The Statue Debacle

In South Africa at the moment the locals seem to have a problem with Statues that represent "Apartheid" or anything that is not African, I know this can spark many debates but as a new Irish person and still a South African Citizen I just need to voice my opinion on this.

My question is "Why", many of the statues are from pre-apartheid, and are of people who helped build South Africa to what it is today.  If Jan Van Riebeeck and all the discoverers had not landed on South African soil, where would South Africa be today?

I don't agree with Apartheid or any of the wrong doings that people have done, but surely to have peace and reconciliation, the past should be left in the past.

Ireland for instance was occupied by Britain for over 800 years and yes statues that represented the occupation have been removed "civilly", Queen Victoria for one, the statue was removed from it's position in front of Leinster house (parliament) and sent to Sydney where is now stands in front of the Victoria shopping Mall.

So Why do we need to be barbaric and burn or decapitate these Statues in South Africa, if the ANC government insist on removing them, then do so - maybe Holland would like the one of Jan Van Riebeeck.

Most people that came to South Africa were seeking a better life and trying to escape persecution, which is exactly what is still happening today.  People from all over Africa are trying to escape persecution or hardship in their own country and are coming to South Africa.  Just like the Zimbabweans.

I can't believe that the ANC government welcomed Robert Mugabe with open arms when his people are doing everything to get into South Africa because he has ruined his country so much so that his people are starving.

Why not move these statues to the Apartheid Museum or to the Voortrekker monument so that people can see who the "evil" orchestrators of apartheid were, but burning and decapitating that's just barbaric.

I just get so Angry with what the ANC allow to happen in it's beautiful country, and I worry for my friends and family still there, what does the future hold.  Since leaving in 2001 I have always dreamt I would one day go back, but with events unfolding in front of me and being and outsider looking in, will I ever go back now?  I don't know.

Ex-Pat Blog Comments

I haven't for a long time gone back to the interview I had with the Expats Blog until today.  I found many people had left comments which I only found out today, my apologies for not getting back to anyone of you with regards to your questions: -  Unfortunately I don't get notified when anyone leaves a message for me on the Expats Blog, so here I am going to just go through some of the comments that were left.

                       Maria Roll wrote 1 year ago: Rose and Derrick Have the right attitude.They decided to immigrate, got there.. embrassed, respected and adapted to Irish living, unlike some people that immigrate to another country and demand the host country to adapt to them. Good luck Rose and Dirreck you are doing SA proud whatever your future plans are.

Thanks Maria, miss you tons!!!

                      Susi wrote 1 year ago: Hi guys. I'm new here and just wanted to say Hello. Loved reading this interview. I have always wanted to visit Ireland and one day that dream will come true. For now I'll just enjoy reading about it! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the great message Susi!

                    Catherine wrote 1 year ago: Hi Guys, Thanks for your blog, its amazing how far you've come, I admire you so much for this. My husband & I are planning on moving to Dublin,Ireland. My mom & dad live in Germany & is a citizen there, but she also wants to join us there to live in Dublin. My parents are pastors of a church in Germany, but want to move cos of church ministry purposes. My husband is in the Building Management Business & we are finding it a bit difficult finding jobs in Ireland while we are here. Most applications come back saying we need to be there in order for consideration. Please can you give us some advise on steps to take & how to go about moving. thanks so much. regards Catherine

Catherine - please send my your email address and I can mail you

                    Ilze Heydenrych wrote 11 months ago: I loved reading the blog. Took me quite a while, as I went right back to the beginning! I am also in IT and came across the blog and this site when I researched the possibilities of finding a job in Ireland. I desperately want to move to Ireland! Any ideas or advise? Regards Ilze

Ilze where are you from?  There are loads of IT jobs in Ireland at the moment so long as you have a European passport, what do you do - the company I work for are employing!

                    Dennis Mkhulisi wrote 9 months ago: Hey Rose\r\n\r\nThanks for a fresh insight on the expat life. Am a medical officer and tried once to \"recharge\" my batteries by working in Canada. Age cut-off (50yrs)and family commitments made me shelve the idea. However, it\'s good to know that we have to appreciate things that we take for granted (eg a good banking system, the weather etc).\r\nAm 58yrs old now and cherish the hope of travelling the world on a working holiday-staying in a country, work thrice a week for nominal pay, board and travel a bit... Wishing your family well. Cheers!!

