First day on the town
Feeling very refreshed following a good night’s sleep. Took down the laundry last night so no rush this morning. Woke up to a bright sunny day and a temperature of 57. Located everything in our suitcases and put out what we would use in the next 6 days in Cape Town.
8 am and off to breakfast.
60 minutes later…have you ever had the flakiest croissant, the most scrumptious mini crème brûlée, the best cappuccino and the juiciest kiwi fruit ….all in one meal!
Barb: The staff is so helpful and friendly, especially Letshia: she called me Barbra Streisand. I agreed to an autograph but would not sing.
Mid-morning we started our walk along the Marina area toward the Two Oceans Aquarium (named for the Atlantic and Indian oceans that meet at Cape Town).
Two hours later…
During our walk we couldn’t resist this nature-framed shot of some pricy condos on the marina…
We found the aquarium but bypassed it for an open area mall for local artisans called The Watershed.
The Watershed local artisans mall
Barbara’s two cents:
Feeling so grateful at 85 to be in South Africa following the long day (24hrs) to get here. OKC to Chicago to DC, 2 layovers then 14 hr flight. Left home on Monday. Arrived here on Tuesday and today is Wednesday. Whew!!
Niles: We bought a couple of “Guardian Hats”…
We both had iced lattes and later split a grilled cheddar, tomato and pesto sandwich.
On the return walk we passed some gorgeous iris…
and a view of Table Mountain, this time on a clear day, with prime real estate condos on the waterfront…
…before arriving back at the hotel…
“Just because” category:
If we were going to move to Cape Town we would have to invest in some “fixer-upper” properties…. like this beautiful maid of the seas…
…or this cozy bungalow:
This evening we venture to the Gold Restaurant for what they promise to be an “African Experience” of food, music and dancing.
The Gold Restaurant lived up to its billing. First we got some face art:
Then the whole audience, a drum for each person, played along with a drummer on stage for 30 minutes.
Tasting menu courses came 3-5 at a time.
In between courses performers danced and played traditional African music on stage,
Our server kept the tasting courses coming.
A 14-course (generous) tasting menu began with ostrich filet salad (spinach, beetroot and mixed seeds and a mustard dressing). Followed by Moroccan Zeilook (dip made of roasted aubergine, tomato, garlic and olive oil), South African Roosterkoek (a braai -grilled- bread with tomato dip), Malawian Kandolo balls (sweet potatoes), Mozambiquan chili chicken wings, Cape Malay Bobotie samosas, Namibian venison (Springbok) pie, Zanzibar fish and prawn curry, East African spinach cooked in coconut milk, Ethiopian sorghum, rainbow slaw, Congo mango and lime chicken, topped off with Cape Town ice cream and a Cape Malay biscuit.
I’m nearly breathless trying to remember it all!
By 9 pm we were stuffed and lucky to get out early to meet up with the hotel van driver.
We decided to keep our face paint on until after the walking food tour tomorrow afternoon. Wonder how much will come off on the pillows. Oh well, it’ll come out in the wash.
Our South African Adventure 