Cape Town Excursions from Gay Pride Parade to District 6

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Last weekend, three of my friends and I went to Cape Town. We rented a car for the weekend, since the public transportation isn’t too safe. We stayed in a backpackers on Long Street for two nights. The backpackers was a really cool blue and yellow building with a patio on top. There were couches on the patio, so you could hang out and watch the nightlife of the city.
On Saturday we went to the Gay Pride Parade. We had heard that this parade is a huge deal in Cape Town, so we wanted to check it out. It was awesome, but a little shorter than I expected. At noon, we meet up with some other Stellenbosch students at a gay bar, right by the parade. They had been there since 10:30 am drinking all morning. The parade passed right by the bar. There were about ten floats, and some outrageous costumes. Beside the floats were local supporters with inspirational signs for equality and respect. We had the pleasure of seeing the parade twice, at the beginning and the end. After the parade, there was a carnival.
On Friday and Saturday nights we had unbelievable dinners. Friday we went to the Mojito Café. This is a meal that we are still talking about, and it has been over a week. I had the jerk chicken pasta, their specialty. Then we saved just enough room for dessert. We were torn between the chocolate cake and the banana fritters, so we got them both! They were incredible, and I couldn’t get enough! Seriously, some of the best desert I have ever had. The next we had Thai food, which was also very good. After that meal, we were walking back to the backpackers and pasted by the Mojito Café. We decided that we could go for another desert. So we walked in and immediately ordered the same desert as we had the night before. And it was still just as we remembered.
Long Street is the place to go out in Cape Town. There are so many bars and clubs along the street. It was hard to choose which to go into. But we started out the nights at the Dubliner. They would have live music playing and some interesting people to meet. By the end of the night, we were in dance clubs having a great time. The nightlife is different than Stellenbosch, which is expected. The start the night later and continue until the morning. Oh and the food shops on the street are delicious. They were enticing us all weekend, and we finally gave in on Saturday night.
On Monday I went to Kayamundi with my Xhosa class. My teacher organized a lunch for our class, so we could all practice our Xhosa. We ate at Ubuntu Taste, a local bar and catering service in Kayamundi. We had a typical African meal, nditye ichakalaka, ipapa, umngqusho, and inyama. In English, we had vegetables, spinach, chicken, beef stew, and baked pop. The food was great and the drinks were cheap (only 7 rand for a cider).
Yesterday, we were scheduled to go to Robben Island and District 6 Museum. Sadly, the boat to Robben Island had a leak, so it was cancelled. Since we were at the waterfront, we spent a couple of hours wondering around the crafts market and other stores. Then went to lunch at an Indian restaurant. This was in the Muslim area of town.
We were still able to go to the District 6 Museum, which was incredible. All of the workers of the museum were residences of District 6 and were forcibly removed from the homes during apartheid. One man gave us a brief history behind District 6. The museums collection is all from donations of people. The workers are willing to tell you their story and opinions. I would really recommend this museum for anyone visiting Cape Town. It’s worth it.
Cheers!

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Photos

Gay Pride Parade
One of the floats in the parade

Kayamundi
The great meal we had at Ubuntu Taste

The waterfront at Cape Town
A beautiful view of table top mountain while we walked around the waterfront

Muslim Community
I love this part of Cape Town because of all the colorful houses and buildings in the area.

The Gang at the Parade
The bar we met everyone for the parade

Parade
One of my favorite people in the parade. He was on the top of the float.

Carnival
The crowd of people making their way to the carnival after the parade was over.

Ubuntu Taste
The restaurant/ bar we ate at in Kayamundi and the owner, cook, and waitress of the bar.

Comments

[pam Johnson]

important
love the colorful buildings...and the parade sounded fun and entertaining... i need your address ..your emails are not reaching me.... maddie is home this week from india...i'll give becky your skype info love you lots...mom

[Dad]

You are an excellent blogger! Miss seeing you, but the blogs and pix really help. Love ya, Dad