Thanks Dennis for the comments I hope it all works out for you :)

deStijl Hotel - Gariep, Karoo, South Africa

While writing about my trip to Paris and various highlights I remembered that I was going to do the same with our trip to South Africa but have not done it yet.

For those of you who follow my blog, we spent 3 weeks in South Africa in December visiting friends and family and having a holiday too.  Our trip started in Jo'burg and we drove down to Kimberly, Outshoorn, the wilderness and Cape Town, and then on the way back we stopped just outside Colesburg and back to Jo'burg.

While I was looking for accommodation for the way back, most of the really nice hotels and B&B's were just so expensive especially as all you really want is a bed to lay your head on. 

I found the deStijl Hotel in the Karoo - Gariep, most of the time I don't read the review and go on instincts but this time I did a bit of research, some people liked it some people didn't but I thought we would give it a try.   We arrived late in the evening in December just before Christmas and the hotel was packed.  Some idiot in a big SUV had parked over 2 parking spaces and of course one of them was ours, however the hotel soon found the person and got them to park properly.

All I can say about this hotel is WOW it's like a 5 star haven in the middle of the desert, the cost for one night accommodation for 3 of us was R1,370 about €100 bed only.   For this we got a clean apartment type room, with a "mini" kitchen, two super king size beds and a beautiful bathroom with a rain shower, a humungous balcony that overlooked the Dam.

Not since our holiday in Zimbabwe have I seen so many Stars, there was nothing I could fault this hotel on, the food in the Restaurant was outstanding, the rooms so comfortable and the view just breath taking, I wish I could have stayed longer, I wish I could live there in this quiet peaceful haven.  I will go back and when I go back I will stay for longer. 

So if you are looking for somewhere to stay between Cape Town and Johannesburg, my recommendation is The deStijl Hotel, Gariep - but don't just stay for one night, stay for 2 or more and discover what the Karoo has to offer. 

BLACKLANE TAXI

I mentioned in a previous post that I arranged a taxi from the airport, as this was our first time arriving in Paris and late at night we weren't sure how the buses, trains etc. ran so I did a bit of internet research and found the Blacklane Tax service, it was the best thing I had ever done.

I received update text messages from the time we left Dublin to say that the driver would be at the airport to pick us up and to let them know we had landed.  We landed early and as they had our flight details they were constantly checking on our flight.  When we came into the arrivals hall, our driver was waiting for us with a Tablet with our name on in Big bold letters.

He helped with the luggage and took us outside to where our Black Mercedes Benz was waiting.  Em and I sat at the back, between us was an arm rest with cup holders which contained a bottle of water and a glass of sweets, much to Em's delight! 

It was about a 25 minute journey from the Airport but so smooth riding in style.  Our driver found the place with no problem at all.  Once he helped us with the luggage he drove off.  All payments were taken directly from the Credit card about 2 days after the event.  I will definitely use them again as they were so professional  The trip from Charles De Gaul Roissy Airport to the Republique Metro cost us only €52.00 including a tip, whereas friends of ours paid over €70 with a normal taxi from the same airport.

So if you are ever in Paris do it in Style and take a Blacklane Taxi!

Moulin Rouge Birthday Treat

So Thursday was also my birthday and I had long wanted to see the show at the Moulin Rouge, we managed to get tickets for the 11PM show which were a lot less than all the other show, it just meant it would be a late night especially for Emily.


We took the Metro to Blanche and were surprised when we came out that the Moulin Rouge was right there.  We then went and had a bite to eat and headed over about 10:30 the queue was already down the road.  When I booked the tickets it said that the dress code was no runners, jeans and men should wear a suit.  I guess maybe that is the dress code for all shows except the 11PM show as most people especially the men were in Jeans and runners.  But needless to say, my man was wearing suit trousers, good shoes and a tie.  (He was not very impressed).

The show was 2 and a half hours long and what a show, it really felt like you were back in the 50's, it was very retro.  I am so glad I saw it as the first time I visited Paris I did not have the money to go to the show, so this was a real treat for me! 
 

