Over Yonder Hill I'm Gonna Get Me Some BBQ

I haven't been nearly as conscientious about writing about my travels as I had hoped. I've been to New York City over 10 times and still haven't written a single post about it, but sometimes it's the little towns that inspire one to get writing again and that is what Port Matilda, Pennsylvania did for me...

A few week-ends ago a friend of mine suggested the mad idea of riding our bicycles to Port Matilda. Normally I only ride my bike when the car is broken, or there is no petrol in it, or when there is nowhere cheap to park, or when Ivor and I can't decide who will be the designated driver for the evening, but I certainly don't do it for ... fun!

Don't be fooled... 8 miles means still many km's to go

The draw card however, was the opportunity to eat at Clem's Wood-Fired BBQ. One of the best things about America (certainly 1 of the top 5 in my book) is barbecue. While every country seems to have their own take on cooking meat outdoors, the American version of slow cooking meat for many hours over a wood fire is ridiculously delectable, so delectable, in fact, that I willingly agreed to ride my rusty purple Walmart bicycle 12 miles (19.311233 km) to Port Matilda. http://www.clemsfire.com/ This type of barbecue should not, however, be confused with the other American version of throwing a hamburger patty on a gas grill and calling it a barbeque.

 

Bellefonte Central Bicycle Path

The town of Port Matilda is in fact, and I apologise to the 638 (yes I looked that up on wikipedia) residents, a shithole. I didn't know that yet and I actually quite liked the quaint sound of the name and so, on a sunny Saturday morning, our group of 4 set off. We met at Sunset Park in State College and started down the Bellefonte Central bicycle path. It's a lovely path that I had never used before and I was almost enjoying myself as we weaved through the golf course at Toftrees. The major uphill out of Happy Valley was a climb of over 600 feet. I've always joked about the 'mountains' in Pennsylvania being merely hills but I withdraw that now that I've pedaled over them. There was, I must admit, some swearing and gnashing of teeth but the view from the top smoothed away those tired leg muscles and woe.

An accurate representation of the size of town

It took longer than the 70 minutes Google promised but we arrived in Port Matilda in time for lunch and I was rather looking forward to over-eating after my morning workout. We looked out for Clem's but couldn't see it anywhere. We rode, up this way and that, covering the whole of the 0.6 square miles that makes up Port Matilda at least 3 times. We used the iPhone and the GPS but each time, while technology said we were there, we couldn't see anything that resembled a wood-fire barbecue restaurant at all. Actually besides the gas station and the pizza joint there wasn't much else to speak of. Eventually we saw 2 of the 638 locals and asked them for assistance and they announced that Clem's had moved 2 years previously to Tyrone (a larger, but equally shitty town) 20 miles further down the road. The swearing, gnashing of teeth and woe returned. We unrelentingly released our fury on our friend whose suggestion it had been until she offered an alternative.

Uphills!

Plan B was to go to Way Fruit Farm. We stopped at the gas station for some cold energy drinks before heading off for the 3 mile trip. I decided to double check Google's directions with a local to make sure it, too, hadn't moved. An old man was sitting outside the store at the gas station (what else is there to do on a Saturday afternoon in Port Matilda) and when I asked him for directions to the Farm he took one look at my bicycle and began to chuckle. "Good luck getting there on that thing," he snorted. At least 2 and a half miles of the 3 mile journey were brutal uphills over a mountain. I'm sure that, although the 2 boys insisted they were stopping every 100 yards or so just to wait for us girls to catch up, they were, in fact, struggling too. I pushed my bike and felt no shame. About 20 minutes into the journey a large truck pulled up alongside me and the old man from the gas station waved happily while laughing and offering a tow. I'm pretty sure he only left the social hub of the gas station to have a good chuckle at us.

Almost there...

Eventually we reached the top of the mountain and saw the sign for Way Fruit Farm with the directions "bottom of hill turn left". It's incredible how quickly one can descend a mountain that took an hour to climb. We were there in 3 minutes.

