Olives and Plates at Wits: A Cake Bonanza
If you live in Joburg and like to eat, you’ve probably heard of an upscale breakfast and lunch chain called Olives and Plates. There are several Olives and Plates restaurants around town, mostly in [...]
15 Years of 2Summers in Joburg
This post first appeared in Johannesburg In Your Pocket. I published my first blog post on 6 June 2010, making this month the 15th anniversary of the 2Summers blog. (I didn’t actually move to [...]
Hidden Joburg: The Home of Edoardo Villa
A couple of years ago I started a "Hidden Joburg" series -- a quest to visit all 28 places in the book Hidden Johannesburg, by Paul Duncan and Alain Proust. Then I got sidetracked. [...]
Hidden Joburg: The Freemasons’ Hall in Parktown
My quest to visit all of the places featured in the Hidden Johannesburg book continues. With my recent trip to the Freemasons' Hall, which I'm about to tell you about, I have now visited 20 of the 28 [...]
Hidden Joburg: The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen
For the newest installment in my Hidden Joburg series, I visited a church in Hillbrow that I've been curious about for years. The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen is around the [...]
Hidden Joburg: The Radium Beer Hall in Orange Grove
The Radium Beer Hall, known as "Joburg's oldest running bar" -- there are older bars, but none of them have remained open continuously for as long as the Radium -- is not a new [...]
Hidden Joburg: The View in Parktown
As most of you know, I'm on a quest to visit all the places featured in the Hidden Johannesburg book. Last week I went to the View, a historic Victorian mansion in Parktown, as part of [...]
Hidden Joburg: Glenshiel and Villa Arcadia
My quest to visit all the places in the Hidden Johannesburg book -- which began with my pilgrimage to the Lemon Squeezer Church and then a visit to the Lions Shul -- continues. I [...]
Hidden Joburg: The Lions Shul
Yesterday I visited the Doornfontein Shul -- commonly known as the Lions Shul -- in downtown Joburg. The shul, built in 1905, is featured in Hidden Johannesburg, which I blogged about recently in my [...]
Why I Became a Member of the Rand Club
I've been visiting the Rand Club, one of Joburg's most historic buildings, for years. The Rand Club is on the corner of Fox and Loveday Streets in downtown Joburg. Although the club was founded [...]
Hidden Joburg: The Lemon Squeezer Church
I recently bought a copy of Hidden Johannesburg, a hardback coffee table book featuring 28 of Joburg's most interesting (and difficult to access, in some cases) buildings and interiors. Hidden Johannesburg, written by Paul [...]
View From the Top of the Nizamiye Mosque
Although the Nizamiye Mosque is huge and impossible to miss when driving north on the M1 highway, it remains one of Joburg's best kept secrets. The Nizamiye Masjid (mosque) in Midrand. I think most [...]