travels to South Africa

[Ralitsa]

Well gals, I made it to South Africa and I will give you a short synopsis of the trip so far.
I decided to wear a blue plaid skirt that I have because it matched my new boots the best. These boots don't match my purse, so I'm in violation of that fashion rule, but I don't have a blue leather purse so it's too bad. With the skirt I wore a casual blouse and cami set that has a light blue and reddish pattern that didn't go particularily well with the skirt, but it's comfortable and pretty. When I get back to the states I will get the opinion of a GG friend to find out how disasterous was that combination. I changed planes in Paris, at CDG, and the French didn't arrest me so I think I must not have committed too many crimes against good taste.
Then I had the 10-1/2 hour plane ride to Johannesburg. Now my boots are very nice, but they are nearly impossible to take off and put back on while seated on a plane. And if any of you have taken a 10-1/2 hour plane ride you know what it's like to have your feet in shoes on a plane that long. It was bad enough going through security with them, but that was only a matter of taking some extra time. But, I survived.
The plane was the new Airbus A380, seems like a nice enough plane but not so different (from the passengers point of view) than other modern planes. Except they have a camera which must be mounted in the vertical stabilizer so you can watch where you're going, which is kind of cool when you're on the ground. But the really cool thing is that one of their movie selections is an Asterix and Obelix adventure. I didn't know they had Asterix and Obelix movies now, but it was almost as good and the comic books.
Arriving at Johannesburg, everything went smoothly and I found the driver who was to take me to the Guest House, the bed and breakfast where I am staying. It is a very nice place, the whole name is Pheasant Hill Guest House and here is the link to their site: http://www.pheasanthill.co.za/ It's about 20 minutes from the airport, maybe halfway between Jo'burg and Pretoria. It's in a semi-rural area, but pretty close to shops and a mall, and also horse back riding, game tours, fishing, etc. It seems to be an old estate, or plantation, or farm, the buildings are probably ~200 years old, very richly furnished and decorated, beautiful gardens, patios, swan pond, and the rooms are in smaller guest houses dispersed around the main house. So this should be a really pleasant place to stay.
When I arrived, nobody commented on, or seemed to be the slightest surprised that I was wearing a skirt and blouse. But as we were waiting for the lady who does everything, I noticed a rather odd and very large painting in the sitting room. It was of a man laying down, seemingly outside but the surroundings are rather indistinct, and wearing black panties with a very diaphanous white gown, like a chiffon robe, being blown around by the wind. There is a good deal of other artwork around as well, and I was puzzling about whether these were pieces dating from decades ago and just came with the house or whether they were specifically chosen by the owners. And why would the owners have such a large painting of a crossdresser in such a prominant location?
Some time later, while I was having coffee, the owner stopped in on his way to go out riding. We were talking about the place, and the routine, when breakfast starts etc. And he mentioned that Pieter does all the cooking, bookkeeping, etc, and that Pieter is his lover. So now I understand about the painting, and in fact there are quite a few other paintings of a provacative nature here as well.
I think that one could put this at the top of the list for LGBT friendly places. And now I'm really glad that I packed my teal dress and new heels, since I'll be wearing that to dinner in a few hours.

[Absaroka]

Glad you are having fun. My brother has been to SA a number of times and paints a very different and dismal picture, although he speaks very highly of most of the people he has met there. But that is on mission work for his church and he goes to probably very different places.

[Ralitsa]

This was written yesterday, but didn't have a chance to post it until now:

Today is my last day in South Africa. I had planned to go to the game park this morning, but a continuous rain killed that idea. So I still do not have pictures of lions and tigers and elephants to show my kids. I was able to get plenty of souveniers though a few days ago, the sorts of things that tourists buy for their kids so that they can say "this came from South Africa" and then promptly lose it, or break it or put it on a shelf never to be thought of again.
I checked out of Pheasant Hill at noon to go to the airport. The guys were both very congenial and considerate, and made a particular point of seeimg me off and wishing me a good flight and a welcome return. I can't help but think that they showed me a little extra favor, although they are exceptionally friendly and accomodating with all the guests. Most of the people who stay there come on business, and most of them are regulars. It's easy to see why, it is convenient to the office complexes, but still very peaceful and pleasant. It's not far from the airport and well situated between Pretoria and Jo'burg.
The airport has a train that goes to downtown Pretoria (I think). One can lock up their baggage at the airport (2 bags was 6 Euro for 5 hours) and catch the train for 100 ZAR each way. The area is called Sandton, and it's mostly a business district but there is a very large shopping complex there. I had it in mind to buy a few other souveniers but nothing really appealed to me very much. But I walked around for a while checking everything out, and except for a couple South Africa souvenir shops it was pretty much like any shopping mall anywhere.
I was wearing my blue skirt and plaid top, actually the same outfit I wore on the trip down, and wasn't really very happy with how I looked. My hair was a disaster, partly because of the rain and partly because I hadn't really done anything with it. I happened to pass by a wig shop, and because I was feeling a little dissatisfied with myself paused and looked it over. I noticed that the sales ladies inside were taking a particular interest in me, which further discomfitted me. I walked on, but the possibility of solving my hair problem ultimately got the best of me and I returned to the shop.
As I suspected, the ladies there were very eager to fix me up. Now maybe what I'm going to say next is racist or judgemental, but it's always been my observation that black women are particularily interested and friendly when I am dressed up. This is true for all age groups and geographical regions, so I don't think it's a superficial reaction. Consequently I am developing a great fondness for black ladies.
The first wig she tried made me look like my sister, which is OK, and she liked it but the other sales lady didn't like it much. So we tried another one that we all liked very much. The we tried several others, and eventually found another that we all liked very much. So I ended up getting those two, and now have on the shorter, more casusal one. I'm very happy with this, it finally makes my whole outfit come together. Now when I catch a glimpse of my reflection in a window or mirror I no longer recoil in horror.
So I returned to the airport and collected my baggage, and the younger lady at the baggage service told me that she really liked my hair, and asked whether I had it dyed. I was quite pleased that she couldn't tell it was a wig, but I told her, and showed her the other one I got as well. I really am developing a fondness for black ladies. Right now I'm sitting in the AF salon waiting for my 10-1/2 hour plane ride. At least I have a few hours at CDG where I will take a shower, put on a clean outfit, and feel somewhat civilized when I land in Sofia. Then I have a few days to recover before turning around and going back to the states.

[Susan]

Ralitsa

A very nice post. Have a safe trip back to Bulgaria, I hope you get home for Easter.

[Paula G]

It's good to hear such a full report of your trip, please do continue, then we can travel with you as stow aways.