Thursday .... still Paris and sore feet

So we left the apartment rather later than normal - I was intending to visit our Paris office after a visit to the Louvre, however after Skyping J-C he said it's better for us to come early.  So off we went to the Metro 9 and out at Rooseveldt Franklin Station where we came out at the Champs Elysees right by the Disney Store and the Citroen shop and our office is literally round the corner.

It was so nice to meet the guys that I work with and Nicolas who I had not seen since we attended a training course together in London in 2013.  After a coffee and a chat we headed over to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa.

I was really disappointed not so much with the fact that the Mona Lisa is not very big, but the fact that the Louvre do not have any organization, they should have a roped off area where everyone can file past, but it was just total Chaos, I thought I was at a Rock Concert with everyone trying to get to the front to see the artist. 

And of course they have put The Mona Lisa behind glass because everyone just ignores the rules regarding flash photography.  There is so much to see in the Louvre, we really only touched on it and saw the Spanish and Italian section and a few statues.  And of course we went upstairs and the rains came down, so we headed over to my favourite lunch place "Pret-a-manger" for a prawn and crayfish sandwich and a cappuccino.  At least you can get away having a really good lunch with soft drinks, coffee and sandwiches, including crisps and apple for €20.00 and everything is really fresh.

Lafayette

After lunch we head over to Lafayette to see the inside of the shop, wow is all I can say, I will post photographs here later.   It looked like a theatre inside, really really awesome and of course every known designer brand and perfumery you can think of, and the prices ..... well we won't go there!  We headed up to the top floor (8th), to see the view but because of the rain we could barely make out the Eiffel tower through the clouds.

We then headed back to the apartment for a rest as it was going to be a late night, but did not have too much of a rest.

Judging from the Queue for personal shopping at "Chanel" in Lafayette, the Chinese have all the disposable income as there was no one else in the queues except them.

Paris Hop on Hop Off bus and free coffee in Paris ...

Wednesday: We went over to the Big Bus company near the Opera to fetch our hop on hop off tickets for the day, which comes free with the Paris Pass - the lady wasn't very friendly first thing in the morning, but we did find out that we could have picked them up the previous day and she could have validated them for any day our Paris Pass was valid for.

Couple of things about those Hop on Hop off buses that I always forget, if you sit upstairs it is going to be cold, especially on a chuking filly day that we had, although it is the best way to see the "most" of Paris remember to take Scarf / hat / Gloves/ thermals etc. or otherwise sit downstairs - but of course you don't get the view down stairs that you get upstairs.

We first did the full route that takes you past all the tourist attractions including:

The Arc De Triomphe
The Eiffel Tower
Along the Champs Elysees
The Louvre
The Opera House
All the Palaces and famous bridges

But you can see the route here

How to get a free coffee in Paris:

Once we had done the full route, we then got off at the Opera and headed down to the Lafayette to "Pret a Manger" for some lunch, we discovered it on Monday when D and I went to Printemps to see the view.   They always have nice sandwiches, pastries and coffee.

After Lunch we had to go to the Lindt store to get Em an ice-cream (of course) and then I saw the "Nespresso" shop, there is a Nespresso machine in the apartment and I have been wanting to get myself one for ages, so after talking to one of the sales men I purchased 10 capsules for €4.50 he then told me to go downstairs and get a coffee, so I called D and we both headed down for a FREE cup of coffee, the reason I go on about it is because a small coffee in a Parisian Café costs between €4.50 and €5.00 a cup, so to get 10 capsules and a free coffee is a real bargain.

And apparently you can do this in any City where there is a Nespresso shop, so long as you are buying something in the shop, you get a free coffee.

Later:  The Opera House and the Eiffel Tower

We headed into the Opera House, however all the English guided tours were finished for the day, so we just did our own thing.  Looked around took loads of photos and then headed for the shop and exit.  Will post all my photos later.

We then got back on the Hop on Hop off bus and headed out to the Eiffel tower.  Although it was windy and cold on the bus, when the sun came out it was really nice and warm.  We got to the Eiffel tower and once again had to queue and that cold wind from the snow on the alps was cutting right through us.

What a majestic structure, it was well worth the wait in the cold to get on the vernacular and go up to the 2nd level and then from there to head up to the Summit, we saw some awesome views and the one that really struck me was from the 2nd level looking towards the Sacré Cour.  The view from the Summit was just as awesome, but I was glad to get down to the bottom where it was much warmer.