The Lost Years: 2015 (Cape Town)

I went over a decade without updating this blog, and I missed out on a lot of meals, a lot of travel, a lot more.  I was thinking about that recently.  It would be nice, perhaps, to have some sort of blather about some events from the past, perhaps for you few readers, perhaps for the sake of edification somehow.  And when I thought about where to start digging back in, I didn't at all consider chronological order or significance.  No, what came to mind was how nice it would be to revisit the South Africa trip from 2015.

In August 2015 I made a long trek with multiple stops to Cape Town to attend the IFLA World Congress being held there.  I'd never been to an IFLA conference before then, and I haven't been back.  At the time I thought it might be an interesting professional opportunity, and it was in its way, but it wasn't a library world I needed to be part of again no matter what city they might go to.

Still, I thought that Cape Town would be a pretty cool place to go to a conference.  And, of course, I added on some vacation time so as to make the most of the long trip.  Even better, a few days after I got there, Conrad arrived.  So while I had some time at the conference without him, I had most of my time in the country (and most of that in Cape Town) with Conrad.

I liked Cape Town.  It's a beautiful city, and its setting is a large part of that.  I'd seen Table Mountain in photos before, but photos don't do it justice.  Heading into the city from the airport, the driver pointed out zebras on the mountain slopes.  The first couple of days in Cape Town were grey and rainy,

and the mountain was kind of socked in,

but we got some great views of it after that. 

I thought it was especially cool when you could see clouds pouring over it, an effect that the locals apparently know as The Tablecloth. 

Clever!  And by the end of the trip, we had taken the tram up to the top

(with me keeping myself as calm as possible since I do not care of gondolas or trams like that and the heights that we end up swinging above)

for the chance to roam a little, admire the scenery below,

the wildlife up there (those are dassies),

and the flora,

much of which is endemic to the mountain and only the mountain.  So fantastic.

Cape Town is a city, and in some ways, just a mundane city. 

The conference center was not too far from our hotel, and I would walk to and from each day, in among plenty of people going to and from that business district for work.  Those parts of the city felt much like what we would know here in North America.  There were historic parts as well, and we visited them a little. 

We saw some fine neighbourhoods whilst on a bus tour, and we saw all the razor wire atop fences and walls around expensive homes.  Was the city unsafe, we asked at the hotel.  No, they told us, but the levels of income inequality and poverty meant that there was a homelessness problem, and panhandlers were far more likely to accost a pedestrian than a mugger.

To be honest, we stayed within a very small area, the V&A Waterfront. 

Dining, shops, hotels, tourist attractions.  It was a vibrant, lovely place, and I liked our hotel a lot. 

The aquarium was down that way,

the Springboks (rugby) experience was just uphill. 

Heck, even the gay bar

that I went to one night for a drag dinner/show with other LGBTQ+ librarians was pretty close. 

We dined well all around us (though I decided not to post food photos from the trip, at least not in this entry).  Leading along the oceanfront away from where we stayed was a long boardwalk that took me past a stadium

and then onto other neighbourhoods that seemed very nice. 

I was still running at the time, and I took advantage of that to get some miles under my feet early in the mornings there.

I know Cape Town has had some problems since our visit, specifically with water shortages.  If I went back, I would see it differently, and doubtless some of what I liked so much last time is changed or gone.  But I would go back, happily.  It was a marvelous city to visit.  I may never do IFLA things again (almost certainly not, in fact, but who knows?), but I appreciate that attending that conference gave me the chance to go to South Africa and see that little corner of it for myself.

Peter and Conrad go out

A night out for me and for Conrad invariably involves food, often wine and/or cocktails, and usually ends early. We're old marrieds. Forgive us.

This past weekend was exceptional, however. Two nights in a row - not just one night in isolation - we ventured out to live entertainment. And though we have struggled to catch up on sleep since, boy, was it fun! No, really. We'll have to venture out again.

Saturday: dinner with CG at Bistro Zinc. Our hope then was to head to River East 21 and get Conrad to his first movie of the year, Inception. Conrad and I hopped on the bus downtown
and shopped a bit, then headed to the restaurant and parked at the bar where we chatted with the hilarious bartender. CG showed up, we stayed at the bar, and enjoyed a casual (though not as cheap as we might like) dinner. Charcuterie and snails to share to start with. Quail on lentils for me for dinner. I've come to like Bistro Zinc a lot - great neighbourhood place, just not in my neighbourhood.

Then off to the theater (me, walking gingerly to the cab thanks to a 21-mile run that morning). Get there, get to the ticket machine. Inception - sold out. WHAT? Really? Apparently it's still a popular movie all these weeks later. Wow. Out onto the curb with us, and while CG and Conrad debated where to go for more wine, I secured us tickets for Comedy Sportz.

Off to Eno at the Intercontinental for a glass of wine each (and why did that waiter assume Conrad wanted the Malbec while CG and I were each having Pinot Meunier - she was having the Malbec, in fact), and a cab up to Boystown for the comedy show.