Way Fruit Farm and our trusty transport

We dashed to the Way Cafe where we gulped down fresh deli sandwiches chased by a bounty of ice-cream. When we were sufficiently replenished we wandered through the country crafts and abundant farm produce in the store. Way Fruit Farm is a sixth generation family owned and run farm which started in 1872 and well worth the trip (by car) for anyone in the area. It was strawberry season while we were there and many families and couples were out in the field picking their own strawberries for purchase. I however, rejected the urge to procure the many delicious offerings purely because the idea of cycling the 12 miles home with a fresh pork roast and a pound of apples was a little more than I could bear. http://www.wayfruitfarm.com/

The way home was tedious but we managed to get there before the rain. All in all we did about 50km and it took 7 hours. I thought I may never forgive my friend for her mad suggestion but when my bike was locked up and my feet were up on the couch I realsied that I had, indeed, enjoyed a wonderful day.

The gorgeous green of Pennsylvania

"You want me to live where?"

The Snake River in Idaho Falls with the Mormon Temple in the background

There comes a time in every marriage when you think "What have I gotten myself into?" My moment came when my darling husband informed me that we were to spend the summer (almost three months) in IDAHO FALLS (I didn't even know there was a town by that name). So I opened up my trusted 'Rough Guide to the U.S.A', turned to the chapter on Idaho and read: "Only state capital Boise provides any urban interest, as Idaho Falls and Pocotello are both drab" ... uh oh ... Boise is a 5 hour drive away! It also didn't help that the flight from State College to Idaho Falls is about the same price as a flight from State College to Barcelona, Paris or Athens but all the same, I packed my bags and my sunny disposition and headed to the Pacific Northwest.

The reason for this temporary relocation to the opposite side of the country is that Ivor was offered a summer internship at the Idaho National Laboratory "a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's missions in nuclear and energy research, science, and national defense" (www.inl.gov). It was here that the world's first nuclear reactor was built and more than 50 nuclear reactors have been built here for testing over the last 60 years. Since this is the biggest concentration of nuclear reactors on the planet it makes sense that the area is somewhat remote and that the town of Idaho Falls might be of negligible 'urban' interest.

The gorgeous Snake River

Luckily for me, Idaho Falls is not nearly as 'drab' as I expected. For starters, the town is instantly beautified by the Snake River running past down town. The chilly river flows west into Idaho from Wyoming and there are ample water activities available including excellent rafting , fishing and boating. The name of the town refers to the white water falls occurring  below the first bridge built across the river. Now that the river diverts into numerous irrigation canals most of the falls run over concrete blocks but it is still really pretty. The area on each side of the river is known as the Green Belt and it's a great place for biking, jogging (no, I don't do this) and inline skating. In the summer they have numerous weekend festivals here where stalls are set up to sell arts and crafts as well as all types of [greasy American] food, accompanied by live entertainment. On any day of the week you will find kids feeding the ducks or locals having picnics on the banks of the river. I was pleased to noticed that many people take full advantage of the Green Belt in the summer and they love to be outdoors enjoying the glorious weather.

The wall of International Reds

Within the first 2 days of being in Idaho Falls I was taken to, and immediately fell in love with, Vino Rosso. This wine bar/ live music venue/ cafe/ shop is not something you would expect to find in a city described as 'drab' so I instantly felt much better about the prospect of residing there. Vino Rosso is a beautiful wine shop that sells a comprehensive selection (around a thousand bottles) of wines from all over the world. I even found some of my South African favourites. They have wine tastings every Wednesday and I was there (almost) every Wednesday, savouring their selection of 5 wines per week, from a specific region or interesting varietal. My palate retains fond memories of the Rhine Valley Rieslings and the California Zinfandels. For Ivor they had an ever changing selection of interesting beers on tap and they always offered delicious appetizers.

10 steps from my front door

We rented a house in the South East of Town right opposite a canal. It is remarkable how the system of canals distribute the water of the Snake River in the area of Idaho Falls, turning what used to be a desert into fertile agricultural land. This area is one of the most productive agricultural  regions of the country producing beets, peas, onions and of course ... the Famous Idaho Potatoes. The town is fairly small and surrounding it are the numerous agricultural and well as horse farms. I did see a lot of potatoes growing and was surprised by the lovely flowers they produced (apparently Marie Antoinette insisted on growing potatoes in her garden so she could use the flowers in her hair.) Beyond the farms are mountains in almost every direction, some topped with snow even in the middle of July. A magnificent backdrop.

Girls Day Out

What more can a girl need - a beautiful environment, an endless supply of wine and potatoes? Well I was blessed even further by meeting 3 young woman all of whom have recently moved to Idaho Falls because their spouses also work for INL. We became thick and fast friends and arranged delightful, and sometimes (OK, most of the time) wine fuelled adventures. Some of these included a trip to the Potato Museum (...when in Idaho...), photographic excursions to an Arabian horse farm, picnics in the park, a visit to the zoo, road trips, rafting, lunches and a fuzzy karaoke adventure at Ford's Bar.

The Harley Dealership on Broadway Avenue

Idaho Falls has all the usual American town traits; the stock standard mall complete with Macy's and Barnes and Noble, the Walmarts on either side of town, the strip malls, the same cluster of fast food joints - Wendy's, McD's, Arby's, Taco Bell, etc. The streets look the same as any town, in any State, in America but the thing that tells you, that you are now in the West, is the size of the vehicles. There are more SUV's and bakkies (trucks) than regular cars, and here bigger (and louder) apparently is better. It is also the land of Harley Davidson. The open roads and big skies seem to be a biker's paradise. What I like is the immense sense of space. Although you can see snow capped mountains in the distance, the town itself and surrounding farms are completely flat and you can see for miles. Plus if you do indeed take to the road, magnificent scenery awaits you in every direction, whether into Idaho itself or the surrounding States of Utah, Wyoming, Montana or Oregon. Idaho Falls is the gateway to the majestic West and we took some amazing trips which you'll have to wait to read about.

Now we are are back in State College, but next summer, when the INL internship rolls around again and my darling husband informs me he wants me to live in IDAHO FALLS for another 3 months my reaction will be ... "I can't wait!"

The Official Highlights Package

A week and a half ago we celebrated the first anniversary of our moving to America. It's incredible how quickly the first year has gone, but its appalling to see how little I've blogged about our experiences here. I keep thinking about things I want to write about and then feel b[l]ogged down by how far behind I am. Hence I've decided to do a quick catch-up in a 'highlights package'. The idea is to list the places we've been to and then to include one photo and one sentence based on the highlight of that place.  

State College, PA 
After living in the same city for the first 30 years of my life, moving to a new town is exciting, having that town in a different country, continent and hemisphere is an adventure and living somewhere where it SNOWS is, to me (an African), a highlight.

Our footprints in the first evening snow (in October 2009) outside our apartment

New York City, NY
To choose only one highlight from this awesome city is tricky but having the opportunity to play in the Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in March 2010 takes this one.

The Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall

Sugarbush, VT
There is lots of good skiing on the East Coast, and being high up on a snowy mountain is always stunning, but the view from Sugarbush beats all the places I have skied before.

Clouds settling between the mountain peaks at Sugarbush Ski Resort

San Diego, CA
Awesome town with so many highlights but sunset on the Pacific Ocean is hard to beat.

My silhouette next to Crystal Pier at Pacific Beach

Los Angeles, CA
L.A. is a huge city with lots to see and do but the highlight of this trip was seeing an old friend a week before her wedding.

Cheese and wine with the girls

Pittsburgh, PA
I totally love Pittsburgh but without a doubt the highlight is Phipps Conservatory.
http://phipps.conservatory.org/

A flower on the awesomely named Passion Vine

Denver, CO
A flight delay caused us a surprise overnight stay in this fabulous city and, thanks to some insider info, the highlight of this stay was having a few at the Falling Rock Taphouse where they have a selection of over 75 beers on tap and more than 130 bottled varieties.
http://www.fallingrocktaphouse.com/

The best place to have a beer in America

Idaho Falls, ID
A 10 week stay, over the summer, made this town our temporary home and it was the first time in my life that I've had the opportunity to live in a place that has a river running through it.

The Snake river as it runs through down town Idaho Falls

Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID
Walking over the 2000 year old lava of a gigantic volcano is quite an experience but climbing through the caves and tunnels that the lava has formed is certainly a highlight of this strange landscape.

