Tag: artwork

Clarens is Sort of Like the Southwest in South Africa

M's Adventures
Golden Gate Park has lots of hiking trails.

Do you love the Southwest of the USA? But wish it was in South Africa? Then you are in luck! Here are some of the things to do in Clarens, South Africa. The Golden Gate National Park is right there, and this town is near Lesotho, so it makes for a good stopping point. The area has a frontier, southwest USA, feel to it. It’s about fours from Pretoria.

Golden Gate Park.

Cheese tasting at Baris: This farm cheese shop is so fun. Go for lunch and order a cheese tasting.

Cheese tasting platter at Baris.

Hiking: This is the real reason many people visit this area.

Gorgeous sunset in Golden Gate Park.

Gin tasting: At Clarens Brewery, they have a gin store, Junipers Craft Gin Bar, and they do tastings (plus they have some yummy food including their ‘chips’ or fries and they have Bunny Chow, a curry-in-a-loaf-of-bread specialty of South Africa.

View over my Bunny Chow.

Shopping: Lots of artwork, souvenirs, cards, clothes, and gin. I almost bought paintings by this local artist, Johan Smith. There are other cute shops including the Purple Onion. Make sure to check them all out. They are all next to each other. Everything from art, fudge, cards, shoes, clothes, and antiques.

Clarens has a Southwest wild west feel.

Entertainment: This town has live entertainment including a local guy who is famous in this local town.

Old timey feel at Purple Onion.

Eating: Surprisingly good restaurants for such a small town. The Italian one, Bocca di Lupo, run by a guy from Bologna, is divine. Excellent pizza and pasta.

Spicy spaghetti.

Sleeping: You can stay in a castle. I stayed at the Protea, a Marriott hotel because it was about four minutes downhill by food from the Clarens square with the shops and restaurants. Made for an easy commute after shopping or eating.

The shop at Highland Brew.

Outside of the town of Clarens, there are other things to do and see. Other than the cheese place, there is also a dinosaur center. If you want another cafe with views of the mountains and hiking areas, check out Highland Brew. It has food and drink, plus a shop selling jam and coffee.

What to Buy In South Africa

M's Adventures

Not to sound too jaded, but I no longer buy magnets, keychains, or mugs as souvenirs. I try not to buy anything… and fail. Here are some of the things I looked at buying while I was in South Africa.

Traditionally in indigo colors but now found in the full range.

Shweshwe: is a fabric type. It is a thick cotton with printed geometric patterns. Read more about it on this blog. Apparently the name is the sound that the fabric makes when swishing around someone.

The original store. Okay, a well known store.

Vellies are a type of shoe that are thin soled (so you feel the earth) with leather uppers. They are a working shoe. It is a thing. These are made by many people and come in all colors. I wanted to buy the ones made by the pest controllers at the safari lodge (odd side business, eh?) but they did’t have the ones I needed in the color or size that I wanted (even though they were willing to custom make them) and I didn’t want to wait.

Our safari driver/guide wearing his well worn vellies.

Blankets: maybe it’s not special but I liked the all cotton ones I got at Barrydale Hand Weavers.

They had thin blankets, like this one, and heavier ones.

Linens: Seems odd, but household linens from Mungo are divine. All natural, handmade, locally sourced, and those other feel good goods.

Yes, we wanted everything.
I even bought the apron.

Leather is apparently a thing to buy but I didn’t find any that I wanted to buy.

Artwork, especially from local individual artists, is a good souvenir.

Artwork at the farmers market.

Clothes: If you are a ‘plus size’ person, then you will find that South Africa puts those clothes in the regular shops and makes them in colors and styles that you would actually wear.

