while Alanna checked her email.
Friday June 3rd
We have learnt our lesson - South Africa really does get cold at night. Alanna woke up this morning mumbling "this is fricking ridiculous dawg. Or, as Michael would say, egggg! I'm wet - can you get cold sweats?". You know im dying laughing at this point. I find watching alanna in despair and/or frustration quite amusing -im bad, I know.
We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon visiting a lion park where we had the chance to cuddle with the lion cubs. I must say that lions are quickly becoming one of my favourite animals. Although they are indeed part of the cat family, and therefore technically inferior to dogs, their mannerisms and playful nature actually remind me very much of large cuddly puppies. Rather than feeling frightened I was tempted to curl up with them - even the large guys! I also kissed a giraffe. What can I say we have a special bond given our long legs that we have in common ;)
Overall, definetly not a bad start to the trip. We wrapped up the day by cooking chicken satay with peanut sauce and noodles - Alanna's recipe. And now here we are blogging...
Wednesday June 1st
Ok, so it's day two of our travels to Joburg. Currently feeling a combination of exhaustion, "I told ja so" attitude, and impatience - but desperately trying to find the humour in all of this. Running on about 1 hour of sleep from when we first began our journey in Providence, and unfortunately we still have a significant leg ahead of us - 10 hr flight to JB. All i really want right now is a good nights sleep. In a bed.
Let me just recap the past few hours for you...
So we (but really Alanna) decided that we were going to go to Zurich for a couple hours before returning to the airport. I expressed that I didn't think it was a good idea given that we were venturing out so late in the day but knew that Alanna really wanted to get out and explore. In any case, we had several rude encounters - with one man literally grabbing my arm and pushing me a side while waiting in line for groceries, and we never made it to the Lindt Factory - the "highlight"of the trip. Realizing that we didn't have enough time to visit the factory, but having nothing else to do in the area, we decide to head back to the airport earlier than we had planned. After paying for our tickets we miss the train while Alanna is asking for directions to the appropriate train terminal. The joke is that I thought I knew the right direction to go in but apparently I didn't make this clear enough - Alanna made her point by informing me "I don't speak German". Anyways, after catching our breath from having sprinted to the already departed train, we purchase another set of tickets and hop on the next train. Of course we get on the wrong carriage - business class - and have to walk through two carriages until we reach standard class.
Feeling relieved that we were finally on our way I start to chuckle while Alanna sits across from me straight-faced and shaking her noggin as usual. We get up to leave the train and I hit my head on the overhead luggage container - hang on I though the Swiss were meant to be tall?? Leave it to me to hurt myself wherever possible. Poor design I must say.
Upon arrival at the airport we try to do a quick check-in at a kiosk and, after first selecting the single malfuncitoning machine and then being asked to enter some random numbers (we had no idea what they were asking for), we decided to hit up the regular line. Thankfully it didnt take long and we quickly headed through security where I finally had the chance to nap on a bench for 45 mins while Alanna checked her email.
Friday June 3rd
We have learnt our lesson - South Africa really does get cold at night. Alanna woke up this morning mumbling "this is fricking ridiculous dawg. Or, as Michael would say, egggg! I'm wet - can you get cold sweats?". You know im dying laughing at this point. I find watching alanna in despair and/or frustration quite amusing -im bad, I know.
We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon visiting a lion park where we had the chance to cuddle with the lion cubs. I must say that lions are quickly becoming one of my favourite animals. Although they are indeed part of the cat family, and therefore technically inferior to dogs, their mannerisms and playful nature actually remind me very much of large cuddly puppies. Rather than feeling frightened I was tempted to curl up with them - even the large guys! I also kissed a giraffe. What can I say we have a special bond given our long legs that we have in common ;)
Overall, definetly not a bad start to the trip. We wrapped up the day by cooking chicken satay with peanut sauce and noodles - Alanna's recipe. And now here we are blogging...
which lion park did you go to?! Baby lions are SO awesom! Did you get to bottle feed them as well? And be careful Giraffe's have really long tongues, they might try to french kiss you!
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