'Tis the season to be silly... tra la la lala

I have been on leave for a week now and for most people leave is a time for them to unwind, slow down, relax and recharge... however my week has been one of the most chaotic I have had in a while. Seeing as I will be away for 2 weeks I have been spending as much time as I can with my kids this week which has included everything from my boys birthday party, Carols by Candlelight, shopping, movies, clay cafe, beach, swimming, aquarium and everything inbetween.

I AM EXHAUSTED.

My little angel was spoilt as usual, gifts galore and a cake he loved. I have been trying to upload a pic of him with his cake but as yet blogger aint playing with.

Carol's by Candlelight is a yearly event at Kirstenbosch and a Cape Town institution. Every year about a week before Christmas thousands upon thousands of people congregate in the beautiful gardens in the spirit of the season. Anyone who lives in this beautiful city or visits it over the festive season, and has not yet attended this spectacle truly does NOT know what they are missing.

This is the third year running that I have gone, and the second that I have taken my kids along, and it is now becoming a family tradition. It normally runs for 4 consecutive evenings around the 16th of December. We arrived on Sunday evening around 6PM with a full picnic and heading off to meet with the friends waiting for us, and were confronted with the sight of people lined all the way up the hill and back down behind us waiting to get in. IT WAS PACKED. Everyone having a festive time... eating, drinking and merry making were definitely the order of the day (or night). Around 8PM, conveniently also around sunset, candles are lit and the carols are underway... led by the Cape Town Concert Brass Band and the Cape Town Male Voice Choir. What a sight to behold... thousands of candles swaying to the sound of carols being belted out by everyone there. If you haven't yet gone... GO NEXT YEAR... you will NOT regret it.

The Clay Cafe in hout bay is another fantastic spot to take your kids, or yourself, if you are looking to be creative for an afternoon. It is a pottery studio up on the hill overlooking the hout bay valley and over to the ocean where they make, paint and sell delightful african theme pottery. They also have a cafe where you can go and paint your own. You pay for the bisque and get 3 paint colours to use and then your imagination does the rest. Once you have created your masterpiece they fire it for you and then you return to collect your piece 2 weeks later. The kids absolutely LOVE it. They even cater for birthday parties... which is how we were first introduced to it. Another must do if you are in Cape Town.

Otherwise I am UBER excited about the upcoming trip, and if I am honest a little anxious. I know it is going to be great, fantastic, an experience to remember forever... however this is the first time that I will be leaving the kids for that amount of time... and it is the first time that I will be traveling alone (once there I will be meeting with a friend) but I have to get myself half way around the world by myself. And although I know I have nothing to be anxious about and that I am more than capable of looking after myself, I am still a little anxious. And then to top it all off... I checked the weather forecast for Jordan and Syria and I AM GOING TO FREEZE MY BACKSIDE OFF. When everyone else is coming to Cape Town at this time of year to bask in the 28 deg sunshine everyday... I will be leaving it to go to temp's of between -5 and 15 deg. Layering, it is all about layering :)