Creating Monsters

Xperinece 81

I have a slight obsession with Giovanni’s and their espressos. Most of my friends and I suppose anyone reading this blog knows it (if you didn’t, now you know something new). The girls in the office are convinced I have a problem and made me a bit self-conscious of my apparent problem. So I have abstained for a while (the longest 40 days ever!).

Ronel then asked me to join her for a coffee at Giovanni’s, I rushed as quick as I could to my favourite deli. Like a true junkie, I had a quick one before Ronel arrived for her new xperience and Pandora’s Box is now wide open again.

I ordered for us, mostly by catching the barista’s eye and holding 2 fingers up in the air. In this bar, they know my poison. With a flourish I presented Cape Town’s best espresso to Ronel and was rewarded with a worthy reaction. Like a connoisseur she commented on the smell, colour amount of foam and lastly the taste, by this time I was zoned out and enjoying all this in my own little private coffee paradise (jeez, maybe I do have a problem?). As espressos go, they don’t last long. After the last sip Ronel gravely announced that Jason’s coffee just won’t do anymore and her eyes wandered again to the counter. At that moment I it came to me, I might have created a monster.

Her newly created monster status was confirmed when she ordered a cappuccino and I went for my 3rd (40 days people, 40 days), I decided to poke the monster and suggest we take a walk inside the deli when done with our coffees… I succeeded right there in making Ronel Main Monster (insert wicked laugh here).

The next day while I was enjoying my new book and espresso in the corner of Giovanni’s, I wondered if I should phone Ronel, to join me. I didn’t, thinking maybe I need to give her some time, for the poison to do its work. It turns out I didn’t have to worry, she was sitting in her apartment trying very hard to ignore the call of the perfect espresso.

My work is done here, let one of them point a finger again at my little habit…

 

If only the Truth was as good as the Lie…

Xperience 5

Ok, so I didn’t blog yesterday about the 5th xperience. In my defense I did work until around 12:30 pm and at 8pm I was wandering around Woolworths going “Had that, had that and that and that…”.

Security was about to search my bag when at last I saw something I haven’t had before. Unfortunately I treat Woolworths like my personal kitchen and eat from there too much.

So I saw Butternut & Pumpkin Pansotti with tomato sauce. Honestly it looks like round ravioli, but hey, I was hungry and I still had to find something new to try. The pansotti wasn’t bad, nothing to write home about though…

Xperience 6

My infatuation with Giovanni’s is well documented. I’m a firm believer that they sell the best coffee and still have to be proved wrong. In De Waterkant I regularly see an oldish American truck with a logo saying something in the direction of “We roast coffee right”. The truck belongs to a shop called Truth just of from Somerset Road.

This morning I decided it’s time to test my theory regarding Giovanni’s. It seems they don’t do single espresso’s (my favourite poison), so I opted for second best, a cappuccino.

If you like milk and foam with a hint of coffee (much like a latte) then this will be perfect for you. However if you prefer your cappuccino to be a perfect espresso complemented with milk and foam, head down Somerset Rd to the deli with the green canopy. Now that’s the Truth.

Ooooh before I forget, Happy Cleavage Day everyone…

 

Bend over, please…

Xperience 4

No matter how gay you may perceive a man to be, there is nothing right about bending over while said good looking gay man sprays your bum.

While you have a giggle or choke (depending on whether your mind is in the gutter or next to it), let me explain.
I bought a really nice dress and killer heels for a wedding this coming weekend. I tried it on for a friend to get the official Friend OK, when I saw her eyes wander to my legs. Crap, I thought, the dress is too short. My friend assured me it’s not, but that I should seriously get some UV on them.

I’m not too keen on tanning and sport a 40SPF on my face every day. So my friend suggested a spray on tan for the pastiness (her words, not mine).

So I made my appointment and got my list of do’s and no’s.
Shave and exfoliate before.
No deodorant (huh? It’s summer, dammit)
No moisturisers (mental note to wear a long skirt)
Underwear you don’t feel sorry for.
Loose fitting clothes (pyjamas??)
And no getting wet for 8 hours afterwards.

With the above list ticked off and a vague feeling I need some perfume I arrived at the salon.
The friendly and slightly gay, very beautiful man behind the desk asked me to complete a form, after I confirmed it’s my first appointment with them.
We then discussed my new tan’s hue and decided on something natural and light. I do not want to look like one of those women from Jerseyliscious.

The Spray Room is completely bare except for a chair for my clothes, a towel on the floor and something that looks like a vacuum cleaner.
I take off my clothes and wait. And in walks the same good looking man. Oi, right around here I suddenly have about 57 serious problems with this whole experience.
For one I’m wearing my “salon g-string”, the black one for when I visit Maryke for that wax thing every few weeks. Which brings me to the next point, it might be time to go again… And now I see that said pair of perfectly good nickers is starting to look a bit old.
Also I could for the life of me not remember why I thought this beautiful, brown eyed man is gay.

All would have been fine until it turns out that he needs to be fairly close to you to make sure the coverage is even.
Whilst bent over with my arms open like wings (can you SEE the picture??) and the vacuum spraying my tan over my bum, I just kept on repeating, like a mantra, “He better be gay, please let him be gay, crap, I HOPE he’s gay!”
Then when he’s sure I’m all sprayed, off comes the bottle part and he uses the nozzle to blow dry me…and the mantra started again.

After I got dressed and regained some composure (ha! whatever) I walked back to reception with the question, how the hell do I look this man in the eye?
Easy. As soon as I walked in, he offered me a cup of coffee while we chatted away. After all, he’ll see me up close again sometime in the future, might as well make a girlfriend out of him.

 

Does a friend’s new experience count?

According to the rules, as set by me, NO!

But xperiencing a friend’s new xperience feels just as good. Giovanni’s is one of my favourite obsessions and one I indulge in when I’m in close range (about 15km radius). The office are tired of hearing me gush about their espressos, bread, food and actually just everything.

Today I dragged a friend with, her first Giovanni’s espresso and a quick walk through the deli later and Kim was converted. Needless to say the barista was really happy about a new pretty face around the counter.

Giovanni’s is by far not a new xperience, but I’m sure somewhere in their huge inventory I will find a list of new smells and tastes to add to my daily new xperience. Until the 10th I’ll just take as many friends with me to xperience Giovanni’s.