Parys | South Africa

I spent one of my last days exploring Parys with my parents. Parys is situated next to the Vaal River in the province of the Free State in South Africa. The name in English is Paris and in Afrikaans it is Parys. It’s a small cosy town with an interesting history, various types of buildings and a perfect weekend town for people from big cities like Johannesburg. It was quite interesting to spend some time in the tourist shops which we usually avoid, due to ridiculous prices and useless items. Once in a while it's nice to see the different shops and what they have to offer.

Most of the shops we visited were antique shops. I enjoyed a lot, due to my love for antiques which I have from growing up in a house which had more antique furniture and decor than an actual museum. Antiques are quite expensive, especially because people from the cities are the buyers, so the owners can push the price higher than it should be. So I don’t buy antiques, I just observe and appreciate them.

The other half of the shops sell handcrafts, clothing, art, plants, décor and various gifts. You never know what you’ll find or see when exploring the shops. I even found one of my friends working in a gallery I didn’t even know existed.

We had lunch at a tea garden restaurant type of place called, Diva's. It is a garden which is beautifully decorated with various decor, fancy seating places, foliage and chickens. I also think it happens to be the most incredible and interesting restaurant in Parys. There are a lot of attractive restaurants and coffee shops, but none of them have the character and good vibes of this outside restaurant. My friend and I went a few times, and we were never dissatisfied, the experience was always wonderful and unforgettable. I was glad to finally be able to share the place with my parent as well. We ate some delicious cakes and talked while feeding the chickens.

I'm glad we took the time to explore the town before I left. It was a day well spent with my parents. Even though I’m have to admit that there isn’t a lot for the local to do it their free time, I can see why visitors enjoy spending the weekend strolling down the streets and spent some time closer to nature.

Felicia

xoxo