We arrived in Clarens today. It’s a little town in the Free State Province close to the Golden Gate National Park and the Kingdom of Lesotho. On the way we drove through Lesotho and saw a few Basotho people walking on the road. They wore distinctive straw conical-shaped hats on their heads to protect them from the sun. The shape of the hat resembles the mountains is the Kingdom of Lesotho. They are really cool.
Clarens is an idyllic place. It’s a haven for writers, artists, poets, any type of creative creature. The main square is surrounded by boutique stores which sell beautiful furniture, paintings, candles and knick-knacks and books. I was in my element! I have a bit of a book buying problem. A lot of women can’t resist walking into a shoe shop and trying on a pair of shoes they don’t need and subsequently purchasing them. Other women are chocoholics. I can’t walk past a book shop without gasping in excitement and running towards the entrance. Second hand bookstores are my favourite. Finding an old gem that smells like an ancient dusty library book is such a pleasure. I like to pretend that I have found a treasure that is no longer published and one will be a collector’s item. Nerdy eh! There is a really cute bookshop called Bibliophile in Clarens. Much to Kobus disappointment, I found it and spent quite some time rummaging around. I finally settled on a book of fairytales based in Liechtenstein and a novel about a teenage mother.
We stayed in a little bed and breakfast called Rosewood Corner which was run by an elderly retired couple. Their garden was beautifully coloured with every type of fuchsia and rose imaginable. A brood of fat hens called the little garden home, along with a little terrier called Lily. Clarens was the perfect place to relax before we head back to Johannesburg, back to the crazy city.
In a few days we will be heading to America, land of all apples that are big, land of free speech, home of Disney, Sex and the City and the corndog. I can’t wait! It’s going to be brilliant!
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