Day 101

I miss my puppies. Along with many people...but I was thinking about it tonight, and how I haven't seen them in 101 days. :| I hope they haven't forgotten about me.

Today, of course, was another WONDERFUL day! My camera is currently charging, but while I write my blog for the night, I will upload the pictures from Tim's camera, to Facebook. Then the ones from today's adventures will follow.

Up I got, sleepy, but happy as usual. I got ready and went out to the dining room table for breakfast. It was delicious as always. When we finished, we didn't really have a plan. I sat on my computer for a bit, contemplating going back to get that ring I spoke about just a few days ago. I spoke to Heloise about it, and she asked Alta some questions about different jewellers etc. In the end Alta told us the best places to go, price and value wise. I wasn't sold on the idea because I was so in love with this other ring, but I figured I'd take a look at some point anyway. Some more time had passed by, and I was sort of wandering aimlessly around the house. Alta asked me if I wanted to go to the mall with her, as she was headed there anyway. I jumped in the car with her, and off we went. When we arrived, she showed me the best store to go to. I looked in the window and saw some very pretty pieces. Alta had to go food shopping, and told me we'd either meet back at the jewellery shop, or I could find her in Woolworths. I went into the store and instantly saw a ring I was interested in. The guy took it out for me to try on, and it looked perfect. Simple, but beautiful. And it made a statement. He told me about it, and told me the price. I told him I was still trying to decide between that one and another one I had seen so I would think about it. He then told me that if I returned, he'd see if his boss would let him reduce the price at all. I went to find Alta, and worked out the cost in my head. It was considerably less than the one I saw first. Alta and I spoke about it, and she explained that prices at the Waterfront are jacked up because of all the tourists. As I was completely happy with paying the price I was told, for the one I had just tried on, I decided I would take her back in and show her. She paid for the groceries, and back to the jewellers we went. When we walked in, the guy took the ring out right away. Alta agreed that it was very pretty, and she spoke to them in a different language. She had told them that it was my first time visiting, and that I was from Canada. The two men were very nice, and they took the price down. I was already sold on the ring, so this was a huge bonus. I paid for it, put it on, and walked out of the store a very happy lady. I LOVE tanzanite. I'm debating whether or not to go back and get some earrings for my top holes. We'll see how the rest of the trip pans out though.

We came back to the house and brought in the groceries. Everyone had decided they were going to go to Paarl mall. The one I had just been at. So, back into the car I got, and off we went. Our first stop was lunch. It was delicious - as I'm finding most food is here - After that the boys and I went into a toy store while Tim and Heloise went off to look at something for Christmas I assume. When they returned, we walked to the car and set off for The Giraffe House.

Well...we arrived, and realized why it was called THE Giraffe House. It's because there was only THE ONE giraffe. BUT!!! He's a famous giraffe. His name is Gerry and he is in "Free Willy 4". That's right, they've just filmed a 4th one. We're trying to figure out how Giraffes will be incorporated into a story about killer whales...but after much thought and no great answers, we'll have to wait to rent it and see. There were other animals on this...farm? We saw a monkey I fell in love with. He was so cute. He moved around so much that it was tough to get a good picture of him, but I snapped quite a few, both at the beginning of the trek, and at the end. We saw a Zebra, some cute but disgusting Meerkats, a camel, rabbits, very creepy birds, goats, turtles, and dinner...aka Bontebok. I walked around taking lots of pictures while the others hurried along. Josh stuck to me like a shadow, which was kind of nice. When we caught up with the others, they were watching a snake show. (Heloise and I later commented on the good looking snake man, and there were sooooo many "That's What She Said!" moments...but no one to join in my laughter. I could hardly contain myself). I sat down and watched, and also pet a couple of the snakes. They felt cool, but they still put a gross taste in my mouth. It's a whole light bulb thing. (My family will understand this). I got an ice lolly, a chocolate brownie Heaven thing, and as the wrapper said...it was a little taste of heaven. When the snake show finished, I walked around some more, while the boys and Tim played cricket, and Heloise watched. There was also a bouncy castle (Shaped like a giraffe), that Nathaniel and Zach went in. I took many more pictures, and after what must have been a couple of hours, we were on the move.

We made our way home, and after spending some time uploading pictures from cameras etc, it was time to get ready for dinner. I put on one of my favourite dresses, and my heels...added to my eye shadow, and was ready to go. As the boys filed into the kitchen, I helped get their shoes on. We then headed out for dinner. This wasn't just your ordinary dinner either. We arrived at Spier (the same place I pet the Cheetahs), and we walked towards "Moyo" the restaurant. We were then shown to our table which was in a tree house! It was a beautiful setting. There was a MASSIVE buffet. I can't remember how long the waiter said it was, but you wouldn't believe all the different stations. I was going to take a picture, but thought I might get some weird looks. It began with them serving us salad that had pear, blue cheese, and nuts on top with a raspberry vinaigrette. Then, when we walked to the buffet, there were more salads to choose from, a vegetarian station, Fish station with Calamari etc, something I could not pronounce or type was the station that had bonte bok and ox tail (which I meant to grab as well, but forgot), Meat station, fruit, and then desserts. And I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea. There was a TON of food. I loaded up my plate right away, with things I hadn't tried before, and things I knew I'd like. I didn't want to leave any room on my plate, as the more I fit on the first time, meant the less trips I'd have to make. I didn't want to attempt walking on the gravel in my heels more times than I had to. It was all soooo good, but I had taken so much the first time around, that I was ready for dessert instead of a second plate of food. I took Josh and Nathaniel with me. Josh and I piled up with so many desserts, my plate was a bit of a delicious mountain. Nathaniel for some reason just got fruit. Weirdo :p When we got back to the table, Tim commented on how much food we had, but I didn't mind at all. All you can eat means take as much as humanly possible. I ate all of the delicious things, and tried some not so delicious treats before tapping out. A few minutes later we were told there were marshmallows. Josh went down and roasted some for me. There's ALWAYS room for marshmallows. My explanation? - They're squidgy enough that they squeeze themselves into the tiniest holes you have left - That's the only logical reasoning I could come up with...but I like it :p We took a picture of all of us together. We first tried with the timer but it was too dark to see our faces, so next we had the waiter take it. I say that like it was easy though. It took way more coordination than I expected, but eventually we got it done, and I think the result ended up being a nice one. By the time we left the restaurant, it was 10pm. :| There was no way I was going to get a chance to go on the treadmill tonight. GREAT! Eat like a pig, and unable to work it off. Guess I'll be working twice as hard tomorrow. Now I'm in bed, and should be fast asleep as I'll have to be up in less than 7 hours, but of course I'm going to post pictures first :p So I better get on that. Thanks for reading again :D I don't think this is my best piece, but that's what happens when you have so much to tell, so little time, and are thinking of sleep. Good Night xx