Category Archives: Lifestyle

Jarryds Espresso bar and eatery – Best breakfast ever!!!

My husband and I love to travel. We have visited about 11 countries so far and savoured the different foods each culture has to offer. We have always said that we will travel local destinations once we have kids. Last week hubby, toddler and myself spent a week in Cape Town, while we were there I did some research on a few places for Jason’s birthday breakfast (because I have an insatiable appetite to celebrate any occasion with food) and found a place not far from our AirBnB. Jarryds eatery looked like any ordinary restaurant at face value from the street. Ohhhh, boy did I get it wrong.

As soon as we entered, I was mesmerized by friendly staff, great smelling coffee and the minimalistic decor. It’s not a massive restaurant but each section from the barista station to the kitchen is elegantly positioned for the perfect vision to crystallize into one of the best breakfast experiences.

I ordered the mocha and it was the perfect combination of coffee to chocolate.

The breakfast menu is out of this world from a Benedict Bar (poached egg salad) to a Toast bar (featuring banana bread with espresso butter).

We shared a 4 Way from the Benedict Bar which featured each one of their eggs Benedict.All I can say is WoW, the best breakfast from any breakfast I have eaten on any of my travels.

 

If you are looking for a comfortable hang out spot in Cape Town, it’s definitely worth trying out. It left me wanting to come back to try their other inspirational dishes off the menu.

Jarryd’s is kid and dog friendly. My little girl is extremely shy and she loved Simone and Blayne (waitress and host) to the point that she was blowing them kisses when we were leaving. I would love to meet the owners next time I am in Cape Town to hear about their journey on how they have nurtured and grown this into the admirable establishment it has become.

https://www.jarryds.com/

90 Regent Road, Sea Point, Cape Town

*This blog post is based on my experience and not sponsored.

THE MELROSE GALLERY LAUNCHES SCULPTX

THE MELROSE GALLERY LAUNCHES SCULPTX
– URBAN SCULPTURE PARK
– SCULPTX FAIR AND GROUP SHOWING
– REMEMBERING PAUL DU TOIT – ‘PAUL’ BOOK LAUNCH

7TH SEPTEMBER – 8TH OCTOBER 2017

Melrose Arch has partnered with The Melrose Gallery to launch SculptX, an exciting new sculpture programme, in September 2017.
SculptX consists of The SculptX Park and The SculptX Fair, and includes the book launch of ‘Paul’, the second monograph of  recently-passed sculptor Paul du Toit’s work.

The SculptX Park is an urban sculpture park that will see large sculptural works by some of South Africa’s foremost sculptors gracing public areas throughout the precinct on a permanent basis. The first of these sculptures will be officially unveiled on the 7th of September 2017 and others will roll out at different times of the year.

The SculptX Park aims to add to the beauty of the precinct whilst providing a valuable platform for sculptors to showcase their works and added value for those who work, live and play in Melrose Arch. “We expect that The SculptX Park will become a popular destination for art lovers and tourists alike” explains Craig Mark, Director, The Melrose Gallery.

The SculptX Fair will run for the month of September every year and will consist of various sculpture related activations and exhibitions in different venues throughout the Melrose Arch precinct.

The inaugural SculptX Fair launches with ‘SculptX’ a large group exhibition at The Melrose Gallery that features works by more than 30 of South Africa’s most established and emerging sculptors and a few invited artists from other countries. The exhibition opens to the public on 07 September and runs until 08 October.

Participating artists include the likes of Willie Bester, Pat Mautloa, Noria Mabasa, Wilma Cruise, Anton Smit, Carl Roberts, Pitika Ntuli, Gordon Froud, Ndabuko Ntuli, Arlene Wandera (Kenya), Collen Maswanganyi, Paul du Toit, Thabo Pitso, George Halloway, Andre Stead, Stanislaw Trzebinski, Rodney Place, Thulani Zondo, William Sweetlove (Belgium), Samuel Allerton, Ella Cronje, Trevor Potter, Martyn Schickerling, Alexander von Kritzinger, Jaco Kruger, Monica van den Berg and Heidi Hadaway amongst others.

‘Remembering Paul du Toit’

One of the highlights of the SculptX Fair 2017 will be an exhibition of more than 30 artworks by Paul du Toit that will form part of the group exhibition and the Johannesburg release of his book which will take place in The Melrose Gallery. Ashraf Jamal, the editor, and Lorette du Toit, Paul’s widow, will attend the opening.

This captivating book includes contributions from 5 writers who were given full access to the archive established after Paul’s death. They drew inspiration from the many notebooks, scribblings, thoughts and diaries left behind to explore the various influences on Paul’s creative output.

Editor Ashraf Jamal opens the book by calling for Paul’s oeuvre to be reassessed by the art world. Tim Leibbrandt explores Paul’s love of punk music in ‘A Punk Odyssey’. Anna Stielau analyses Paul’s search for Utopia and Sarah McCarthy reflects on Paul’s love of sculpture and specifically his public piece ‘Into Tomorrow’. Archivist Claire McNulty highlights some intriguing aspects of Paul’s creative legacy.
The book is richly and generously illustrated with many of Paul’s standout works and examples of the diverse mediums in which he worked.

The Melrose Gallery intends to continue to expand on our efforts to provide a valuable platform for African sculptors in Johannesburg. We welcome approaches from sculptors who are keen to present concepts for the myriad of spaces that exist within the Melrose Arch precinct for the Urban Sculpture Park and SculptX 2018.

For more details on SculptX:
Craig Mark on craig@themelrosegallery.com or visit http://www.themelrosegallery.com or http://www.facebook.com/themelrosegallery

Our Airbnb experience in Cape Town

We always choose to stay in a hotel or with family when we are on holiday.This time we decided to try an Airbnb in Cape Town when we took our mid year break from our ever so crazy life in Gauteng.

The booking process was effortless, we downloaded the Airbnb app, searched for our favoured locations, read the reviews and ratings. After much consideration we decided on a 2 bedroom apartment in Camps Bay overlooking the beach on one side and the mountains on the other side. The location was perfect as it was less than 100 meters away from the beach and strip of restaurants overlooking the beach.There was also a Pick n Pay within walking distance.

Sonnekus is the name of the building and hosted by a lovely couple. It is beautifully decorated and feels like home away from home.Bonus, it comes with a lockup garage.The kitchen was fully fitted, including a dishwasher and washing machine all (with washing powder)the way to crockery for my toddler. The beds and pillows were comfortable, towels were provided and placed on a heated towel rail.Toiletries are also provided.The drawbacks for us;both bathrooms only had showers and my toddler prefers to bathe in a tub but we managed and survived a bit of fussing.We could not get the air conditioner to work (we probably did not know how to put it on) and the heater in the master bedroom was not working.

 

Given we now travel with a toddler, my choice of accommodation will likely be Airbnb as it allows me to prepare/warm food when I need to for my toddler.It provides a more affordable option for our meals because we ate indoors on some of the days in front of the tv, drinking wine and craft beer or relaxed having breakfast on the balcony overlooking the beach on one side, lions head and 8 of the 12 Apostles on the other side.

I would rate Sonnekus in Camps Bay a 8/10 and is definitely worth a try if you are looking for a place to stay when in Cape Town.

Happy travelling!