Andrea & her backback vs. Africa!!!!!!: Cape Town

Showing posts with label Cape Town. Show all posts

So we went back and forth whether or not to go to the wine country. Yesterday the Robben island tour took way longer than expected so we couldn't make it but since we were done with district six museum super early I had this great idea of driving to the wine country before dropping May off at the airport since it was close by.

I had emailed a friend for recommendations for wineries so we knew exactly where to go, we took the map and off we went to Cape Town's wine country!

The scenery looked kind of the same as napa valley so we didn't really know what the big deal was about. Both Leslie and May grew up in Napa but so many people had told us that we MUST go to the wine country that we were curious about it.

The drive was beautiful, we got a little bit of rain but nothing would ruin our day! I believe we were all excited that we figured a way to visit the wine country.

We started by doing some wine tasting... 5 tasting for 35 rands!!!!! Or $3.5!!!!!!!!! Leslie even had a semi silent laugh when the guy told us the price! Only Leslie got the wine tasting since May has an allergic reaction and I was the designated driver. I did get a taste of every wine and they were pretty good!

Here is the little heart doing some wine tasting :-)

Alex also recommended to eat at Jordan's restaurant and we already had reservations at test kitchen for lunch but decided to cancel last minute and eat there! And OMG! The food was MAGNIFICENT!!!!

When we got out of the car it started pouring and then all of a sudden it stopped and we got a beautiful view from our table overlooking the vineyards.

The whole menu sounded delicious so I went with the 4-course menu du jour... Oh la la!!!! It even came with two glasses of wine! (Leslie helped me)

I wasn't expecting to take pictures of the meal but the food was so well presented and looked so delicious that I just had to!!!!!

First dish... Soft polenta with mushrooms (replacement for kaaings croquette) with cauliflower espuma.

Next: butter toasted peppered false bay gurnard, chick pea purée with apple and gremolata... It melted in my mouth!!!! So delicious!!!

Leslie got an amazing dish with buffalo mozzarella and May got some clams

Main course... (As if that much food wasn't enough!!!): East Coast Hake, wood fire tomato, and fennel veloute and buttered fetuccini...

OMG! I wanted to cry it was so good! Fetuccini was perfectly cooked, the tomato sauce was heavenly, the broccoli was very tasty... This was NOT a party in my mouth! It was more like a rave in my mouth!!!!!!!! Cooked to perfection!!!

The girls had some kind of meat dish

I swear... We were in HEAVEN!!! After that meal I could have died in peace!!!

While seating there talking about how grateful I was for Alex's recommendations May said "Please say thank you to Alex!" and Leslie said "I want to hug Alex right now!" and I think we all felt the same way! Jajaja lunch was marvelous!

I still had dessert to go... It was delicious rice pudding with vanila ice cream, almonds, mint, and very thinly sliced pineapple.... Yummmmm.... I salivate just from thinking about it!!!

The meal was simply spectacular!!! The owner stopped by a couple of times to see how the meal was going and we could barely talk it was so delicious! Once again you could hear us making "mmm" noises and telling each other "You MUST try this!!!!!"

Before leaving I said to him "You have ruined food for me forever... Don't think we can top this one!" And we really believe he has no idea how much good food we have had in the last 5 days!!!

So if anybody is ever in Cape Town do yourself a favor and go eat at Jordan's!!!! Best decision EVER!!!

We had to rush out because it was getting late to drop May off... In the car we were talking about how perfect our day was and I said "God's time is perfect" and May responded by saying "I sure hope so!" Twenty five minutes later I dropped her off at the airport and she made her flight right on time and texted "I made it. God's timing is perfect!"

Leslie and I still had some hours to kill and decided to go to Muizenberg and drive along the coast... Beautiful!

So this morning we woke up super early to be able to see the rest of Cape Town and drop May off at the airport on time!

First stop was to get pictures with the San Francisco sign at the waterfront

Then we headed to BoKaap... A very cute and colorful neighborhood in Cape Town! If I could live somewhere it would be here, and my house would be hot pink/ purple! Jaja

After a quick stop we headed over to the distinct six museum where we got to learn more about apartheid and the timeline for the events that lead up to the re zoning of district six.

Writing something for Nelson Mandela :-)

This dinner experience requires a post of its own!!!

So today we had a reservation at Nobu... I have been waiting patiently for this day since I'm sick and tired of cooked fish and I couldn't wait for some sushi.. Yumm

The evening started in a very funny way! We were dropped off at "the one and only" hotel and we made our way to Nobu. Before we reached the host the three of us bursted out laughing hysterically!!! There were about 5 steps going down and we were so sore that it really hurt and the three of us couldn't stop laughing.

I feel like that moment set the tone for the evening! We were laughing and chit chatting the whole time and it felt like we were the only table who was actually enjoying each other's company. The whole dinner was full of hysterical laughs in a very quiet restaurant... I love my traveling partners :-)

We opened up the menu and it looked beyond amazing!!!! Up until now I have barely taken pictures of my food but oh my... I went to town with this meal! Everything looked so delicious and beautiful that it would have been a shame not to take a picture and brag about the food!

We started with appetizers...

First, tuna tataki... Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Then... Ceviche

Then... An AMAZING and simple salad: spinach, dried red miso, Parmesan, and prawns topped with watercress.

Jajajajaja... I'm laughing because we LITERALLY ate it one leaf at the time... As May said "it's a party in my mouth!"

Then... More appetizers... Some delicious shrimps with a choice of sauces: miso, jalapeño, and red chili.

Then came our "main"... Yum yum yum!!!!!

The whole meal was EXQUISITE!!!! I wish there was a tape recorder catching all the noises we made when we tasted the food! Lots of "Mmmmm Mmmmm" we kept looking at each other and laughing hysterically at the faces we made after each bite! (It was a when harry met sally kind of moment!!) Seriously this has been the best sushi ever! Beating sushi ran by a WHOLE LOT!!!

After we finished what we ordered we thought about ordering more, I passed but wanted dessert and May got a hand roll.

I am not a big fan of chocolate cake or ice cream but from all the dessert list the one that caught my attention the most was the chocolate tart. I ordered it because I have been very lucky and spoiled by Laurie's delicious chocolate tart and I thought that if it came close to it, it was good enough!

Oh surprise!!! What came to the table was nothing close to a tart, it was a huge ball of chocolate with toasted almonds on the bottom and then the waitress poured super hot chocolate sauce on top which melted the chocolate and opened up to revealed the ice cream inside... Yummmmmm.... I'm getting hungry all over again!!!! It was DELICIOSO! To say the least!!!!

The whole meal was simply amazingly tasty, impeccably presented and each bite was better than the last!!!

... And I bet you if the Cheesecake Factory sold sushi, we would pay as much as we did at Nobu (for crappy sushi!)

May's highlight of the meal was ... Everything! How can simple ingredients like spinach, Parmesan, and red miso produce such a delectable salad? Dessert was one more yellow tail hand roll, though that didn't stop her from helping Andrea finish her chocolate "tart".

Leslie's highlight of the meal: Enjoying the best sushi ever with no concern over prices. We just kept ordering and saying yes to everything the waitress suggested. Check came to only $50 each for some seriously luxurious gluttony.

Today we woke up bright and early for our tour to Robben island. Forecast once again said that it was going to be rainy and yucky but of course we had our mind set on beautiful weather for our tour!

We got on the ferry and after 30 mins we were in Robben island!

The first hour we spent it in a bus driving around the island. I thought it would be like Alcatraz, a little island with a prison on it but I was totally wrong! Robben island looked more like a concentration camp, it is huge and full of history!

While in the bus our tour guide told us that we were the last ferry to go for the day (and this was at 9am!) and that all other tours had been cancelled due to weather!!!! We are so lucky!!!!!

The tour guide in the bus was so knowledgeable and nice, he told us about the kind of work prisoners had to do, the illnesses they got while on the island, the visiting policies etc. He also shared the powerful story of Robert Sobukwe and how they made a specific law just for him to get arrested every time he got out of jail. Finally they put him under house arrest away from everybody where he died.

