Cape Town is My Kinda Town

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So originally I didn't think I was going to keep the blog while Jason and I were away in Africa but after seeing that the hotel has free access to their computers and I would be able to upload photos, I figured why not? So I'll do my best to hopefully post daily while I am here in Cape Town but I cannot guarantee the same once we get to Botswana.

Our flight from JFK to Johannesburg was loooong. 15 hours 30 minutes in coach... not the most comfortable experience of my life. I've never experienced a sore butt like I did on that flight. Each seat had its own tv and we could choose from a huge list of movies, tv shows, video games and other things to keep ourselves entertained so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Jason and I each slept for a couple of hours on the flight but I don't think either of us got more than 2 hours of sleep. We landed safely in Johannesburg and then transferred flights to Cape Town. It was another 2 hour flight and this went by fast enough. We arrived in Cape Town and our hotel transfer was waiting for us at the airport. We got a nice drive through Cape Town while he recommened some things to us throughout the city. We arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon and were pleasantly surprised by it. It seems to be an upscale, chic place and our travel agent made an excellent choice in recommending this hotel to us. It's just up the street from a lot of restaurants and night life so it isn't a far walk for us if we feel like going out on the town and enjoying ourselves. After checking into the hotel we decided to go for a walk to the waterfront. We made our way to the waterfront and walked near Green Point Stadium which is the new stadium they built for the World Cup. After exploring the waterfront for a bit we slowly made our way back to the hotel and stopped at a restaurant nearby called Mama Afrika for dinner. It came highly recommened to us from our cab driver. We enjoyed a local beer (Castle) and tried a game meat platter and a dish of lamb bobotie. The lamb bobotie was finely minced lamb, liberally spiced, with a unique sauce on top it. It was almost like a loosely packed meatloaf but was amazing. The game meat platter came with grilled crocodile, kudu, ostrich, springbok, and venison sausage. Each meat was very unique but delicious in its own way. The sprinkbok had a sweetness to it that was really unusual for a meat. After enjoying our meal we took a leisurly walk back to our hotel where we were offered cocaine or marijuana by at least 6 different people. We decided to pass on those fun activities for the night (who knows what the rest of the week will bring?) and instead turned in early for the night to try to catch up on some missed sleep.

This morning we were up early and enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the hotel. It had a variety of foods but everything was delicious. There was an omelette bar, typical bacon, sausage and potatoes, a few different types of yogurt, various breads and pastries, a beef stir fry, baked beans and a few other items. The breakfast was delicious and I'm glad we'll get to enjoy it each morning.

Our tour for today was a half day tour of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Our guide first drove us up to Table Mountain where we took a cable car ride to the top and got to spend about an hour walking around and taking in the view. If we had nothing else to see in Cape Town I would be completely satisifed with what we saw this morning from the top of Table Mountain. Without a doubt it was one of the best views I have ever seen. It was about 9am and we were above the cloud line from the top of the mountain while there was still a light fog hanging over Cape Town. We could see the entire town as well as the rest of the mountains that circle it. Words cannot do justice to the view so I will let the photos speak for themselves. Simply put, it was breathtaking.

After leaving Table Mountain we drove around Cape Town for a bit and went through the Muslim quarter with its brightly colored houses. We then continued to drive through District 6. District 6 is an area of Cape Town that was an extremely diverse, thriving community. When the Group Areas Act was passed during the Apartheid period (this act designated which parts of South Africa belonged to which racial groups) it designated District 6 as a strictly white area. Every non-white living in District 6 was ordered to leave and the community was demolished. The plan was to reconstruct the area to provide housing as well as educational opportunities for the whites of Cape Town but it took a long time for this to occur. From what we saw of the district, there is a technology school there as well as some apartment buildings but not much else.

From District 6 we continued to the Castle of Good Hope which is the oldest building in Cape Town. It is an active military fort that was built by the first Dutch settlers here in the 1600s to provide shelter and protection. There was a small museum inside about the military history of the Cape. From there we went to the Museum of South Africa where we saw some of the natural history of the nation as well as the cultural and anthropological history of the native inhabitants of Southern Africa.

For dinner this evening we went to another hotel in Cape Town which was recommended to us by one of the other guests on our tour today. The Twelve Apostles Hotel is an extremely up scale, 5 star hotel/restaurant right on the coast. We went there this evening and enjoyed a drink by the bar while we watched the sunset over the Atlantic (not something we can really do in the US). After sunset we went to the restaurant and enjoyed our meals. I ordered a Cape Malay curry with chicken and prawns which made me feel like I was back in Thailand. It was perfect. Jason had a sprinkbok pot pie which was tender and delicious. We enjoyed a nice bottle of pinotage (a South African red wine) with dinner which complimented it perfectly. For dessert we had caramelized bananas with ice cream (like a bananas foster) and a rooibos creme and chocolate brownie with ice cream. We finished off the meal with a cup of coffee for Jason and an espresso with a South African brandy for me. I had never really forayed into brandy before but this stuff was incredible. It was smooth and had a nice finish. Jason and I got the name of it so that we can hopefully bring a bottle home with us.

Right now we're each relaxing with our computers and getting excited for our tour tomorrow. Tomorrow we have planned a full day tour of Cape Point, which is the peninsula south of Cape Town where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. There we should also be able to see tha native penguins which I am looking forward to. Despite what it may seem, this blog will not be entirely about food. While food will certainly be a huge part of our experience here and I will continue to write about it because I love food so much, hopefully in the days to come I will have much to write about our experiences here as I will about the food we enjoy (and maybe the cocaine as well.... maybe.). Hopefully the photos will help you to get an idea of how beautiful it is here. We both agreed that the city is different than we originally anticipated. It is clean, developed, friendly, and pedestrian friendly. We already feel comfortable here which is a lot to say for having only been here for less than 36 hours. It's rare that I ever feel unsafe traveling abroad but so far in Cape Town I feel extremely comfortable and at ease. I hope this impression continues to last.

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Photos

A Dassie
Apparently these little guys are the elephant's closest relative... but don't ask me to explain how