Guest Post: Cape Town, South Africa
My best friend and fellow travel addict Frances loves Cape Town in the same way I love London, so it only seems fitting to have her guest post on this blog! We traveled to Cape Town last September for our annual girls trip and it was awesome. Like me, she has made it her mission to travel the world and document her travels. You can follow her on Instagram at @francesgulick for more of her awesome travels! Now, let's get to Cape Town....take it away Frances:
Cape Town - The Greatest City In The World
Ahh, Cape Town. The city that stole my heart in 5 seconds and has held a tight grip ever since. I could wax poetic about this gorgeous city for ages but I’ll attempt to condense my third trip in 3 years down to a blog post. Apologies (not really) for the fan-girl level of love in this post.
After the whirlwind of my Africa trip to this point, the idea of a week in my favorite city was like a big, giant hug. We (hubby Curtis and me) had been beaten up by diving in Mozambique, had a near heat stroke at the Danakil Depression, legit ran with 40+ lbs. of luggage 2 miles around the airport in Ethiopia, and finally joined with Caroline and her dad, hiked 14 miles to see Gorillas (see Blonde Voyage, Esq.'s Gorilla Trek post for more on that!) up to this point. I had my best friend in tow and my favorite house on the planet booked so I was ready to show her why I feel in love with Cape Town. We arrived at night into Cape Town and my energy was restored (along with my voice…kind of). Knowing we had minimal time to showcase the world’s greatest city, I raced us over to the car rental counter where I picked up my car for the 7 next days. Side note: renting a car in South Africa is extremely cheap, as long as you don’t use Europacar. Just trust me on this one.
It’s so hard to tell how gorgeous a city is like this at night so this was an opportunity to explain the lay of the land. Cape Town is setup like mini-towns all combined into one. You have a large portion of the city living on the east side of Table Mountain (Cape Town’s claim to fame) before driving past Woodstock near the water, Kirstenbosch on the northeast side of the mountain, through the cut between Lion’s Head and table mountain, and over to Camps Bay/Bantry Bay. Additional neighborhoods include the V&A Waterfront, Sea Point, Clifton, and downtown.
We pulled up to the boujiest (that’s a word) Airbnb I’ve ever stayed at and instantly my bff was impressed (she was worried since I also slept outside in 100 degree weather on this exact trip). The house is stunning - there are honestly no other words for it. It’s set in the upper streets of Camps Bay so you only have one row of houses behind you and the entire western coast in front of you, with views of the 12 Apostles to the left and Lion’s Head to the right. It’s one of the most epic places we’ve ever seen a sunset.
The house isn’t just about the views - it’s insanely comfy as well. A king bed is in the bedroom with the bathroom behind it (heated floors in these two rooms!) and the kitchen and living areas are modern, clean, and just gorgeous. It’s so well-styled with a hint of minimalism and it’s inspired so many of the design decisions I’ve made around my house now. We crawled into the perfectly comfortable bed (it’s soft but not too soft) and drifted asleep quicker than we ever had before. The next morning, I woke up early and excited to start the day. The first thing Caroline said when she woke up was “holy shit” upon the view from the bed:
We quickly got dressed to soak up the sunshine and headed out to explore the city. Our first course of action was grabbing the first red bus that came through Camps Bay! We love the City Sightseeing buses (even when you have a car) as the tidbits of info and ability to get your bearings is unbeatable. After a full loop and some new fun facts about my favorite city, we decided to hop off at the V&A Waterfront for some lunch and pics of Table Mountain through the famous picture frame.
We quickly made our way over to the docks to catch our 3pm reservation out to Robben Island. Even though I’d been to Cape Town twice now, I never had enough time to visit so I was looking forward to learning more about the history of Cape Town and checking this off of my list. We snapped a few pics of the seals hanging out nearby and boarded the ferry over to Robben Island.
