Nelson Mandela: 1918 - 2013

Few inspired the kind of reverence and admiration that  he did. As tributes pour in from leaders from around the world, South Africans and the world at large mourn the death of a great man.

Robala ka Khotso, Madiba.

Bench shuffling...the great equalizer

The waiting rooms of immigration halls are the few places in the world that bridge that vast social divide. I was recently at the Nanterre Prefecture Immigration office renewing my Carte de Séjour, and it dawned me that: for as long as I am a guest in a country that is not my own, I will spend some fraction of my life doing the bench shuffle.

The bench shuffle is that tedious movement you make on a waiting room bench, often plastic, in the immigration hall of your host country while waiting to be legitimized in some way. Whether you’re seeking a temporary or permanent status; fleeing or touring; are financial secure or spiritually content; a captain of industry or of your own street corner  - the bench shuffle is for everyone. It does not discriminate.

I saw it with my last visit, clutching my mandatory official-looking manila envelope that held  everything about who I am: not my name and my profession, but my name and a very odd designation : étrangère (foreigner). The monitors, high up above our heads, counted down every one foreigner served at the numerous counters, indicating waiting times varying between 35 and 97minutes. Yes, they calculated down to the last minute the amount of time we would spend shuffling those 5 centimetres, every 5 minutes.

I am still unsure of whether those monitors are on real time or if they are just a form of cruel and unusual punishment meted out by some sadistic immigration official. Give them a really random range and let them mull over that while we have our coffee break. Either way, you are held hostage by that bench – move and you lose your place – nod off and you miss your number. So we grimace and bear it, along with the hordes of crying babies, bored teenagers, apprehensive mothers, and agitated fathers of British, African, Chinese, Algerian and Eastern European descent alike because in those immigration halls, we are all equal.

Gastronomy in Ghana: The View Bar & Grill, Kumasi

The Kumasi restaurant scene is getting a new addition soon, with the opening of The View Bar & Grill scheduled for December 2013.
General Manager, Marcus Etty had this to say about it:

FOOD will be the soul of The View Bar & Grill. British Head Chef Danny Cornwell, former Executive chef of critically acclaimed Café Des Amis in Covent Garden, London and private chef for the Rolling Stones and Elton John has put together a menu that will incorporate British gastronomy blended with classic French Brasserie cuisine.

The DRINKS menu will offer the best of classic, premium and signature drinks, together with an extensive wine list.

MUSIC will be at the heart of this new establishment. Feature nights of Jazz and Blues, Nu Soul and R&B and Soulful House work alongside daily playlists of the very best vintage and new music.

I  looking forward to reading comments and reviews about this place once it has opened.

International Day for Tolerance

What does this day mean to you?
This was the first year I ackowledged it, even though the issue of tolerance is a recurring theme in politics and in life in general.
This post first appeared on
African Writing Blogs .

Slumming it has become fashionable once again

Poverty tourism, slum tourism or the industry of poorism - whichever label you give it, I have always been very uncomfortable with it. When it is hawked as a cultural learning exercise – I am not even sure what that is really supposed to mean – I can understand it to a point, but on the face of it, it’s exploitative, demeaning and misery-as-entertainment.

What does it essentially mean? Take a bus load of tourists, all eager to experience and learn about all facets of the country they are visiting – the good and the bad – away from their four-star hotels and pristine beaches, into the heart of a township, favela or slum of a developing country. The point being to give them a better understanding of the socio-economic divisions of that country. Is there not enough information out there available to better inform? I do not have to visit the slums of Mumbai to fully understand the dire poverty under which people live. All this education is done within a very  limited time period of course. It can be a meal in a local restaurant serving local cuisine carefully adapted to suit the foreign palate; it always includes a walking tour, with photo opportunities with the unschooled local children, and often ends with a bus load of self-satisfied tourists armed with their newly-acquired bragging rights, who will start off dinner conversations months later with: “When I visited the favela…township…slum of [insert developing country of choice]…”.

Photo source: Reuters

South Africa did it in the 80s, as a means of educating tourists about apartheid, it continued during and well after the 2010 Soccer World Cup - taking curious tourists into its townships as part of the overall tourist experience . I don’t think France organized tours into its impoverished crime-ridden banlieus in 1998; and I am almost certain that South Korea and Japan were not as quick to showcase their less attractive sides to the curious tourist; I can’t say much for Germany either in 2006,  but now Brazil is fine-tuning its poverty tourism in anticipation for the 2014 World Cup.

Proponents of this industry - yes it is an industry – argue that it encourages tourism to the marginalized parts of these countries; that it creates jobs and generates income; and that it builds a sense of worth amongst the slum inhabitants. The first two points I get – factor in the multiplier effect of the tourism revenue earned and theoretically a community should be better off. But the latter point? How does being curiously observed and photographed by tourists in one's home, for the simple reason that one is poor build a sense of self worth? Tune in David Attenborough’s famous nature documentary voice overs on these tours and you’ll see my point.

I always wonder if the number of tourists that descend upon Paris and France in general, no matter what the season have been curious enough to want to visit the country's less appealing sensitive urban zones (ZUS). Probably not, that would tarnish their ideal of the country’s well-burnished image. They sheepishly step over the homeless along the glitzy Champs-Elysées avenue , and I am certain they would not want to spend a morning ogling them in their natural habitat. Best leave that to the developing countries - let them showcase their own poverty and perpetuate that image of misery.

Château de Chenonceau, Chenonceaux

Château de Chenonceau for me was the best of the châteaux that we saw. It is a magnificent chateau with its landscaped gardens, bien sûr, but moreover its well-restored and maintained interiors. It is awe-inspiring with its reach across the River Cher. The audio tour, which we always make use of, has a children's version that for the little visitors with shorter attention spans worked very well.

Contemporary, delightful cuisine at Le Patio, Amboise

Le Patio in Amboise did not disappoint. We steered fairly clear of the restaurants right in front of the Château after reading reviews such as "overpriced tourist traps...", and made our way to the contemporary Le Patio. With its modern decor and contemporary menu which did not offer the usual french fare, it also proved to be great value for money.

The delightful meal began with a creamy leek with magret du canard, and carrot with  prawn soups, and pan-fried duck liver on pear; which were followed by a roasted partridge -  a taste between chicken and duck; salmon and dorado from the menu du marché , and dessert of chocolate mousse on crème de la vanille and rice pudding brulée - the latter was the only disappointing selection from the menu. The restaurant also offers a tasting menu from their menu d'inspiration. Overall the experience was excellent and just what we needed in between our châteaux viewing.

Château d'Amboise and Clos Lucé, Amboise

The Château d'Amboise was our first stop in Amboise - a tour that lasted about 45 minutes. We we there during the week, so it was not as crowded as expected. Beautiful landscaped gardens and gorgeous views of the  river Loire. A short 10 minute walk from this château is the Château Clos Lucé - famous for being the official residence of Leonardo da Vinci between 1516 and 1519.

Scenes around Tours, Loire Valley

Tours makes for a good base for exploring the châteaux of the Loire. Small, animated - especially in the evenings- and a short drive from the famous Amboise and Chenonceau chateaux. Its famous Cathedral and old town are its main draws and while its château is not as remarkable as the others in the Loire, it is a lively city, with its university town feel, pavement cafés, cobbled streets and bustling Place Plumereau, which proved to be the perfect place for enjoying the warm late fall weather.

A taste of Tours at Odéon

One of the pleasures of travel within France is the ease of it. A fairly short train or car ride and you find yourself in a part of the country offering another piece of the country's history. We finally went to the Loire Valley - yes unfortunately the ease of travel must also equate with the availability of time - or maybe that's my poor excuse for why it took us so long to make a trip there.

As always though, despite proper planning we only just made it there in the early afternoon, which on its own is not a problem, but for my family always is. Food is always the first point of call, and you'd think knowing this we'd plan accordingly.

Faces & Co. at Galerie 59.

If you're a fan of Gregos' work, head to Galerie 59 on Rue de Rivoli, for an exhibition of his work, with 50 other artists. The exhibition is on until 11 November.

If you can't make it to the exhibition, keep your eyes peeled around the city - his work can be spotted in obscure, hard-to-reach places. Simple joys in the accessibility of street art.

Books: DARKNESS VISIBLE by William Styron

Title: Darkness Visible
Author: William Styron
Genre: Memoir
Published: 1990

This was a short read about a terrible illness. Styron writes consciously and matter-of-factly about his depression. Consciously because even before he had given it a name, so unaware of the extent to which the disease could be debilitating, he was well aware of his progression into the darkness of it.

Books: THE ASSOCIATION OF FOREIGN SPOUSES by Marilyn Heward Mills

Title: The Association of Foreign Spouses
Author: Marilyn Heward Mills
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2010

After having recently read Ghana Must Go, The Association of Foreign Spouses, a book based in Ghana, transported me right back to this country which holds a special place in my heart. Reading it was like reliving my years there, without the themes of domestic abuse and isolation, but with memories about the awkwardness of being a foreigner.

Award season has come and gone

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

I have added to my list of authors to read, Alice Munro, this year's Nobel Peace Prize in Literature winner. Yes, because she has won the Nobel Peace Prize, but more so because she is a prolific writer of short stories - a genre I am becoming more and more partial to.

With the announcement of the Man Booker prize winner last night, Eleanor Catton for her book The Luminaries - making her the youngest ever winner, with the longest ever book of this prestigious prize, we can now say that award season is over.

Books: THE COOKED SEED by Anchee Min

Title: The Cooked Seed
Author: Anchee Min
Published: 2013
Genre: Memoir

Anchee Min has written extensively about her life in China in the years prior to the Cultural Revolution, when she was chosen to be the star of propaganda films , and subsequent to that when China underwent a revolution that saw all and everything ever associated with Chairman Mao be destroyed. In The Cooked Seed she writes of the arduous journey from life as a peasant in the countryside; to a stint in a labour camp; to her years as a star of the propaganda machine; to her escape to the US as an art student to the Chicago Art Institute after the death of Chairman Mao and overthrowing of Madame Mao.

On brunching and catching up with old friends in the Marais

Brunch is one of those wonderful meals that can be extended from late morning to early afternoon with absolutely no guilt. It's even better when it's combined with catching up with old friends, simple pleasures all round.
I recently re-discovered the hidden treasures in the Marais  - more specifically around Place des Vosges.

Books: GHANA MUST GO by Taiye Selasi

Title: Ghana Must Go
Author : Taiye Selasi
Published: 2013
Genre: Fiction

Ghana Must Go centres around the Sai family; Kweku Sai, his wife Folasadé and their children. Theirs is a love story of two young, confident and ambitious Africans - he is Ghanaian and she is Nigerian - who move to the United States where he studies medicine and goes on to become a renowned surgeon, and she gives up on Columbia Law in order to support him and raise their children.
It is a story about a family, and secrets, and issues left unresolved that manage to finally tear the family apart.

Swan Lake with an African twist

Photo courtesy: www.biennaledeladanse.com

I went to see Dada Masilo's Swan Lake a couple of nights ago with an unlikely date, my son - who came out of his first ballet experience, somewhat underwhelmed. I, on the other hand, together with the entire Wednesday night audience was blown away.
After the final dramatic scene,  which has an interesting twist, the audience got to its feet and gave an overwhelming ovation. It was not Tchaikovsky's classic ballet as you know it, but more a raucous combination of classical ballet and African dance.

Books: THE BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Title: The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons and an Unlikely Road to Manhood
Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Published: 2008
Genre: Memoir

I read this in two days. I enjoyed it that much. I had also wanted to go to a reading that the author was giving at the American Library of Paris, and thought it best to at least attend the reading, having actually read the book. I did not make the reading however, but I learnt a great deal about what growing up in the West Baltimore, in the years post the civil rights era was like.

Places : Château de Chantilly

Château de Chantilly is located 40km north of Paris - an approximate forty-five minute drive. Wikipedia lists it as a historic château - aren't they all historic though?
As part of our historical reading in my french class last semester, we read the memoirs of Madame de Sévigné, and our french teacher advised that we visit the Château de Chantilly as this was where where some of her writings regarding the life of the court were set.