I'm very fond of improv comedy. I never get to live theatre in Chicago (or elsewhere), and it doesn't interest me hugely, to be honest. But comedy shows are fun, and I've enjoyed them in Chicago, Vancouver, and Montreal. Best thing that night? During one team's game at a point where they had to perform in the style of a Western, a member of the opposing team rolled across the stage in imitation of tumbleweed. Sometimes it's the small things.

Sunday morning we got up late.

Sunday evening it was over to CG's for dinner - she cooked a pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables, I baked a raspberry and almond brown butter tart, and we enjoyed wine that Conrad and I brought. Dinner done, we made our way to the 10:00 performance at Lincoln Hall. Never been there before, and when I saw Laura Veirs was playing the next night, I found myself thinking, "Can I make it 3 nights in a row?" (NO) Alex Church Brown of Sea Wolf was playing a solo acoustic set.
I hadn't heard of him before, but I gladly bought a Sea Wolf CD on Tuesday. I liked his singing, I liked the songs. I wish he'd bantered more. I wish the guy sitting at the end of the balcony with his girlfriend was something less of an obnoxiously enthusiastic fan.

What's up next for us? I don't know. Back to dining out and such, but I tell you, we will see more movies or live entertainment. It's fun, and I'm glad we had a weekend to remind us of this.

Jeph is 38

I hate surprises. Sort of. Frequently. But once in a while, they're fun. I can kind of feel for Jeph, hating them as well. Nonetheless, we undertook to surprise him for his 38th birthday today, and succeeded wildly.

Conrad and I flew to Cleveland yesterday morning and were met by Jeph's friend Jay at the airport. The three of us had lunch at Great Lakes Brewing before heading to the hotel to check in. We were to meet up somehow with Jeph there, though we weren't sure how the surprise would work. Would we knock on his room door? Would we meet in the lobby? What?

As it happened, Brett and Jeph were in the lobby some time later when Jay and I came back from an errand in the neighbourhood (Conrad was taking a nap upstairs). Because of where they stood and the placement of a pillar, they only saw Jay at first. I waited a moment then came into view, telling Brett the room was under my name. Jeph did a wonderful double take. EXACTLY the desired reaction. I think he was a little stunned through much of the weekend because of all the deviousness that went on, but truly, it was funny. He suspected something - apparently he noticed some missing toiletries at home - but he had no idea that his BF had arranged a room, a dinner reservation with friends, packed a bag and hid it in the car. Nicely done there, Mr. Pietrasz!

We (Conrad, Jeph, Brett, Jay, Dave, Larry, and I) had dinner at a Brazilian grill place (Braza Grill). Huge salad bar, a waiter whose accent made some menu items sound endearingly off-kiter (sheee-ken, sheees-cake, va-neeeee-la). Goodness, but we ate a lot of meat. Lamb, pork, ham, chicken, turkey, beef of various cuts, sausages. Dessert was rich as well, and not all of us could handle the shot of sweet almond liqueuer they closed with. I admit, my digestive system has launched a protest tha continues at this time. Veggies for me tomorrow.(Brett and Jeph)

(Dave and Jay)

(Jay and Randy)

(Conrad and me)

(Brett and Jeph)

(Me, Brett, and Jeph)

(Voguing, apparently)

(Brett and Jeph)


We then went to two bars, stopping back at the hotel in between them to change. It was a big deal for me and Conrad - we can't recall when last we went to a gay bar in Chicago. The NBF and his friends are bad influences, I guess.
(Ahhhh, true love)

(And more true love)

(My own cutie)

(Brett, Jeph, Dave, Jay, Conrad)


So it was a late night for us - 1:30 almost by the time I got into bed. The result was a late morning: 9:29 was what the clock read when I awoke with a start. We hustled to get ready and be downstairs in time to meet Jeph, Brett, Jay, and Dave for brunch. The rest of our time in Cleveland invovled poking in a few stores, coffee in the Lakewood neighbourhood, and general gabbery and driving about.
(Brett and Jay)

(Camera fun)

(Dave)

(More true love?)

(Conrad and me)

(Me, Brett, Jeph, Dave)


A few reactions to this weekend:

Nervous as I was to meet everyone, by the end of our time there, I was very glad to have made the trip and put real people to the names in Jeph's e-mails.

Cleveland has some fine and beautiful buildings, many of them in a state of neglect or disuse. Interesting city. I'd be curious to see it at a warmer time of year and when there's life downtown.(View from our hotel room)


Jeph's BF, the object of my not-at-all secret crushing, is considerably more adorable in real life than in photo. Darn him. Even Conrad concedes that Brett is a cutie (Conrad's word). I fear that Brett will have a swollen head as a result of all this praise and attention

And finally: Jeph is a really cool and nice guy, and I hope we'll see him (and Brett, of course) in Chicago at some point this year as well.

Happy birthday my friend. What will we do to surprise you next year? Or shall we lay off until the big one in 2009?