So what does a Hindu bride, a 1941 Bahamas holiday, talismans and a famous California hotel have to do Nairobi’s newest and most stylish cafe?
Sunday is a very healing day for me. I have certain rituals and activities I undertake in that are undoubtedly the highlight of my week. What they all are isn’t important to this post, what matters is just my breakfast ritual.
Kericho Gold morning tea…check.
The perfect 90s rnb playlist….check.
My trusted laptop…..check.
Armed with these three things I head on over to a specific nook in my home, cuddle up in one corner and prepare to be transported to my own world for an hour an a half before I have to leave.
On one particular Sunday everything seemed to be as it always was. The usual gossip articles (a guilty pleasure), catching up on current affairs and getting design inspiration. But 30 minutes in I got extremely nostalgic and suddenly I couldn’t stop thinking about my former university lecturer Dr.Lilac Osanjo. It wasn’t anything specific just flashbacks of her lectures that, unlike most others, opened our eyes to the wonders of African design. Images and stories of beautiful and unique spaces designed by and for Africans and most importantly inspired by Africa. As I let myself go down memory lane one specific lecture sticks out. It’s so weird how our brains work, I struggle to remember what I ate for dinner two days ago but on this particular day I could remember EVERYTHING about the day Dr.Osanjo told us all about Mr. Alan Donovan, his impact on Kenyan art and design and his famous house, THE AFRICAN HERITAGE HOUSE.
It’s 1:00 pm on the 4th of January 2017 and as promised in my last post EUROTRIP: NAPLES INTERIORS THAT GAVE ME LIFE (PART 1) we’re going to discover an amazing restaurant together.
I found out about it from HOTEL PIAZZA BELLINI, where we are staying here in Naples. They have this great partnership with them where all their guests get a 10% discount when you dine there. The combination of a discount and potentially good food and decor is enough to get me to walk from here to China if need be. Luckily I don’t have to go far at all as the restaurant is just next door to the hotel.
So let see if it’ll be a worthwhile experience.
It’s 9:15am on the 3rd of January 2017 and the bus we’re in just started off on the 2 hours 35 minute journey to from Naples and Rome. (If you missed out on my interior adventured in Rome be sure to check out my last post EUROTRIP: ROME RESTAURANTS THAT STOLE MY HEART). We opted for the bus rather than the train because of costs (that’s money that we can dedicate to our stomachs) and the fact that the bus takes a more scenic route. Unfortunately the scenic view theory has failed miserably on my part as two hours and thirty five minutes later I’ve just been woken up as we’ve arrived. So as the genius I seem to be, I dozed off a minute into the journey and didn’t see one single thing! It’s okay though because were going back to Rome via the same bus route so I still have one last chance.
The weather is still as bad here as Rome but I actually don’t mind because all I can think about is the hotel we’ll be staying in. After seeing some images online I adamantly insisted that we stay there. If it’s truly as cool as it looks I will have a hard time leaving it. It does count as visiting Naples if I stay indoors and just google the sights? We can just call it virtual travelling, the 21 century version of sight seeing.
Have a look at what I mean and I dare you to tell me you wouldn’t be considering the same thing if you were in my shoes.
It’s 7pm, Tuesday 27th December 2016, and we’ve been in Rome for exactly 2 hours. After spending 3 days in Germany, where it was deathly cold, our mission is to look for a few degrees of warmth, to see every single bit of this glorious city (it’s been no.1 on my bucket list of places to visit) and have as much food and wine as humanly possible. Oh, and go shopping for a whole new wardrobe seeing that I will definitely not fit into any of my current ones. As consequences go I’m willing to deal with gaining a butt-load of kgs. I read somewhere that in Mauritania being fat is considered a sign of prosperity so if I won’t be able to get a handle on my weight after his trip I know where I’ll be accepted.
But I digress…so it’s 7pm and after settling into our apartment we’re heading out for a little stroll before dinner. Do you remember that feeling of utter betrayal when you found out that your parents had lied to you about a whole tree growing in your tummy if you accidentally swallow a seed? Well, that is exactly what I’m feeling as we walk down what looks like Rome but feels like Antarctica. The lies….the sheer lies of it all! I was told that it would be warmer. I honestly don’t expect much, just anything above 0 degrees. Nairobians weren’t built for this cold. When there’s one grey cloud we get into our winterboots/coats/hats/gloves, and if we sneeze even one we cuddle up on the couch with a hot water bottle with some tissues suffering from the infamous FLU. So you cant blame me for being confused and heartbroken when in my dream city but I feel like I’m a character from PINGU.
Let the record show that Rome is extremely beautiful even in the dark and the freezing cold. But there comes a time when one has to accept that they are not built for the cold and we’ve decided to seek shelter at this cute restaurant we’ve stumbled upon. Looking at the decor the first thing that comes into my mind isn’t necessarily the quintessential Italian style interior and that’s actually what pulls me in. Have a look at what I mean: