Tag Archives: Zurich

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 5 of Level 3, 5 July 2020.

 

Sunday 5 July 2020, Day 35 of Level 3 after 66 days at Levels 5 and 4 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for a typical Cape Town day, at least two seasons in one day, with light rain most of this morning and lovely sunshine late this afternoon; for it being pleasant to go for a walk at lunchtime, combining Camps Bay with a Bakoven walk in one go; for the support I received about the cribbing of my Restaurant Sit-Down list; for the invitation by Juandre to enjoy a Jasmine tea at Bootlegger Bakoven; for a day without any toothache or any other pain, almost 24 hours without a painkiller ❤️❤️❤️; for feeling on top of the world after 9,5 hours sleep, a record for me, clearly what I needed; for visiting DARG in Hout Bay, from which I adopted Minsky, to fetch a tablet for her; for an hour spent at my ‘third home’ La Parada, my home of dancing, but there was none of that today; for shopping at Woolworths in Hout Bay, buying ingredients for a soup; for not being stopped at a massive roadblock in Hout Bay, passing through it in both directions 🙏; for a lovely sunset; for loving the Beethoven and Mozart played by flautists Sir James and Lady Galway in Zürich with Daniel Hope at Hope @ Home on Tour, lovely happy lively music which reflects how I feel today compared to yesterday, and enjoying it with my cousin Ulrike in two different countries and hemispheres; for being requested by two restaurant owners to assist them in two issues affecting our local restaurant industry; and for being happy and healthy 🙏💙

On my walk I saw Sunset Sessions having put out tables and chairs, to create sit-down opportunities. I almost literally bumped into Howard in Bakoven, coming around the same corner on Beta Road from different directions. Juandre from Bootlegger not only invited me to tea but also helped me to look at the Cape Town Eats Facebook Group now that I have been deleted from it…. the Group owner having cribbed from my Sit-Down Restaurant list on my Blog without permission.

What a transformation at La Parada for a Sunday afternoon, few cars outside, all tables set up on ‘our’ dance floor of days gone by but no dancing allowed, and DJ Rene Tanguy playing there, seemingly still angry with me about the honesty of my feedback about the music he plays these days, not making eye contact or acknowledgimg my presence there at all. What was weird was that he turned his back on his ‘audience’, the diners! But the staff was lovely, and having an appetite for the first time in two days, I ordered fried calamari. Mmmmmm 💙

I have some writing to do for one of the restaurant owners this evening, he going to court tomorrow on behalf of the restaurant industry.

I’m very happy with my pot of home-made vegetable soup.

So much 💙💙💙💙 in the sky over Camps Bay today.

SA Corona Status : 196750 cases 3199 deaths 😷😢

FitBit 12000 steps 9 km 👣

Lovemylife ❤️

 

I posted a separate post about plagiarism from parts of my Blogposts on Facebook without permission or credit, this having happened twice in the past month, which created a lively discussion. The latest perpetrator is Pamela McOnie of Cape Town Eats, cribbing the Atlantic Seaboard section of my list of Sit-Down restaurants that have reopened:

‘Dear Friends

It’s the second time in a month that a section of one of two of my Blogposts, being lists of Restaurant closures and Reopened Restaurants, has been cribbed and shared without permission or credit to the source.

Even worse is that the Admin of the Sea Point Community Group gave permission to one of the offenders to do so. When I questioned him on this, this was his reply:

Chris Von Ulmenstein when something gets posted on this group, it becomes public information. Admin has the right to allow any member to copy, paste and share if they deem fit to do so. Since when do you own the sole rights to publish which Restaurants are open for business in Cape Town, and specifically the Sea Point and Atlantic Seaboard area?’

Surely a Facebook Group Admin does not own my content and cannot give a third party permission to commit what is outright plagiarism? 😱😢😡‘

 

The Corona Virus Lockdown (Level 5), announced by our President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier to commence on 27 March and to continue until 16 April, subsequently extended to 30 April, lowered to Level 4 from 1 May, and lowered to Level 3 from 1 June, is an unprecedented event in my lifetime. I am posting my daily Facebook post to journal this Corona Lockdown Journey, perhaps to serve as material for a future Book.

About Chris von Ulmenstein

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein

 

Restaurant Review: New Exhibit A Fine-dining restaurant serves fine fun food, but service does not match cuisine quality!

I have experienced the cuisine creativity and presentation of Chefs Rikku O’Donnchü and Warwick King three times at Gåte when they opened at Quoin Rock wine estate outside Stellenbosch a year ago, and three times since they established their own SŸN Group since leaving Gåte, first as a SŸN Pop-up, and then as their brand new Exhibit A, in the past year, In this period I have seen the growth in this creative chef team, challenging itself continuously to do things differently and to break their own boundaries. Continue reading →

Daniel Waldis’ Le Chocolatier chocolate claims are fraudulent and life-threatening!

Le ChocolatierOne cannot get more notorious than being featured in Noseweek (July 2015 issue), and to have a Facebook group created about one’s business. Such an ‘honour’ has been bestowed upon Daniel Waldis, owner of Le Chocolatier, who has operated in Franschhoek, now in Stellenbosch, and with a factory in Paarl!

I first met Waldis at his restaurant in Franschhoek, after I had written a less than complimentary review of it. He was Continue reading →

Swissport Sweet Service and Burgundy Sour Service Awards!

swissport_logo_printThe Sweet Service Award goes to Swissport and its staff Zaheera Mia and Yolanda, for assisting us in obtaining a suitcase for our guest Monika Hänni, which had got left behind in Zürich. The guest had been promised the suitcase 24 hours later, but there was no contact from Swissport.  We tried to call Swissport all day and night, but no one answered! On calling Cape Town International 48 hour later, we were given an alternative number and mercifully Noor answered the phone.  We followed up with Jerome, who walked to the lost baggage section to find Zaheera. I offered to fetch the suitcase, as our guest had worn the same clothes for 36 hours already.  Yolanda came to meet us at the Information counter, to prevent us from having to enter a security area to fetch the bag – as I did not have a flight ticket, I was not allowed to enter the area, despite Monika needing assistance in communicating in English. Continue reading →