Halfway through Indian Tunnel, made completely of molten lava

Swan Valley, ID
The highlight of visiting Swan Valley, as the Snake River cuts through it, is proving my ignorant self wrong. I had automatically assumed that Idaho was going to be a dull place of no interest and what a joy to discover that it is indeed a gorgeous place to visit and live.

The South Fork of the Snake river in Swan Valley

Jackson, WY
I said a few mean things about Jackson before going there but this was a very surprising town and it's certainly the quaintest American town I've come across. The highlight is seeing the creative use of elk horns in the 4 arches at each corner of the central park (consisting of about 5000 elk horns each). Normally I'm not a fan of animal horns but since these fall off the animals naturally in late winter I'm not opposed to their use.

Ivor admiring the massive arches made of elk horns

Grand Teton National Park, WY
The Teton Mountains are possibly the most magnificent I've seen but I guess the highlight (although at the time it was a lowlight) was hiking here in mid-summer in shorts and sandals not expecting there to be SO much snow (I'm from Africa people.)

Ivor pushing on through the snow nearing the top of Table Mountain

 
Yellowstone National Park, WY
Every moment of Yellowstone is a highlight but doing a short hike along the Yellowstone Grand Canyon takes you away from the 90 000 summer visitors and it's like having the whole area to yourself.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone as seen from the hike to Sublime Point

Salmon, ID
The drive to Salmon is so lovely and the mountains there are pretty nice too but the highlight was not only discovering Williams Lake, a little lake tucked away behind the mountains but being given a free boat tour by a generous, friendly and somewhat intoxicated (at 11am) local.

Williams Lake from the boat jetty

Moab - Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, UT
Like Yellowstone every moment is so spectacular but I'll give this highlight to the 4X4 excursion down the canyon in Canyonlands, it was thrilling and terrifying at the same time and the views down the sheer cliff faces were unforgettable

The switchbacks down Shafer Canyon

Well that's it in a nutshell. I have plans to write in depth about each place and, of course, I have plans for many new trips so keep reading...

Our home town State College

Ols Main, Penn State University

State College is the very original name given to the town that contained the Pennsylvania State College, which in 1953 became known as Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State), which is where Ivor is doing his PHD. When they changed the name of the school from Pennsylvania State College to Pennsylvania State University it was suggested that the name of the town change from State College to State University. I must say I'm glad this name change did not happen because it's odd enough telling people that I live in State College, having to say I live in State University just sounds silly!

State College is right in the centre of Pennsylvania, situated equally inconveniently from every major city in the North East. So while its not exactly close to, it is possible to drive within 4 or 5 hours to New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washing DC, and Baltimore.

This small University town is a world apart from Joburg which has 3,2 million inhabitants. With a population of only 40 000, most of which are students, State College is a happy place, not surprisingly it has the nickname of Happy Valley (although that nickname originated in the Great Depression it is still valid today). And not to go on and on with the crime issue but State College ranked as the safest metropolitan area in the United States in 2009.
http://www.statecollege.com/news/psu-news/state-college-ranked-no1-safest-metropolitan-area,281209. Seems we're out of the frying pan and under the duck down duvet.

The Nittany Lion in winter

The town basically consists of the university campus, downtown, and the outer suburbs. The campus is the largest and main campus of Penn State and is called University Park. The campus is extensive but beautiful with lush green lawns (when they are not under a foot of snow obviously), many old trees and ubiquitous squirrels. Old Main, the administrative centre, is one of the famous landmarks of the University, another being the famed Lion Shrine. The facilities are excellent; from libraries and lecture theatres, to sports fields and auditoriums, this University had it all.

Allen Street

Downtown is where you'll find most of the
restaurants, bars and shops. It consists of 2 main streets and their cross streets. There are some great places to eat and drink - I've been to almost every one already. I'm most partial to Zeno's Pub ('located directly above the centre of the earth in Pennsylvania' is their slogan), which has an impressive selection of beers and the best wings in town.