Eating at Milton's, sampling the catch of the day in Pylos, and Asian fusion food at Inbi.

Once of the reasons I started this blog was to share, at the time, my culinary discoveries in Ghana. I soon realised though that I loved eating food more than I do writing about it. I can talk about it endlessly, and even photograph it fairly well, but somehow the words do not seem quite adequate when trying to tell about a tasting experience or culinary surprise that left my heart beating just a bit faster.

Books: POWDER NECKLACE by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

Title: Powder Necklace
Author: Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
Published: 2012
Genre: Fiction

Powder Necklace tells the story of 13/14 year old Lila who is uprooted without warning by her mother from London to Ghana. Although Ghanaian by birth, Lila has never lived in Ghana. She is at the cusp of her teenage years, and although she is not an out-and-out rebellious teenager, her divorced, single and overwhelmed mother, wanting to remove her from the influences of London and 'needing a break' sends her to a girls' boarding school in Ghana.

Golden Baobab's 2013 Longlist announced

Now that African wanderlust will also also be hosting its book blog  - all book-related posts will make their way here.

This is slightly belated post, but Golden Baobab announced the longlist for its much coveted Children's Literature Prize. All details on their website.

Paris Fashion Week 2013 Spring/Summer is here

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know that living in the fashion capital of the world is wasted on me. Yes, I love looking at beautiful clothes, and every so often I will spend a morning window licking shopping - I love that the french phrase; lèche-vitrines for this translates as window licking- and I love nothing more than sitting at a pavement café, nursing a café,  people watching and  admiring the many and varying fashion styles of the Parisians, but I have yet to understand the obsession with Fashion Week.
As it happens, it is almost that time of the year again when the city is abuzz with events that herald in  what fashion-savvy people will be wearing next Spring, or is it Summer? What fascinates me most is the excitement around an event that will showcase clothing which the fashion-savvy will declare as so very last year, next year this time.

The year ahead for African wanderlust

The rentrée came and went without too many glitches and we're all on our way into a new year. Welcome back Dear Reader. Having reviewed last year's activity on this blog -  it could definitely have used some guest bloggers or someone more committed than I was.
Some changes around the corner though. I will be posting on a more regular basis and will also include the book reviews that were on my writing blog, which I have decided to stop running. So many blogs, so little time. All past posts from that blog will be moved onto this one.

All comments and suggestions are always welcome, I will still be keeping with the themes of African wanderlust: some restaurant recommendations, many book reviews, a smattering of profiles, photography on the photoblog and of course the random musings.

Thank you for visiting if you're new to this page, and thank you for coming back again and again to all you readers clicking on daily.

(Almost) la rentrée again

Sunset in Costa Navarino, Greece

The leaves are beginning to turn, which just goes further to confirm that it's almost over. Les vacances with their hot summer afternoons and warm long evenings are coming to an end. The temperatures are dropping ever so slightly in the evenings, and the mornings are just a tad nippier than they were a few weeks ago.

It is almost the beginning of my favourite season, Fall. When the days are still gloriously sunny, the evenings still balmy and even the turning leaves signal rejuvenation. Am I ready for the rentrée? Absolutely not. I have formed some weird and wonderful habits over this summer, some of which I am not ready to let go of, but reality calls unfortunately.

Happy Birthday Madiba!

Today in Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday and South African's celebrate Mandela Day by making at least 67 minutes of their day count by dedicating them to acts of charity.
I cannot write anything else about Madiba that has not already been written. Given his current frail state of health, South Africans and the world at large are happy to see him celebrating another year.

Some pictures from the Mandela: From Prisoner to President exhibition that was at Hotel de Ville last month below.
It was a beautifully curated exhibition for a man who is a hero to many.

Keith Haring: The Political Line

I finally went to the Keith Haring Political Line exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art a few days ago. It is impressive. Enormous tarpaulins are hung in the huge space, covering his work from the early days as a burgeoning pop artist to his death in 1990.
Anti-establishment and anti conformist; political and social activist; pop and graffiti artist - it's all in his work. Then there is the merchandise store where you can buy key holders, books, magnets, badges, posters...the legacy of a capitalist strategy from an outspoken anti-capitalist artist. Along with opening of his pop shops, Haring was also a a firm believer in making art accessible to all. Many of his paintings are untitled, something that was deliberate on his part as he believed that the interpretation of his work should be left entirely to the viewer.

