Postcard from Cape Town

My main takeaway from a visit to Cape Town:  It's amazing how many amazing places there are in the world!  Yeah, I should already know this, and I kind of already did, but still....  The way the city sits up against Table Top Mountain is just awesome - it is just so very striking. I'm definitely adding this to my very favorite cities in the world list, which now includes San Francisco, Paris, Barcelona, Istanbul, and Copenhagen.

The other thing I realized/remembered while visiting is that I really should live in a city that's on the water.  That will be a requirement for my retirement.  As it so happens, with the exception of Paris, all my faves are on the sea/ocean - and even Paris is bisected by the Seine and is a major feature of the city.

Another plus was the diversity, the history, and the architecture.  The colorful houses in the Bo Kaap - the Muslim neighborhood that my hotel was in; the waterfront; the funky Woodstock area; the tony seaside villages; all very cool.

The vibe is nice, too--with the one downside being the persistence of the beggars.  I've been in cities that have more, and are more "aggressive," but the ones in Cape Town pursue a little longer, and employ a more "emotional" appeal.  Even then, it's interesting to note "cultural"/geographical differences in this aspect of city life.

And I do admit to still having enough of a stereotype of Africa to have thought, "Wow, who would ever think a city like THIS could exist on this continent?"  A few months ago, an RPCV came to the office to collect some stuff she'd left behind after her service because she'd planned on coming back and going to grad school in Cape Town.  I had asked about the city then to see what she knew, and since I was considering a visit.  She said something along the lines of, "I feel kind of bad for saying this, but I remember when I first visited it after a year in Lesotho, I thought 'Wow! Civilization!'"

I'll definitely go again as there was stuff I didn't get a chance to do: Robben Island, the Cable Car up Table Top Mountain, the Monkey & Bird sanctuary, the Wine tour(!), etc.  I do admit to "wasting" some of my time while there going to movies - I'm just such a movie whore and I miss that more than anything.  So I saw "Pride" and "Kingsman" while I was there and highly recommend both.

I also got to have good Mexican (twice!) and for anyone who's going, I recommend El Burro for the best taquitos I've ever had and San Julian for the biggest jalapeno poppers I've ever had!  Also got to have some good Thai.  Yay!  And although I didn't have much luck coordinating airport transports through them, the hotel I stayed in was pretty funky/cool and in a good/convenient location.  The Dutch Manor Antique hotel oozed old world charm, and breakfast was not only good and filling, but there was great company from the other guests, including a mix of folks that included an Aussie currently working Fiji, some Brits currently living in S. Africa with their daughter and son-in-law (Spanish) who were visiting from Dubai, a charming older Swiss woman, etc.

The Saturday market at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock is one of the coolest ones I've been to with one of the most eclectic offerings of food, art, and STUFF I've ever seen.  For one of the first times ever in my travels I bought a CD from the local band playing outdoors.  They call themselves a swing band, but the stuff they played was like a mix of country/jazz/swing/blues/hillbilly/folk/rock.  The next day, I bought another CD from an African band playing at the waterfront.  They had four different types of xylophones with a guy who alternated playing the a couple of different horns.  Good stuff.

I was lucky to have excellent weather during my brief stay, so I might not have been so enamored had I been forced to endure one of their famous Cape Storms!  But, again, on the whole, two very big thumbs up and if anyone is interested in checking it out, let me know and I'd be happy to join you!  :)