State Patty's

Most of the students live in the streets that follow the downtown shops. These areas are renowned for parties and wild student behaviour - Penn State was voted the number one party school in America last year and if you walk in these neighbourhoods on a weekend evening you can see why. Add to that student holidays like State Patty's Day (a week or so before St Patrick's Day, this day is dedicated to getting wasted and wearing green) and Halloween, which is a massive party event here, you'll realise that all those college flicks are based on what really goes on in American Universities ... scary!

The view from our bedroom window

We live a couple of miles north-west of campus next to an area called Green Leaf Manor. Its a quiet neighbourhood and we are really happy here. This way we can head down town if we want to party but we can stay home in our mature, stable, peaceful environment if we prefer (and most nights we do prefer the quiet night in - sad but unfortunately true). There is a forest on the opposite side of the street with a bike path running through it and we are a couple of miles away from the state gamelands where you have to wear orange to avoid being shot by hunters.

Ivor and I at the Blue and White Weekend

Besides drinking, the main activity of the town is football, or for clarification purposes American football; the game where they throw the ball to each not the one where they kick the ball to each other with their feet, although to be fair they do occasionally kick the ball towards the goal in American football. Although there is no alcohol allowed at the games, there is a tradition known as Tailgating, which involves a lot of drinking and a bit of a braai outside the stadium before kick-off. The stadium at Penn State, Beaver Stadium, is the largest in the Western hemisphere and the third largest in the World. It can seat over 113000 people almost triple the population of the town, yet, on football weekends, every seat is sold out! They certainly love their football and our team - the Penn State Nittany Lions. The football coach Joe Paterno, fondly referred to as JoePa is a living legend and arguably the most famous man in town. He has coached the Nittany Lions since 1966 and is still going strong!

JoPa's bronze statue, outside Beaver Stadium












Well that's it in a nutshell ... oh yes ... there are also 2 Walmarts, 1 Shopping Mall and 3 Trailer Parks.
Ah, small town America!

Seasons

The best thing about being in America for almost a whole year is that I have been witness to all 4 seasons. The South African seasons are so moderate and I have completely adored the extremes in temperature and climate here in the U.S.

Summer:

We arrived in late summer last August and immediately felt the famous New York blistering heat as we waited in China Town, down-town Manhattan for the bus to Pennsylvania. The summer in State College is hot and wet. The temperature averages in the 80's (look at me -all American, using Fahrenheit and all). A lot of people complain about the humidity but it reminds me of Durban and since I'm always on holiday when I'm in Durbs I have this sense of holiday atmosphere. One of the first things I noticed about State College is that it is really clean and overwhelmingly green - I soon figured out why; it rains frequently (which poses a small problem when your source of transportation is a bicycle). But summer here certainly is bliss - the days are long and everyone seems to enjoy being outside, enjoying nature and soaking up some good old Vitamin D.

Autumn:
Known to Americans everywhere as Fall, I still like to call it Autumn. The evenings become shorter, the fireflies disappear, a nip appears in the air and the leaves start to change. Living in an area with so many trees makes for a stunning Autumn. There is a tinge of sadness leaving the warmth of summer behind and the despair of a long cold winter indoors looming but this is more than merely a transitional season, it is one of real beauty... and pumpkins. And although I have always loved October for the purple Jacarandas, now I will love it for all the reds, oranges and yellows...

Winter:
In Joburg people still talk of the snow of '81. In Pennsylvania snow is not a novelty to say the least! We got a decent snowfall rather early in October and I was completely enthralled with the magic white blanket that lay over the whole town - my neighbour's reaction: 'what a mess'. I hope that I never loose my childlike excitement for the snow but that is more easily said than done, because I have not, yet, had to drive in it (thanks to the Cata Bus) nor shovel it (thanks to the snow removal service at our apartment). I love the snow; the sound it makes squishing under your boots, the sound of silence it produces by muting everything around, snow angels, skiing, studying the uniquely individual flakes that land on your jacket or glove, making the first footprints in fresh snow, following someone else's footsteps, sliding, sinking, falling, sledding and making Phineas, my first snowman at age 30.

