I promised i would do a travel post last week...
But i am yet to sort through the many pictures i hoped to upload on what i thought would be my first city post...BUDAPEST...

I wanted to begin with Budapest because it was a city i did not think i would fall in love with but i loved so much i hated leaving...
Anyway i shall begin with Nairobi now...
I just got in from Nairobi a few days ago...
Took a short break with friends...
I did not have any expectations while embarking on this adventure, i just hoped i would have great memories...
As always when i decide to go to a new place the first things i do are

1) Check out things to do...and not the regular things to do because sorry i am very Nigerian, strolling about a museum does not work for me. I do not think i would be inspired to change the world by staring at a piece of art so nah...if someone recommends a museum as top things to do in a place, its not for me...
I prefer more adventurous, blood boiling pursuits ;-)
if the things to do seem exciting, then i go to my next step

2) Check the weather. Never travel without checking this. This is the make or break for enjoying your time away.
I checked the weather for Kenya from tons of sites, they all said pack light jackets. (Probably written by "oyibos" from cold weather")
This was a mistake, it was cold. Not cold requiring thermal wear and gloves but enough to turn on heaters inside and forego alfresco dining just to avoid a bit of chill...

3) Check the requirements for entering the country. yellow cards, things not to bring (particularly useful for Nigerians who can bring all sorts on a trip), ever watched Border control....you could be the next "star" by unknowingly carrying the wrong things into a country!!!

4) Have all documents ready. print outs and photocopies of passports, visas, the works...i have foolishly gotten on an European train with an email confirmation of my ticket purchase which said "click here to print ticket" but i did not click so i did not have the tickets. it took a lot of convincing not to buy a fresh ticket and i have never felt so foolish...

5) Wells since this is not a "how to travel post"....there is no five..hehe

So my friends and i boarded our mid day flight from Lagos and off we went...
Now as i earlier said i had no expectations from visiting Kenya, Nairobi to be exact...
Just wanted to go someplace fun and my dad travelled to Nairobi a lot so well i wanted to go and see for myself...
Five hours later we are safely in Nairobi, Immigration was a quick 5 minutes, fill out a form on landing, hand over to immigration official with $50 visa fee and gbam! passport stamped...bliss...
Picked up by our lovely host and since this was late evening we didn't see the town much...

Day 1 and we did some shopping, not the regular mall trawling you do on the visit to big cities but the Masai Market...This market reminds me of the green market square in cape town...just the same vibe...
I was in love...arts, crafts, locally made jewelry,clothes, rings, bracelets, bangles, pictures, drawings, carvings...
i was like a child let loose in a toy shop...
Spent the better part of the day here, home for a quick change and then dinner and drinks...
Had dinner at the Mercury lounge with great great food and good live music...

Day 2 was a Sunday so church in the morning then brunch at Artcaffe...
When i experience a great thing, i always think "why cant we have that in Nigeria?"
And truly Artcaffe had the best food and drinks i have had in a while...
Their Signature drink is the YoghART...a blend of fresh yogurt, oats and fruits...
This could have been a meal itself...very filling but we ordered a mix of other meals ranging from prawn tagliatelle to Greek salads, to lasagna and we all had a bit of everything...
It was a wonder how we got out of that restaurant walking...
Next stop was the movies to see Step Up 4 in 3D which i needed a lot of convincing to see but was such a great feel good movie...
A quick rest and then..
CARNIVORE....
Carnivore is a Churrasco type restaurant so famous that Lonely planet rates this place as the top thing to do in Nairobi... as a matter of fact most notable travel sites such as TripAdvisor, Yahoo travels, Expedia and Fodors rate this place in the Top 10 things to do so of course we had to try it...
if you are going here please make a reservation, it gets very full and maybe because the next day was a public holiday, it had a wait time of 45 minutes for a table...
The food is simple, a light starter of carrot soup, a range of simple salads and then meats...i am talking better meat! sausages, lamb cuts, ribs, and their specialties...Game meat...
I tried crocodile meat...taste like regular meat but just a bit bony...
Ostrich meat...tastes like chicken...
But i just couldn't bring myself to try the "Ox balls"....
Really the testicles?????....nah...i am not that adventurous...
Also tried the "Dawa" which is a signature Swahili drink that tastes like the mojito, consists of brown sugar/honey, vodka and crushed limes...was a great one
Carnivore has a dancing area for winding down and it was old school night so we got groovy with some major old school tunes and burnt up some calories from our heavily loaded meals...

Day 3 we decided to see some animals...
i mean Kenya is synonymous with Safaris and spotting the Big 5 so...
We headed to the Elephant orphanage to see the elephants...
Was so sad to see the little elephants, the youngest being just two weeks old, orphaned by the activities of poachers...everyone was a little teary eyed...
The Nairobi National Park is also famous for having some major viewings of wild life...which is rare for a park set within city areas...in fact the only one in the world set within close proximity to the city...
It is a long tedious drive of trying to spot the animals so we headed to the orphanage just by the park entrance where for a small fee you can see the Big 5 in all their "caged glory" and so many other interesting animals...
We rested today for a little while and then headed to dinner at a lovely couple (Our host's boss) house in the suburbs of Kenya...
We had such a blast with this couple..great food (Lamb briyani) because the chef is Indian...and even greater conversation...Thanks Miriam and Yan...
Too tired and stuffed to do anything else so we called it a day even though the night had promise...

Day 4...was a half day because we had an evening flight out...
So we did some light shopping for stuff you do not find readily in Naija or you find at cutthroat prices...Honestly i was amazed at how cheap food and "luxuries" were...
Its criminal what we pay in Nigeria...
We got fresh roses to say thank you to our host and a fruit basket for the lovely dinner host at such a good price..I couldn't believe how much the roses cost but then again, Kenya has absolutely great weather for food and flowers and i fact exports to the world so...
Lunch again at Artcaffe because we just had to...
Avocado and Mango smoothie...YUMMY, Cabonara, home fries (Potatoes fried in tomato and parsley sauce)...and fresh passion fruit juice...heavenly...
Yes in case you haven't noticed, i am a foodie...
Headed to the airport and despite a delay we are off to Lagos...
PS - Jomo Kenyatta Airport is not the best for duty free shopping, more like duty double shopping so do not bother...
Landed in Lagos after a quick flight and we knew we were in soup...
We were locked out of the airport!!!!...
Unbelievable but very true...Had to wait 15 minutes for the doors to be opened...
Murtala Mohammed International Airport...never disappoints...

Oh well too much talking and now the pictures...
Ok this was a long post...i do not think i will repeat this day to day format...its tiring...lol

Yayyy... So i decided to start a new blog on my travels... Not that i have been to that many places but i have visited some very interesting cities and i wanted a way to chronicle my travels and i got tired of my pictures just resting quietly in my camera and laptop.. The blog is aptly titled "The Journey of a restless mind"... Being the baby sister of my first blog...the diary of a restless mind"... So what will this blog be about...things i have learnt visiting and exploring different countries and i really would love to visit every country in the world...I have a goal and most times i reach it...Five Countries a year... i have an insatiable appetite for travel, i live to plan my next trip...i fantasize about new cities, i read up about new cultures...i am obsessed with travel magazines and TV channels... My mother thinks it is wasteful to spend so much travelling but actually i find that for me, travel is as essential as feeding...it is nutrition for my soul, it makes me want to do more and be more...and i am glad i have birthed this new blog to help share my love for this passion of mine... ...I will be back tomorrow with a proper travel post...i am super excited!!!!!!