I only have 1 photo from Robben Island and that’s the view of Table Mountain. Like visiting Auschwitz, it felt a little inappropriate to snap pics when listening to a survivor talk about what happened on Robben Island. The most famous political prisoner was Nelson Mandela and we saw his jail cell along with the common areas of the prison. Very few people made it out of this prison as heating and air conditioning were non-existent and diseases ran rampant. It was also SO cold while we were there (odd for late September) so we tried to stay in covered areas as much as possible. (the cold also added to our empathy - if we were cold in jackets and jeans, we cannot imagine what bare feet and short sleeves would feel like)
Upon returning to Cape Town, we decided to order dinner in and enjoy the house and fireplace. (it may have taken a few texts to the property manager to figure out how to use the pellet fireplace. #americans) We had a long day planned the following day so we tucked in early.
This was harder than it looks to use.
The next morning involved a 7am wakeup call so we could head out to Cape Point before the tour buses got there, via Chapman Peak’s Drive. I was ecstatic to make this drive only to be deflated when it ended up pouring rain the entire time, to the point that made it almost scary. Case in point, zero pics from either of us! We made it to the tip of Africa around the same time the motorcoaches came so it was a mad dash to get pictures in front of the signs. I luckily splurged (and seriously splurged by South African standards) on a jacket the night before because I was cold and I am so happy I bought it by the time we arrived here. The wind was intense and the air was seriously straight from Antarctica. (it was in the 40s…I exaggerate according to Caroline) We were able to see what we wanted to, and in perfect timing, as it started pouring rain as soon as we were leaving the top of Cape Point.
We returned to a sunny Cape Town and spent the rest of the afternoon on the City Sightseeing bus again, soaking in all the knowledge the helpful automated guide had to give us. We also hopped off for dinner at the Waterfront again and scored what are now known as our most favorite sweaters of all time at H&M. We had a sushi dinner and returned “home” for a nice rest to prep for a full day of wine!
Did you even visit Cape Town if you didn’t get a pic of this car in Bo-Kaap?
The following morning held the only activity that could get me to check out of the world’s greatest house, wine tasting!! Caroline wanted to see wine country so we headed east to Stellenbosch for about a 45 minute drive. Side note: Cape Town is definitely a city of highs and lows. Sitting next to Stellenbosch, Cape Town’s most famous wine region, is Khayelitsha, a famous township known for violent crime and gangs. One of the routes to get to Stellenbosch requires driving on the highway that cuts through this township and it’s heartbreaking to think of the house I just checked out of next to literal shanties on the side of the road. As gorgeous as Cape Town is, it’s important to understand the recent history and realize why these townships exist. On the flip side, I drove this highway 8-10 times on this trip, most of the time alone, and never once felt unsafe. It’s a highway so if someone can rob me going 80mph, I’d be wildly impressed.
We decided to lunch on the mountain range between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek at Tokara and I was in Heaven! I ordered the tasting course (obviously) and devoured every bite. We stopped next door at Delaire Graff Estates where I discovered a Rosé that tasted like cotton candy! I bought 3 bottles and still regret not buying more! One of the most beautiful things about South African wine (besides the epic views) is how affordable they are. A 4-6 glass tasting (which is basically an entire glass of wine each as South Africans do not use those cut-off fun-hating pour spout things) comes in to about $5. FIVE BUCKS. I don’t even think I can get the worst wine on the shelf at a bar in the states for $5 and here I’m getting a line-up of delicious wines for that price. If you enjoy wine, this is 10000% the place you should visit.
At this point, I’m super happy and full so we headed to the Protea Hotel in Technopark and dealt with a reservation error, a swapped out room with a swamp view, and decided to keep going at the hotel bar. Caroline flew out the next day so we were determined to make the best of our time and we did! We both hailed the hot chocolate at this hotel bar the best we’ve had in a long time and I blame it on the Kahlua they added. ;)
On Caroline’s travel day, I had a surprise in store for her! We lunched at Delheim Wine Estate and then proceeded to a wine & cupcake tasting! They were delicious and we devoured them, both in a haste to make sure she made her flight and because they were super tasty. I tossed in a bottle of Sauv Blanc to my order because I was determined to make my journey home just as difficult as the journey to South Africa, ha.