Spring:
After months of snow and ice and white, its hard to imagine that anything grew anywhere ever, but it did and it does again.
It might be 6 weeks later than you wanted thanks to Punxsutawney Phil but Winter eventually does come to an end. The snow packs melt and eventually you can venture outside without a coat. You see a few people in T-shirts and you're horrified how naked they appear. And then there are flowers. In State College it started with daffodils and then there were tulips and tulips and tulips. The green blanket replaces the melted muddy slush and the forests flourish and the squirrels are happy again. Everything is fresh and new and full of life and ready for it to begin all over again.

Interior Design 101 - The Other Room

With the bedroom looking good we needed to get to the rest of the apartment - in our case that is just one, medium sized, open-plan room - a kitchen, living room, dining room, TV room all in one.

The number one priority for this room was a TV. You can't move to the country that invented television and not get the biggest, best TV you can find! In America they no longer sell those massive square TV sets (Ivor tells me they're called CRTs... whatever...); even if you don't want to get a thin plasma/ LCD, you don't have a choice. Luckily I really wanted a plasma - it's a status symbol in SA and I was really excited to choose one. So off we went to Best Buy - their slogan is 'Buyer Be Happy' and looked at screens till we were cross-eyed. We left with a 32-inch (81 cm) Plasma and a very smiley Heloise - Buyer was Happy!

 I love TV! Yes... that is Tom Cruise in a towel.

Conveniently Ivor has connections so thanks to his colleague Zain we didn't need to squeeze the massive box through the bus doors on the 2 buses it would take to get from Best Buy to our place. Even more inconvenient was that the TV unit we picked out was at a shop, literally on the opposite side of town. 1-800 ZAIN - service with a smile! Thanks Zain!


Next we ordered cable! Well, that makes it sound really simple. While America is a service-oriented country, not everything runs as smoothly as one would hope. I'll summarize this 2 day palaver; if you are a newcomer to this fair land don't order cable specials online until you have a social security number. There was a lot of frustration but after 2 days of calls and 2 treks to the other side of town again to their offices we were sorted.
I have always wanted to have hundreds of channels to choose from, but have had to, up till now, make do with with the humble offerings of SABC 1,2 and 3 and E. I had, in a slightly manipulative move, made cable a requirement of my moving to America, hence the insistent 2 day palaver to get it organised!. And, for the record I don't spend all day, well, not every day, in front of the TV!
We also bought the pay channel Showtime for ..... DEXTER!!!!!!! Ne'er again shall there be Sunday night blues - well at least not until the end of the season!

Comcast conveniently offers broadband internet and this is probably one of the greatest things about America - it's freakishly fast, always on, broadband, wireless and it makes Ivor happy!

After splashing out on the bed and TV we needed to furnish the rest of the house as cheaply as possible! Enter garage sales and Craig's list!

Craig's list is a bargain hunters paradise. We found an advert for a $50 sofa and went to check it out. We arrived at the address and found this big blue monstrosity sitting on the patio covered in white dog hair. The owner, Adam, had brought the couch from his home town and was intending to use it in his varsity digs but couldn't fit it through the door. Clearly their attempts to force this flea infested brick through the door had failed because the door was off its hinges and was propped up against the wall as a testament to his story. I felt better knowing the couch had never been inside the varsity digs with 4 good looking undergrad boys in the biggest party school in America. I decided that the white fur could be removed and since I had been watching TV on the floor for 2 weeks too many, I gave him the $50 and asked if he could drop it off. This one was not going to fit in Zain's trusty boot. Americans are generally really friendly and Adam is a particularly amiable and warm character, he called his roommate and together they hauled the hairy blue monstrosity onto his pink truck and we headed off to my apartment.


They got the couch to the door and twisted and turned and bumped and grinded but brute force was not getting this couch through this doorway. The door knob knocked a dent into wall (don't tell the landlord) and Adam and his friend finally decided that our door would also have to be removed. Ivor arrived home just as they were attempting to remove the last screw. Ivor assessed the situation and suggested politely that they give it one more try before removing the door and with his instructions of 'lift and tilt' the couch was magically and with no force at all, suddenly in the house. Adam kindly put all the screws back into the hinges but I was wondering if he was suddenly contemplating the fact that this couch may have actually been able to fit through his doorway too. It only took one can of upholstery cleaner, a pet hair remover and a lint roller to make the couch usable. As an extra barrier I've covered it with some throws I picked up at Target.


