a sensory experience

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Today began our Livingstone get-away.  After breakfast, we piled in Kakhi-Jaki and drove an hour-and-a-half to Hotel Protea in Livingston, Zambia.  We dropped our luggage off and walked to Olga’s Italian Restaurant.  I was a little spectacle about an Italian restaurant in Africa but as soon as we walked through the gates, Regan and I looked at each other and just smiled.  I ate the freshest tomatoes on my bruchetta I have ever had and my lasagna came out on a wooden platter.  During our feast, BWeave told us unforgettable hilarious stories about her adventures overseas with Reagan and Ms. Shock.  After, a couple of us strolled back to the hotel with some stops along the way at craft stores.  Most of the crafts were more on the expensive side so we all decided to wait to buy anything until we saw everything in Livingstone. 

At 3:30 we shuttled to have dinner and high tea at The Royal Livingstone.  Round 2 shuttle saw three giraffes and a abnormally large baboon on our way.  Lauren, Charissa, Shanna, Mark, Tyler and I sat at this cozy room seating in the living room.  Huge stunning chandeliers, an antique piano (with a pianist playing amazing music only by memory), a spectacular view of the Zambezi River (you could see the mist from the top of Victoria Falls), dark wooden beams, beautiful bookcases and deserts you could only dream of or see in movies.  I had crème brule, a strawberry boat, a kiwi boat (my favorite), and a raspberry delight.  After we ate, we walked down to the river to watch the sun set.  On our way, we took some great photos with the baboons and the staff hired to keep the baboons away (with a slingshot- every 10 year olds dream job).  All I could think of while I was there was how my fancy, tea-drinking, British grandmother would have been so proud. 

After our fancy surreal day at The Royal Livingstone, we shuttled down to the bottom of Victoria Falls.  Ben, Ashley, Tyler, Mark and I ran across the skinny bridge and got drenched.  At one point, there were no railings and it seemed to be just Victoria Falls and me.  There was something so freeing about running across the bridge, screaming, and getting drenched.  If we were in America, the bridge would have been lit with ugly light poles.  Another moment when I have to remind myself that I have been living in Zambia, Africa. 

Today was a sensory experience.  I tasted desserts from The Royal Livingstone that my mouth has never savored.  I saw a path in front of me lit only by the moonlight.  I smelled a wood-burning oven 2,000 miles from Italy.  I felt my heartbeat over the bridge at Victoria Falls.  I heard a classical piano that took me back to colonial Livingstone.  I’m not sure how tomorrow is going to beat today but I need some sleep to get ready for it.