Frame Shop In Lima

M's Adventures

QIq7nFn816UDDpKuagfbWegbTGCATrv3cHFfvfEI3sxPPJLlKAqV0lWYuXfNsJtMgpKX6Y94_ZgkeCjbW_zgc_dFRVUVDl_ivsCPQ-yxN8GAuYw4tiDT9TWmA0EKZYOcyc5viFjdhaWwvhDWO01dt36mGjwnxMhjCb5vR-ng_SpcWgUWi8P8YvkCeaNeed to get something framed? I seem to everywhere I go. My place in Lima is right in the heart of Miraflores tourist zone, on Calle Jose Galvez, one block from the Balta shopping mall (next to Aromia coffee shop and a nursery school). The owner doesn’t speak English (as far as I know), but he usually can have work done in a week, and at a reasonable price (my medium sized items have cost around $12-20). From the outside, his shop doesn’t look like much. Well, nor does it from the inside… but his work is good (and that might be him in the photo). His hours are 10:30 am to? I think he is closed on Sundays.

7t0oa9FNRs9oLFuAChnMfVsSt3iVJCV5USRD5s4kc3EmS_GwYFGNMpi8XabFDV7xWJ-6DfaTd0mt8XeZ4G4qN2JrivKtRwOAqEBxONsOyOuLac9EfDtw_mX9NUNz9kCkMs0SPr2GEyyIt4hGjZOqZktk3V2sOe0IRXIXoD5wKvGXILRm1mAx2BsAoPThe photo is from an art show (Noche de Arte) that I went to.

Frame Shops in Bogota

M's Adventures

11012161_10153266474419618_534906740613132810_oWith frame shops, it’s just like real estate — location, location, location. I know that many expats recommended the framer on the corner of Carrera 11 and Calle 85. It’s convenient. I went to the frame shops on Carrera 17 somewhere near Calle 70. (The photo is from the national gallery of art in Bogota.)

After the prodigious amount of items that I got framed in Dhaka, I didn’t have much wall space left in my apartment. So I took my time getting my two items framed in Bogota. On one of my epic six-hour walks, I decided to check out the prices and options for framing. I found the prices reasonable. About $24 to frame a certificate in plain black. I also got a fancy frame for my tiny certificate from the equator in Ecuador. One of the activities at the equator was the egg balancing act. More about that in another blog posting.

Shamim, My Favorite Framer in Dhaka – Cezanne Gallery

M's Adventures

A special lungi frame for my photo of a man in a lungi.
A special lungi frame for my photo of a man in a lungi.

A great delight of living in Dhaka is getting custom made, hand crafted frames. But, much more than that, my framer, Shamim of Cezanne Gallery, is an artist. Like great artists, he grows and develops his craft. I have given him several new styles of frames which I designed for my own photographs and artwork, and he took the ideas and “ran with it” as Americans like to say. I am impressed. Cezanne Gallery also has ready made paintings and artwork for purchase but I prefer the framing experience when sitting in the calm studio on the second level of UAE mall, ceiling fan blowing, and artistic inspiration flying.

Cezanne Gallery in UAE Market on Kemal Ataturk.
Cezanne Gallery in UAE Market on Kemal Ataturk.

The Cezanne Gallery is hard to find because it’s in plain sight. It’s located in the UAE Market on Kemal Ataturk, in Banani. If you drive west on Kemal Ataturk away from Gulshan 2 Circle, then this red brick two level mall will be on you left right before you reach airport road.

Shamim in his frame shop.
Shamim in his frame shop.

He is pricier than some other shops but his frames are cheap compared to the U.S. where a custom made frame can cost $24 per inch. Cezanne’s prices vary depending on what you get done but my frames have cost from $4-$150. Cezanne Gallery will re-do something if you do not like it. They deliver in a week (literally will deliver if your frame is too big or you cannot pick it up). They have an array of frames, mattes, and will match the color of the matte and frame to some part of the artwork or anything you can indicate (I once asked for the frame to match the brick wall outside). I thoroughly enjoyed the creative process of thinking up designs for my frames and I have done a fair amount of framing. Shamim is a gentleman and I have enjoyed the endless possibilities we have discussed while sitting in Cezanne Gallery.

Artwork and frames in Cezanne Gallery.
Artwork and frames in Cezanne Gallery.