Garage sales are very common in America; people lay out their unwanted items on the pavement and you can pick up good quality second-hand goods quite easily .... if you have a car. Ivor and I saw some great bargains ... from the window of the bus. We biked to a few garage sales and bought a few odd and ends that we could carry in a our backpacks but on one bike adventure we found a beautiful oak dining room table. I had to have it so I asked / begged that we could somehow arrange a home delivery (from a garage-sale). The guy, Paul, was so obliging and said that he would drive the table to us later that day, (further proof that Americans are really friendly people). We got to chatting when he brought the table over and we discovered that his late-father was a professor in the nuclear engineering department and he was really glad that we were the new owners of his beautiful table.

A week later he tracked Ivor down through the university and emailed to say that he still had the 6 oak chairs that go with the table in his basement and would it be convenient to us if he delivered them so the set could be complete at NO charge to us. (We had only paid $60 for the table in the first place). He's a typically generous guy and I intend to have him over to supper to share in the enjoyment of our fabulous table. (Note to self: Invite Paul for supper!)

And so our apartment became home. We just needed to put up all our pictures that we sent over from SA. Home sweet home! Stay tuned for more photos of our apartment coming soon.....

Interior Design 101 - The bed

According to various sources, interior design experts suggest that you decorate one room at a time, buy only things that you really love, develop a personal style and page through magazines collecting clippings of ideas you would like to re-create.

That's all good and well if you have two years, an infinite budget and easily accessible transport but this approach wasn't going to work for us. We had nothing and we needed a more basic plan. Step One: list the priorities - easy ... Bed! TV! Couch! Step Two: find bed, TV and couch - okay... Step Three: get them to the apartment - here's where it gets a little tricky.

We decided that the bed would be our biggest expense. We were not interested in a pre-owned option that most students pick up from garage sales... eeeuuuwww!!!!
We visited Mattress World (one only needs to take 2 buses to get there from our apartment). It was a blast lying on every bed we could find, testing for firmness, comfort and poofy-ness (under the ever-watchful eyes of the salesman). We even tried out all the beds that were seriously out of our budget just for fun. Who pays R 20 000 for a bed????????

We needed to choose the right size, in SA there are 5 sizes: Single, Three-Quarter, Double, Queen, King. In America there are only 4 sizes (they don't even bother with the small single bed): the Twin, the Full (this is a double bed but they don't want to offend the 'larger individual' who needs this size so they just call it a 'full' bed) and then Queen and King.
We decided that we wanted one of the mattresses with the extra comfort layer in a Queen size from a shop that delivered and we needed it soon - the blow-up camping mattress was not quite cutting it.


We found it ... the Simmons 'Beauty Sleep' Carmel EuroTop Queen mattress and base set, and that beauty sleep is really working - Ivor is looking more stunning with each night's rest!!! It has proved to be an amazing bed and the delivery was free and speedy. YAY!



We got our pillows, sheets and pillow cases from Walmart and on our search for a luxurious duvet (we were hoping for a duck-down duvet) we came up empty handed! They don't do duvets in this country (Note to self - don't say I'm heading to club duvet - no-one will get it). In America the norm is to use a fitted sheet on the bed followed by another flat sheet and then on top you get a colourful comforter ... what is a comforter? I'll let wikipedia explain ...
"A comforter is a type of blanket. Comforters are intended to keep the user warm, especially during sleep, although they can also be used as mattress pads. Comforters are generally large and rectangular in shape, filled with natural or synthetic insulative material and encased in a shell/covering. Like quilts, comforters are generally used with a set of sheets."
Our comforter is a nifty reversible black and grey number! Very mod!


The side tables come in a box from Walmart and were cleverly put together by Ivor. Finally we got to follow the interior design hints and add the things we love - a picture frame, 2 beautiful lamps and a micro-plush grey blanket from Target et voila ... a beautiful bedroom! Task 1 complete!