First Days & Nyamirambo Women's Centre

 

Mum and Merrick finally arrived on Friday! It's taken years of persuasion to get my mum on a plane, but at last - time to show her the wonders of Rwanda. Love this picture she WhatsApped me from the bar at Gatwick, shortly before boarding.

 

They landed at 6:50 in the morning, so I had to be up super early for a shower and coffee before my friend Emmy came with his taxi. I'd planned to have a total detox before they arrived, but that went out the window, thanks to Ian (of piano fame), who only left the day before, so I'd had a few too many late nights already.

Bye, bye Ian. See you again soon!

Emmy and I stood sipping coffee, waiting for them to appear through arrivals. Coincidentally, whilst waiting, I bumped into a friend who owed me money, and he handed me a crisp $100 bill. Nice start to the holiday, and much needed for welcome beer.

Dawn

Got home and mum immediately started unpacking all the goodies she'd brought: fresh sheets, a blender, and a ton of chocolate. I have enough to survive a short zombie apocalypse. 

 

Then it was time to pop the champers and cut the cake, as both mum and Merrick had birthdays recently. I splashed out on a red velvet cake from the best bakery in town, Slices in Kigali Heights.

Then it was off down my local, CasaKeza, for a well-earned beer, some tapas, and an outstanding blues band.

The next morning was a leisurely one, eventually pootling next door for brunch at Terra Café. After which, we headed over to Gisozi, to visit Kigali Genocide Memorial. Thought it was best to get the heavy stuff out the way first, then enjoy the Rwanda of today. 

I've written many times before about the memorial, so won't go into it again. Suffice to say, it's a very poignant encounter with Rwanda's recent past. 

Time for a quick coffee at the end...

 

Then down the hill to the top of Ubumwe Hotel, which has a cracking view of the entire city (more in a previous post), ending with drinks by the pool at Mille Collines (Hotel Rwanda).

The next day, we were off on a walking tour with Nyamirambo Women's Center. This is something Harris put me onto. He went with his parents and I was delighted to give it a try as it's often hard to think of things to do for a day in Kigali. 

It's a really excellent initiative. You start with a briefing in a little room where they've thoughtfully printed out some basic Kinyarwanda phrases. I learnt that mwaramutze (good morning) literally translates as Did you survive the night? which explains why so many people respond yego (yes) when you greet them. Suddenly, the penny drops. 

The tour visits local shops, a milk bar, a hair salon, and winds through the back streets where you see what life is like for many Rwandans: where they collect their water and buy fruit and veg. There was some impressive street art along the way.

 

 

  

And a display of dodo preparation, including a homemade blender formed from a wooden basin with knives taped together and strapped to a small electrical motor. 

Our guide, Claude.

Loading the blender.

Then it was back to a compound near the centre to share in a large, communal meal. A full melange was laid out, with local sweet potato, bananas, rice, meatballs and dodo. 

 

It was a really excellent way to introduce my folks to Kigali, and there was a little time for shopping before we headed home for a well-earned break from the heat.

Got home to find the cats had been getting into some crafts of their own. This is Sen. I'm thinking of offering gift delivery throughout Kigali.

Unfortunately, mum wasn't feeling very well the next day, so we had a nice, relaxing day about the house. The next day, they wanted to see around my local neighbourhood and asked, "Where can we walk? What's interesting?" To which I replied, in the way of people who have lived somewhere too long, "I don't think there is anything very interesting."

Turns out, when I thought about it a bit more, there is quite a lot in my neighbourhood. So, we set out on this lovely circular walk of Kacyiru. 

Stage One: Start at Terra Café (former Root House) on the road to the golf course. They do a stunning glass of lemonade. Very refreshing. Then follow the road uphill to the main road (Embassy Row) at the top. Huge acacia tree on the corner for shade. That's the only real uphill part of the walk. Cross over the main road at the pedestrian crossing, go down a tiny bit, and take the first road on your left.

Stage Two: This is a nice, leafy walk through Kacyiru's suburbs. At the end of the road you'll find a tall building on your right. This is Inzora Café, where you can get a nice cup of coffee or a smoothie (top tip: there's an outdoor seating area on the roof). It's also home to Ikirezi Bookshop, possibly the best-stocked bookshop on Rwandan history, African art and children's literature.Once you're fully rested, come out of Inzora and turn right. At the very end of the street you'll find some lovely craft shops, including Azizi Life, which sells Beeautiful Creations honey and candles. You can also weave a basket or make an imigongo painting there.

Stage Three: When you're done with the shops, nip around the corner to your left for a full view of Kigali Convention Centre, currently the most expensive building in Africa, and cross the road for Kigali Heights Shopping Centre. On the balcony you'll find delicious ice-cream at Delizia, red velvet cake at Slices, and a cold beer at Rider's Lounge. Take the weight off for a while.

Stage Four: This is the only bit that gets slightly tricky direction wise. Come out of Kigali Heights, heading away from the Convention Centre back towards Kacyiru. Careful crossing the busy main road. On the other side you'll see Wine & More/Brioche Café/People Nightclub (all one building). When you see this, duck behind it to the dirt road and start following it. It will eventually come out at a paved road with King Faisal Hospital to the right. Walk towards the hospital and hang a left along KG 559. Follow this straight until it turns into a dirt road. Keep going. It skirts the back of the golf course, which is nice and green, and goes past Ivuka Arts, which you can pop into for some culture. 

Stage Five: At the end of the road, you can either hang a right and head back to Terra Café, if you parked there, or continue straight ahead to CasaKeza tapas restaurant for another cold beer. Both Terra Café and CasaKeza serve great food, but Terra doesn't serve alcohol. Though, again, their lemonade is truly something special. 

So, that's my neighbourhood. More interesting than I originally thought.

Smoothies at Inzora