Heartbreaking and raw. These are the words I've used to describe Kristin Hannah's latest novel, The Women, whenever I rave about it to anyone looking for their next page-turner. Hannah expertly weaves a fictional tale among real events and highlights often-overlook narratives. The Women follows Frankie McGrath in the naivety of her early 20s as she enlists as a nurse in the Vietnam War. It…
Continue reading: Book Review: The Women
Switzerland is breathtaking, both in beauty and price. And the Glacier Express, one of its fantastic scenic rail journeys, is no exception. As soon as I started looking into the train, social media algorithms started to feed me reels and short videos. This both fuelled my interest and provided me with some great cost-cutting tips which ultimately led me to stop umming and ahing and debating…
Continue reading: Switzerland's Sensational Scenery: A Rail Journey on the Glacier Express
Some trips plan themselves and everything comes together so easily. But often that doesn't happen and what we initially thought we'd plan, changes. Sometimes more than once. My trip to Switzerland in February 2024 was changed multiple times before everything finally fell into place. I knew I had to get from Rome to France and that I wanted to take a scenic route. After initially planning on…
Continue reading: Captivating Chur: A Day in Switzerland's Oldest Town
Rome is spectacular. Italy's capital city is like the cool kid who invites you to all its haunts, hangouts, and hidden corners. It wants to be known, and explored. After all, every cobbled street and winding alleyway leads to a new, fantastic, and (probably) hundreds-of-years-old landmark. I was fortunate enough to spend two full days in the Eternal City. The person I was travelling with led me…
Continue reading: Roaming through Rome: A 48-Hour Guide
My introduction to Kristin Hannah was through The Nightingale. A powerful and deeply moving story of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, in World War II-era France. Having never read anything by the author before, I didn't know what to expect but the book's blurb didn't thrill me. Despite this, I found myself captivated by the story almost immediately, and far more than I thought I would be. The…
Continue reading: Book Review: The Nightingale
Mist rolled its way through the pine forest, falling onto the road and then dropping into the valley below. We could barely see as we wound our way up the quiet country road towards Kaapsehoop, all the while and quite hopelessly, scanning the trees for signs of the area's famed wild horses. Kaapsehoop is a quirky mountain-top village just 28 kms outside of Mpumalanga's Nelspruit. Turning off the…
Continue reading: Captivating Kaapsehoop: A 24-Hour Guide to the Enchanting Mining Village
Welcome to Paul's, your new best friend on the Waterfront block. I spent the better part of a year eagerly anticipating the arrival of Paul Patisserie, a French bakery and restaurant that originated in Croix, France and was well known in Johannesburg. I'd first been told about it over a year ago, and started hearing from others about how authentic and delicious the food was. One person described…
Continue reading: Paul Patisserie: Perfect Plates and Pastries
Vergelegen is an estate worthy of several visits. Its expansive grounds and gardens – there are 17 in total – could be covered within a day but to fully explore, and more importantly, to fully appreciate all that this esteemed estate has to offer, a few visits are in order. I ventured to the estate for the first time on a balmy summer day at the start of February 2023. Driving down the impressive…
Continue reading: Vergelegen Wine Estate: A Guide to its Grounds and Gardens
Hazendal Wine Estate is fast becoming the estate that has it all. The family-friendly estate offers something for everyone from their Pivnushka beer garden and Russian tea ceremony to their Babushka picnics and their part-education-part-play centre, Wonderdal. They even have a golf course and fun putting park where friends and families can get together for a friendly round of putting. Nestled…
Continue reading: Hazendal's Kleine Hazen Putting Park: Fun for the Whole Family
Our last full day in the Kruger, we arose early, packed the car once more and said goodbye to Satara Rest Camp shortly after the gates opened. We were heading south, to Berg-en-Dal, one of the park's newer rest camps. We'd planned out the route the night before, deciding to stop at Tshokwane picnic spot, Sukusa and Afsaal Trader's Rest - another picnic spot. Depending on how our timing went, we'd…
Continue reading: A Kruger Adventure: 24 hours at Berg-en-Dal Rest CampAllow analytics? It uses cookies to show which stories and photos readers enjoy, and only runs if you agree.