Here are May and Leslie posing at Robben island... behind them is a very foggy Cape Town and table mountain!

After our bus tour we went into the prison where we met our prison guide, Geelbooi, an ex political prisoner who showed us around and told us his story.

Here is Nelson Mandela's cell... He only got a thin mattress, a blanket, and a bucket to use as a bathroom. After looking at his cell we were able to wonder around other cells where stories and images were displayed along with some objects. I got chills when reading the stories and sadness for these people who were only trying to help others and make their country better. The one story that has stuck with me is how they made the prison to be very cold. Usually walls are put in first and then wait for them to dry and put the roof on. In Robben island the roof was placed while the walls were wet, making every cell extremely cold and damp so many of the inmates suffered from respiratory diseases and were affected by their moldy cells.

Everything done by the government had a purpose, they were very clever on the ways they tortured the inmates. They would cut windows out of the letters from their loved ones and an inmate wrote that the beating wasn't torture but what hurt the most was to get a letter with parts cut off.

As I said before... I got chills!!!!! it is incredible to think that only a couple of years ago this was going on in Africa. What is more impressive is that we, as a society, have not gotten to a point of acceptance towards each other and we still see so many forms of racism in our daily life... This brings me back to the idea of entitlement and people believing that they are superior than others when in reality we are all heading to the same place! I really believe that when I get to "heaven" ( or wherever people believe they will go) they won't ask me about what I had but they will ask me who I am and how I made the world a little bit better!

... Moving on... Here is a picture of some of the inmates at Robben island when they were released!!!

Back on land we stopped at "moyo" for an African feast... Yumm

In the afternoon and under the rain we walked around the waterfront!

Here is the little heart 16690km away from "home"... Add more kms for Hawaii!

Here are some pictures taken by May at the waterfront :-)

May's highlight of the day was listening to an ex-political prisoner talk about his experience returning to the island. Though he knew he would speak to visitors about his experience as a prisoner, he did not know that be would be working alongside his former jailer. It was moving to hear of his process of healing from these deep wounds.

Leslie' highlight of the day: Like May, I was moved and inspired by the ex-political prisoners. In each of the cells, there was a picture of a man who had once occupied a cell with the dates of his imprisonment. Also in the cell would be a quote from the prisoner regarding his time on Robben Island. Sometimes there would be an object in the room mentioned in the quote, such as a belt made from fishing wire. Our groups were led by ex-prisoners. At the end of the tour, one ex-prisoner said that (I'm paraphrasing here) remembering Robben Island isn't about focusing on the suffering, it's about focusing on the great things that were achieved from the struggle. After reading May's highlight regarding the process of healing, I'm thinking this focus on the triumph of the struggle is a big part of the healing process.

Jajajajaja today it was May's first official day as a passenger in my car... I think it was scary for her at first but then she got used to it!

We have been having the time of our life driving around Cape Town, there were lots of laughs and good times! I think one of the most memorable times in the car will be the fact that 75% (or more) of the time I confuse my left with my right and now the girls know that if they want me to turn left they have to say "your other left!" Because i always go right! Jajajajaja and you would think that a smart woman with a master's degree would know the difference by now!!!

So the plan for today was to change our Robben island ticket and go for the tour today but that didn't happen.. And nor did laundry! So we decided that today was the day for a road trip!!!!

The forecast said rainy but I said to Leslie and May "it will be beautiful"... I think they don't quite believe me when I say "God's time perfect!" But I bet that after this trip they will be believers just like me :-)

So we got a map from the hotel and off we went on an adventure around Cape Town planning our route as the day went by!

We first drove (well, i drove) along M6 on the coast, we passed seapoint and stopped at a couple viewpoints to take pictures... (This picture is funny because I'm holding an egg... I "steal" at least 2 eggs every morning and it seems like every time I'm eating an egg it's picture time!!)

How pretty is the view?!?!?

Then we quickly stopped at Simon's Town where the girls ate a light lunch and we entertained ourselves making bead chains... Then, the part that May has been waiting for... PENGUINS!!!!

