Visit to Jack and Marianne's new home

Our “African parents” (Fritz’s parents, who also hosted us upon our arrival here this past June) recently moved from Cape Town to Mossel Bay, a town about 4 hours east along the coast. Thus we hadn’t seen them for a few months and wanted to visit them in their new house. So this past weekend we drove over (along with Fritz and friend Mark) and enjoyed two nights and days with them.

Jack and Marianne’s hospitality was warm and generous, and we enjoyed our time – and all Marianne’s good food – immensely! It was particularly nice to be in a home over “Thanksgiving weekend”. Highlights include an evening walk along the beach, eating a traditional Afrikaner-Cape dish of ‘waterblommetjie bredie’ (stew with lamb knuckles, water hyacinth flowers, and potatoes), watching rugby (though Jul was in the other room marking/grading exam papers), and simply being in their home, sharing stories and gazing out the windows into the bay.

Jul and Marianne in the kitchen before breakfast - yogurt with muesli and fresh fruit (nectarines and apricots are in season), toast with lots of toppings (cheese, jams, figs), and coffee.

Mark just finished his thesis for a MA in Landscape Architecture. UCT has one of only two such programs in the country, and Mark graduated at the top of his class. Here he shares a few of his plans from his thesis project. Impressive and fascinating!




Along the section of beach closest to their house there is a rocky strip between the water and the sand, which creates tidal pools. Because of some recent heavy rains, the crashing of the waves on the rocks created a lot of sea foam, which you can see in the photo.