Vicente Wolf

For my fifth visit to South Africa I had a set plan in my mind of what I wanted to do. But once the social / design / lecture / ball started rolling, my initial plans quickly went by the wayside.

I was put in The Saxon Boutique Hotel in Sandhurst, Johannesburg and was able to live the very grand life. I was in the Presidential Suite – not bad for a Cuban refugee, right? – and the beautiful grounds of this amazing hotel set the perfect foundation from which the whirlwind started.

The first night I went to dinner at CIRCA gallery where a collection of South Africa’s top designers and celebrities and architects gathered, invited by Sumari Krige, the organizer of Rooms on View, the show I was the guest speaker at. We had dinner in a brand new and breathtaking private dining room that offered great views of Johannesburg from its terraces. The menu was distinctly African, mixing different flavors trough small dishes dispersed on the table. I was seated next to the Oprah of SA, Jenny Crwys-Williams from 702 Talk Radio, and she told me about a great new show at the Johannesburg Art Gallery featuring work by a Cuban artist. So that went on my list of things that I just had to do.

That first evening was just really the beginning of what turned out to be a wonderful trip. More about it all tomorrow…