Le quatorze juillet 2013.

The annual military parade. July 14, 2013.

Brussels in 48 hours

The Atomium

I was doubtful at first whether two days was enough for a stay in Brussels. It is. Between indulging in some of the national foods - chips, waffles and chocolate - seriously courting heart disease and obesity at the same time; we found time to do the hop-on hop-off bus tour, visit Mini Europe and go up the Atomium. We skipped the Museum of Chocolate but did the comic strip Walk. I would have loved to have gone to the Hokusai exhibition which is currently on at the Museum of Japanese Art, but between the diverse family interests and a lack of time, I settled for the extensive street art to be found in this city. I started photographing all the chocolatiers' display windows, thinking it would make for a delicious-looking photo montage- I gave up after the fifth shop window. How many chocolatiers can one small city have? Did not mind tasting the products of these artists though.

The many photos of a shutter-happy tourist here and here.

Amazing views from the Arc de Triomphe

Spring break and the weather has actually felt like spring. My children had never been up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, after almost two years in Paris. Mainly it's been that same old reasoning; We live Paris, it'll always be there. Yesterday though we decided that a visit to the top of the Arch was long overdue; so we made like tourists and made our way to the most photographed monument in Paris.
We climbed the two hundred and seventy odd steps to the top, up a narrow spiral staircase and views from the terrace were incredible. All of Paris lay in every which direction we looked - the famous étoile giving us splendid views of the city below.
Admission for children under 17 is free and the adult fee is 8 euros. It's well worth the climb to the top.

Chinua Achebe : 1930 - 2013

I was around fifteen when I first read Things Fall Apart. It was a set book for our English class. We were, or at least I was, reading an account of Nigeria's history - and more broadly Africa's history - in the face of colonialism and not contextualising what it really meant. Things Fall Apart was for English class, meant to be read as per the prescribed chapters after each class, whilst Judy Blume, Sue Townsend and a whole lot other British and American writers held out interest for longer. The only thing that made those readings of Things Fall Apart stand out, and finally made me aware that I was reading a very important part of Africa's history was the play - or was it simply the reading out loud of the dialogue in the book - which our English class did. A brilliant move on the part of the English teacher, because to this day, this is one of the lasting memories I have about some of the books I read in high school. It feels good to know that I can actually remember Achebe's  Things Fall Apart over Blume's Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, even though both were very relevant in my life at the time. A great loss, of a great writer.

Street Art

In high school, I used to doodle, draw and cover every surface of my school files with images and words, which whilst seemingly random or nonsensical were coded in meaning for something that was going on in my life during those adolescent years. The one recurring image was a "Kilroy was here" image, whose original source I did not know, but one which I thought was amusing enough to reproduce over and over again on files, notebook covers and every so often, school desk surfaces. Armed with a marker, I could have been an artist.

Books: ON BLACK SISTERS' STREET by Chika Unigwe

Title: On Black Sisters' Street
Author: Chika Unigwe
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2009

As is often the case, my reading choices are made fairly haphazardly. Chika Unigwe's book must have come recommended by someone, somewhere because I have it on my Kindle. I read it in less than a week.
On Black Sisters' Street is a story of four African women: Sisi, Efe, Ama and Joyce all living in Antwerp, Amsterdam working as prostitutes.
Their stories, told from each one's perspective, about the events that led them to Amsterdam; to working under their Madam whilst paying off their debts to their mutual sponsor Dele, form the backdrop to the central story; the murder of one of their own.

Intellectualizing Hopper

Morning sun, 1952

I went to the Edward Hopper exhibition at the Grand Palais yesterday. It was refreshing to walk through an exhibition and not feel the need to find some intellectual meaning behind the paintings. Let me take a step back. The last exhibition I went to see was the Dali at Centre Pompidou. Granted that I cannot compare Dali and Hopper directly; one was a Surrealist painter, the other an impressionist-inspired Modernist. I can at least make some comparisons about the the emotions evoked by both.