I dropped her off reluctantly and decided to just keep tasting. (the lesser-known Finding Dory quote) I made my way over to JC La Roux, since they’re known for sparkling wines, and tasted all of them. While I wasn’t a fan, they’re excellent wines for a new wine drinker as they’re light and sweet and easy to drink on a summer day. I knew I had to switch rooms at the hotel when I returned so I only made one more stop at the winery in the hotel’s backyard, Klein Zalze. It was glorious to sip wine on the outdoor patio while dogs played and the sun set around me. It was perfection.
Having spent 3 weeks now surrounded by people, I opted to order-in to the hotel for dinner and just relax. My new room was amazing and I wish Caroline could have enjoyed it with me. The view was stunning!
I woke up early and was super ready for my drive to Hermanus and whale watching tour! Southern Right Whales are EVERYWHERE this time of the year so a sighting was guaranteed and I was ready to see them up close for the first time. Fast forward 2 hours and I see this sign:
I was really upset that no one alerted me via email or call that day but wanted to make the best of it and that’s exactly what I did. Little did I know…
You can see whales from anywhere in Hermanus! It was a Saturday so the streets were packed with locals all coming out to watch the whales from the hills overlooking the bay. I had lunch next to the water and took it all in. Some people get to actually live here. After lunch, I spent almost 2 hours whale watching with the locals, trying to capture the best pics I could from the point-and-shoot camera and my iPhone.
The drive back to Cape Town was a new one for me - we had never been beyond False Bay and now I’m kicking myself for not driving this before. I had to pull over so many times to watch whales and just sit in awe. My absolute favorite thing in the world is when mountains meet water and that’s basically what I was looking at for almost 100km. I can’t wait to return to Cape Town one day and have weeks to spend just driving around!
Realizing the time, I stepped on the gas pedal a bit to make it to my favorite winery for sparkling wine, Buitenverwachting. I arrived with about 15 minutes before closing, pleading for a few bottles of their sparkling wine before I left for home the next day. What ensued will be a memory I’ll never, ever forget.
The owner of the winery said they had an issue with the batch this year and they weren’t selling any. I was gutted! He asked me why I wanted it and I explained how great it was and how it rivaled many “real” champagnes we’ve had over the years. He asked if it was for personal consumption (duh, this is a non-sharing wine) and asked me to follow him. He began to explain how he loves the winery and produces what people want to drink but his personal favorite, his pet-project, is the sparkling wine. He is very proud of it and this year they had a label/bottle shape issue that caused the label on the bottle to wrinkle when it ran through the machine. At this point, we are now in the main bottling area of the winery - the heart & soul of where the grapes are pressed and the wine is bottled. He went over to 2 pallets of wine without labels and said “the wine is perfect but I can’t sell it with the label like this. It’s wrinkly and I’m too proud of this wine to sell it looking like it was cheaply put together.” He proceeded to pick 6 bottles for me and made me promise to never sell it and if I take pics, please don’t show the label wrinkle. (it was a comically small winkle ya’ll) I promised and he sold them to me at almost half price. Knowing how cheap the bottle was to begin with, I refused and insisted on paying at least 75%. It was the first time I can remember arguing paying MORE for something haha. I made a friend that day, a friend who shared a love for a wine that he is super proud of, and I left with the only 6 bottles from the entire year sold. Talk about priceless!
My South African sparkling wine haul
I spent the remainder of the evening in awe of my day (one of the greatest days I can remember) and tried to pack up 16 bottles of wine I had “somehow” acquired. I took off for the airport with lots of wine in tow and checked-in for my flight on Qatar home.
I used miles to score Q-Suites, Qatar’s business product that rivals most first class products I’ve seen. It was the perfect way to end the most non-perfect, amazing African adventure to date.
