Visiting Cape Town, South Africa (Part 2)
It has been awhile but I wanted to continue to blog about my trip to South Africa. I blogged about Cape Town Part 1 a few weeks ago.
On day 2, Saturday November 29, we got up and decided to take the cable tram to the top of Table Mountain. We spent most of the day hiking around and enjoying the views.
The views as we went up to the top of the mountain.
John and I enjoying the view up high.
After spending about four hours hiking around, we descended back to sea level and decided to check out the Victoria and Albert Waterfront for dinner.
It's super trendy, but a great place to eat.
Interestingly, we were there just a couple of hours when the power went out. To the whole waterfront. We had just sat down to eat in a nice seafood restaurant right on the bay when the waiter came up and said that the kitchen was closed. Everything was closed. He stated that the government was building two new power generating stations but they wouldn't be finished for a couple of years... and that the power tended to go out at peak usage for about 3-4 hours. This problem was occurring almost daily so I really felt bad for all the businesses there that were simply having to turn away crowds and crowds of customers.
We wandered around for awhile, and eventually found a Belgian seafood place that was serving cold plates, beer and wine. They had the old carbon paper credit card reader and they were doing GREAT business.
Although the interior was warm and friendly, we opted to eat outside.
The power came back on right as it become completely dark. We ordered a mix of seafood and steak, and tried yet even more beers and wines. Interestingly, cocktails are not a big item in Cape Town. There are a couple of signature drinks at each place you go to eat, but if you ask for a classic drink like a Manhattan or Old Fashioned you often get blank stares unless there is a similar but differently-named item on the menu. Most bartenders could handle "rum and coke" but once you start adding a third ingredient all bets are off.
It ends up not being much of an issue. The wine is incredibly cheap in Cape Town and in most of South Africa. And its good. With all the wineries in the area, and the apparently lack of mark up, you can get a great bottle of S.A. white wine for less than U.S. $7. Reds aren't all that much more expensive. Even at "nice" restaurants, the most expensive bottles seldom topped U.S. $60.
We drank a lot of wine.
Conversation was great too. We met a retired couple from Scotland that was sitting next to us. We chatted on and off for about an hour, and I am always amazed at how much people from other countries know about U.S. politics. We talked a bit about the recent vote in Scotland and about the labour movement in the U.K. in general. One of the best things about international travel, I am learning, is meeting and talking to people from other places.
We got home very late Saturday night and crashed shortly thereafter, once again to the sounds of the Atlantic surf outside our window.
A late-night stroll on the beach. John and I chose to stay in Milnerton, which is a city just north of Cape Town.
Fantastic views of the Table Mountain with the Atlantic Ocean just a couple hundred feet away.
The few from our private deck the last morning we were in Cape Town.
A nice view of the beach and the Atlantic Ocean.
We got up Sunday morning, had a lovely breakfast, and then and took a quick walk on the beach. Our flight back to Johannesburg wasn't until 1pm, and we were just a 15-minute drive away. We packed up, took another walk on the beach, played with some dogs, and then headed to the airport for our return flight to Johannesburg.
On reflection, we could have stayed a full week in Cape Town. It's probably the most metropolitan and tourist-friendly city in South Africa.
All the photos from Cape Town can be seen by clicking here.
One we got back to Johannesburg, we had an afternoon to relax before going on safari for the following week.
On day 2, Saturday November 29, we got up and decided to take the cable tram to the top of Table Mountain. We spent most of the day hiking around and enjoying the views.
The views as we went up to the top of the mountain.
John and I enjoying the view up high.
After spending about four hours hiking around, we descended back to sea level and decided to check out the Victoria and Albert Waterfront for dinner.
It's super trendy, but a great place to eat.
Interestingly, we were there just a couple of hours when the power went out. To the whole waterfront. We had just sat down to eat in a nice seafood restaurant right on the bay when the waiter came up and said that the kitchen was closed. Everything was closed. He stated that the government was building two new power generating stations but they wouldn't be finished for a couple of years... and that the power tended to go out at peak usage for about 3-4 hours. This problem was occurring almost daily so I really felt bad for all the businesses there that were simply having to turn away crowds and crowds of customers.
We wandered around for awhile, and eventually found a Belgian seafood place that was serving cold plates, beer and wine. They had the old carbon paper credit card reader and they were doing GREAT business.
Although the interior was warm and friendly, we opted to eat outside.
The power came back on right as it become completely dark. We ordered a mix of seafood and steak, and tried yet even more beers and wines. Interestingly, cocktails are not a big item in Cape Town. There are a couple of signature drinks at each place you go to eat, but if you ask for a classic drink like a Manhattan or Old Fashioned you often get blank stares unless there is a similar but differently-named item on the menu. Most bartenders could handle "rum and coke" but once you start adding a third ingredient all bets are off.
It ends up not being much of an issue. The wine is incredibly cheap in Cape Town and in most of South Africa. And its good. With all the wineries in the area, and the apparently lack of mark up, you can get a great bottle of S.A. white wine for less than U.S. $7. Reds aren't all that much more expensive. Even at "nice" restaurants, the most expensive bottles seldom topped U.S. $60.
We drank a lot of wine.
Conversation was great too. We met a retired couple from Scotland that was sitting next to us. We chatted on and off for about an hour, and I am always amazed at how much people from other countries know about U.S. politics. We talked a bit about the recent vote in Scotland and about the labour movement in the U.K. in general. One of the best things about international travel, I am learning, is meeting and talking to people from other places.
We got home very late Saturday night and crashed shortly thereafter, once again to the sounds of the Atlantic surf outside our window.
A late-night stroll on the beach. John and I chose to stay in Milnerton, which is a city just north of Cape Town.
Fantastic views of the Table Mountain with the Atlantic Ocean just a couple hundred feet away.
The few from our private deck the last morning we were in Cape Town.
A nice view of the beach and the Atlantic Ocean.
We got up Sunday morning, had a lovely breakfast, and then and took a quick walk on the beach. Our flight back to Johannesburg wasn't until 1pm, and we were just a 15-minute drive away. We packed up, took another walk on the beach, played with some dogs, and then headed to the airport for our return flight to Johannesburg.
On reflection, we could have stayed a full week in Cape Town. It's probably the most metropolitan and tourist-friendly city in South Africa.
All the photos from Cape Town can be seen by clicking here.
One we got back to Johannesburg, we had an afternoon to relax before going on safari for the following week.