We stopped at Boulders where there is a penguin colony! It was super cute to see all the penguins in the wild! We had a "blast" walking up and down the stairs since we were super sore from the hike jajajajaja it is breeding season so we got to see a lot of furry babies and their parents taking care of them! We loved every second of it (even when it hurt!)

There's the heart with the penguins :-)

After seeing the penguins we headed down to table mountain national park and we stopped along the way in hopes to see whales! And here is a warning sign we found on our way:

After many hours in the car we finally arrived :-)

And look what we found:

Then we drove all the way to cape point... Once we got there we all got a little scared because it looked like a huge hill... And we were extremely sore!... But then we figured out we could take a funicular both ways for less than $5... No brainer!!! We paid the $5 and off we went up the steep hill :-)

Once on the "top" we had to climb all the way to the top of the lighthouse! I thought about skipping it but there was no way to "give up" when I was so close! It hurt a little to walk so I decided to run up the hill!!! Jajaja not the best idea but I made it all the way up, took some pictures and tried to come down as fast as I could so it wouldn't hurt!

Quickly I came down the stairs and we took the funicular back down... And then off we went to Cape of good hope... The most south-western point in Africa!

I've been excited all day about cape of good hope so I parked the car and opened my door... Uh-uh! The wind was so strong that my door "went flying" into the next car!!!! Jajajajaja (it was kind of funny... These things only happen to me!) there were people inside the car and they looked terrified! I said "it's only a dent" jajajajaja but it really wasn't just a dent! I made a dent on the top, a dent on the bottom and a huge vertical line down their door! Jajajajaja I was so excited about cape of good hope that I didn't let it bother me... I've already gotten a speeding ticket, now a dent... That's why I paid insurance! Right? So I said to the guy "get my license plate and they will figure it out!" And then I went and lined up for the picture with the cape of good hope sign!

May and Leslie (and the group of 4 guys behind us) were making fun of me because I wanted a picture by myself... But that didn't stop me from getting one! So here I am by myself in the picture :-)

Ok ok... And here I am with them!

There was no way in hell we were going to hike all the way up so we cut our losses and headed back to the car. Of course I did not learn my lesson, i opened the car door and the wind pushed it all the way back, this time a bunch of papers flew out of the car and I had to run after our map and some other papers. The funny thing is that earlier in the day I had to do the same thing with an important receipt!

One thing we LOVED about our drive today were the signs along the road!!! I even turned around to be able to take a picture!!! Jajaja one of my favorite is "golfers" which was conveniently placed between the baboons and the penguins signs!!!

After sign hunting we still had a couple of hours before dinner so on our way back to Cape Town we decided to stop at Kalk Bay and have a drink at "Cape to Cuba"

While having a very tasty mojito and listening to a band i saw Janet, my tour guide in Botswana, and ran up to her to give her a hug! What are the odds to see somebody I know at a bar?!?! Well, apparently that's her hood and the bartender is her flat mate! I got all excited to see her and couldn't believe that I just ran into her! Jaja

After our mojito we headed back to Cape Town and then got ready to go to dinner :-)

Tonight's reservation was at Reuben's!

The menu was Amazing!!! We had the most delicious squid with chilli and mussels for appetizers. After looking at the menu and prices I came up for the tag line for our Cape Town foodie extravaganza experience: "Excellent food at Cheesecake Factory prices!!!!" OMG... Food here is EXQUISITE!!!! for a third of the cost we would pay in SF!

Since last summer Leslie and I have had a date night every week in the city, we get to try new food, new restaurants, and spicy drinks! We tried to mix it up as much as we can given our dietary restrictions but hands down the food in Cape Town has been one of the best!!!! Couldn't have asked for best eating partners than May and Leslie, the three of us love good food and we are a lot of fun together!!! Double thumbs up for flexible, fun, no-drama people!!! :-)

Here's a funny picture of Leslie... We got our delicious food and she got an empty dish! Jaja

Then.... DESSERT :-)

Yummmmmmmmmm

May's highlight of the day has to be the penguins, especially the downy babies. She can speak penguin now.

Wine country

BoKaap, district six

Nobu!!!

Robben island & the waterfront :-)

ROAD TRIP with the Girls!!!!

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