Great questions from Cee’s Share Your World this week.  Here are my answers.

How do you like to spend a rainy day?

Where I live we have a Mediterranean Climate which means warm dry summers and cool, wet winters.   So when it rains – it’s usually cold.  That’s when I love to cosy up in front of a fire, drink hot chocolate and read.  Right now I’m grateful for the rain that has fallen this season but we really need a lot more!  I feel guilty when I enjoy the sunny days that pop up too frequently – like today.

In most parts of the rest of the country the rain comes in summer and is accompanied by thunder and lightening.  These storms usually occur in the afternoon, cool everything down and then out comes the sun again.   If you’re out having a picnic, you simply shelter in your car for half an hour or so then carry on with the fun when it clears.

List at least five favorite treats. (They do not have to be sugary).

• Lindt  Dark chocolate with mint
• Greek Yogurt flavoured with chocolate chips in it
• Chocolate Cheesecake
• Croissant al Cioccolato – the type I ate almost every day when I was in Italy!
• Hot chocolate

Did I mention that I love chocolate?   I follow a Banting/Paleo type diet.  Chocolate is very restricted!

Where’s your favorite place to take out-of-town guests?

I love taking out of town guests around.   If I had to choose a career other than teaching I’d choose Tour Guiding.

The Western Cape is a stunningly beautiful place and I can list many places that I could take you to see.  Everyone wants to take the cable car up table mountain and I’ve been up countless times with guests but usually let them do that on their own as it does not require a guide.  I choose where to take my guests depending on their interests.  My favourite place to take Nature lovers is False Bay Ecology Park.  Dirt roads wind around a wagon wheel of the old sewage works’ settling ponds.   The birdlife is amazing especially the flamingos.

Where we live now at the southern most point of Africa it is compulsory to go to said southern most point and climbing to the top of the Cape Agulhas lighthouse is another must do.

You are trapped in an elevator, who would you want to be trapped with?

Before I read Cee’s answer the first thing that came to mind was – Macgyver or someone with similar skills.  My husband comes a close second as he is pretty much like Macgyver himself.

But if it weren’t a good practical man along with me in that feted lift (elevator) then I would be happy to have someone who was interesting – like Sir David Attenborough.  He would at least keep me entertained for hours – and I just love his voice.

This is a my favourite David Attenborough quote:  I like animals. I like natural history. The travel bit is not the important bit. The travel bit is what you have to do in order to go and look at animals.

Optional Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful for technology.  It was just not possible for my siblings and me to go to Australia for my aunt’s funeral.  On Friday we were able to be part of her Celebration of Life service because my cousins live streamed it to a closed Facebook Page.   It was so worth rising at the rude hour of 3:00 am to be part of this final farewell to a very  much loved aunt. It was the most beautiful mass celebrated by a priest who knew her well.   How amazing it was to be able to see and hear my cousin, Wayne, give his heart-felt eulogy . I wrote an email to my aunt just before she died and my cousins asked me if it could be read at her service.  Of course I was honoured and her grandson, Jack,  read it gently and beautifully to the congregation.   At one point  during the service the priest asked everyone to turn to the camera, to wave and say Hello South Africa!  It was almost as good as being there in the flesh.  Just Awesome. RIP My Darling Aunt