Cape Town, from top of Table Mountain |
We spent a weekend in Cape Town where we did not plan anything beforehand at all. And the one thing we had planned got cancelled π. Our itinerary was as follows:
- Friday evening: Fly from Joburg to CT, dinner at Beefcakes and then Long Street
- Saturday: Laze around Camps Bay, lunch at Blues, trek up Lion's Head and dinner at Cape Addis
- Sunday: Drive to Stellenbosch and lunch at Jordan
Friday evening:
We flew to CT from Joburg on a Friday evening after work. At the start of the trip, two of us had a bit of an issue when our flight did not let us board the flight without our passports! We had assumed that for domestic flights, we did not need to carry passports but the check-in attendent did not agree! We showed them copies of our passports, UK driving licenses and so on. But they just refused to let us on (even though one of our colleagues got onto South African airlines flight at the same time without a passport!!). Also it was a bit ironic that our British airways flight refused to accept the UK license as ID proof π!
But this was South Africa π, so we pushed a bit and finally they agreed on the condition that flying back, we would have to get our passport copies attested by the police before we board the flight. I wondered why the police would attest our passports if we don’t have the originals with us but anyways, it was not the time to think and we said yes to their conditions. We had to go through the same questioning at the departure gate but somehow they let us off more quickly and we were off on the plane to Cape Town.
Colours of the sky, the moon and the mountains |
It turned out that this was the weekend of an international cycling event in CT - the Cape Town Cycle Tour - which meant that everything there was very busy. After checking in to the Westinn hotel, we went for dinner to Beefcakes. It is a special kind of dinner place famous for its awesome burgers but also for its drag shows. We were all kind of sceptical about going there but one of our team members convinced us all. And it was so much fun! Given all the visa running around, we only caught the fag end of the show but it was very entertaining. There were a couple of drag queens who danced on the stage and their performances were a lot of fun. And I think after that show, "single ladies" has become a favourite song of mine π.
Street art on Long Street |
We first went to Waiting Room which was quite loud and crowded. It had an outside terrace looking towards the main street. And then a rooftop area, from where you can see the mountains in the background, the stars above and the lights on Signal Hill. The place felt quite local and rustic. We did not stay there long though. We walked a bit and then went to Ubuntu, where we sat on the outside terrace for some time. As we had taken a flight after a full day of work, we soon felt tired and went back to our hotel quite soon.
Saturday:
For the next day, we had booked paragliding for the morning. But there was so much wind that it got cancelled. So we all had a lazy start to the day. We had a longish breakfast at the breakfast lounge in Westinn which has beautiful views of the city, with the mountains behind the city high-rises. After trying to unsuccessfully get into the spa as it was fully booked, we all went to Camps Bay for the afternoon. It was about 20 minutes drive and for the first time I noticed that there were lot of colonial style British buildings in town.
Camps Bay beach |
Table Mountain top |
The treacherous climb |
The climb up |
Camps Bay from the top |
Sunset from Lion's Head |
View of the Town |
After patting ourselves on the back, We went back to Long Street again for Ethiopian dinner at Cape Addis. The food was yum and quite close to Indian food I would say. After that, we again walked around a bit in the area. It was a beautiful night with a full moon and beautiful colours in the horizon. We went to Orphanage Club and hungout there for some time. I left soon enough but some of the people continued partying late and ran into Russel Peters!! He was in CT for the cycle race and DJing at the club they went to. What a miss for me π.
Sunday:
Entrance to Jordan |
View from Jordan winery |
After the sunny and unhealthy lunch, we were off to the airport, to take off for Joburg. While getting back, no one asked to see our passports, so that was one weight off our backs!! It was tough to leave to go back to Joburg, and I am sure I will be back in Cape again for a new and different adventure soon...
Accomodation
We stayed at the Westinn hotel which was quite central and well located. It had a beautiful breakfast lounge on a high floor, with a view of the city and some of the mountains around. I would suggest though that anyone visiting CT should stay slightly outside town, next to the sea. Maybe some holiday homes on airbnb may be better and more fun options.
Food
All the places we ate at were amazing. Beefcakes' burgers were amazing. And the entertainment fantabulous! Blues had tasty seafood, right across Camps Bay. Cape Addis on Long street offered tasty Ethiopian. And the views and cheeses of Jordan were very enjoyable. In fact, you can even stay at Jordan, as at many of the other vineyards in the area.
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