Travel
La Residence (Franchoek)
I annul all expeditions, prepossessed
as I am with my honeymoon suite,
all red and ravishing and oriental,
with sunken bath and outdoors pool.
I refuse to leave it, much to the
frustration of Corinne. Next
morning over breakfast on the
superb terraces --between multiple
“Oh, there’s another whale!”-she tells me that they’d planned to
fill my bath with roses, light candles,
send champagne and chocolatedipped strawberries. Then, I could
experience their honeymoon suite
in its entirety. I say for that they’d
need to find me a man.
“We can furnish that too,”
Corinne smiles.
“I’m very picky,” I sigh.
“ ry us,” orinne is confident.
Certainly, there seems little
the lovely staff here wouldn t
oblige with!
Mount Nelson (Cape Town): Cape
Town airport isn’t the homeliest, but
the Mount Nelson compensates with
a classy airport pick-up, a Mercedes
Benz and in it Zaheir, the most
adorable chauffeur who provides
an animated guide to Cape Town’s
history, culture, architecture.
His enthusiasm for Cape Town
is unassailable. But then, we pass
his home, sea-facing.
“Nice,” I say.
“Yes,” he replies. He is one of the
luckier ones, he adds. Soon he’s
recalling the infamous
“District 6”, and how blacks and
coloured people like himself were
extirpated from their homes when it
captured white fancy to expropriate
their land. Zaheir recalls the
cruelties of apartheid, but without
rancour. “Apartheid” is a taboo
subject in South Africa. Just brush
history under the carpet and wash
one’s hands of the dirty truth. It’s
good to finally hear the truth, even
if it jars and mars the scenic route.
Soon, too soon, for I’m enjoying
Zaheir’s company and conversation,
we reach the hotel.
Historic, iconic, 115-years-old, the
Mount Nelson is like an heirloom.
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi greets
you at the entrance, an air of
grandeur escorts you through the
33