Weekend

Sorry for my delay in posts. This is what I did over my first weekend in Cape Town. 

Friday:

It’s time for my first real weekend in Cape Town. Today after class a group of us went to the V&A Waterfront, which is this really pretty harbor with lots of really nice restaurants and shops. We spent most of the afternoon and early evening walking around buying souvenirs and watching local groups perform on stage.  The mall at The Waterfront was one of the nicest malls I have even been in. All of the stores are European influenced so I didn’t recognize most of them but the high-end name brand stores. I did not feel like I was in Africa or a third world country while in the mall. What really blew my mind was how packed the mall was while we were there.

We went to dinner that night at Quay 4 Tavern. We wanted to eat somewhere on the water but needed to find somewhere that served more than seafood and wasn’t ridiculously expensive. You could tell we were all American when we ordered because every one of us ordered a cheeseburger and fries. During dinner we were awkwardly serenaded by the bar musician multiple times. After dinner we came back to our apartments to get ready for our first night out on the town in Cape Town.

I was really excited to experience the nightlife of Cape Town after hearing about how much fun everyone had Thursday night. The group that I was with decided that we wanted to go to a chill low key bar first because it was still kind of early. Our first stop was Cabana. This was a hookah bar that was beyond crowded. Our next stop was a club called Fez. I felt like I was at a Pretty Lights concert. The club only played dubstep and had an intense light show going. It was so different than any other club or bar I had been to in the States. I think I had more fun people watching at this place than anything. Also the bars close at 4am here and my grandma self can’t stay out that late.

My first night out in Cape Town was an interesting experience and for the first time here I was scared to be walking around. I didn’t like the creepy people that were just standing in the streets and drinking in a foreign country was a bit scary. I felt like I was always watching behind my back and eying my drink the whole time to make sure everything was fine. Thankfully Ish is always there to protect us and I’m curious to see how my next night out in Cape Town will be.

Saturday:

I have now experienced the one thing that everyone told me I needed to experience, Old Biscuit Mill. Let me tell you, it was everything I had ever imagined and more! This place was a market with tons of delicious food and some cute clothing vendors. I literally wanted to eat everything inside that place. Right when I walked inside I saw Belgium Waffles, prime rib sandwiches, fresh produce, lemonade, and more! We walked by a smoothie vendor and of course I had to get one. The strawberry smoothie I bought was quite tasty. It was almost as close to Tropical Smoothie, which serves the most amazing smoothie you will ever drink. I then tried this flat bread French pizza, which is on my list of things to eat next Saturday, and finally ended my day with a nutella and banana crepe. The crepe melted in my mouth it was so good. Old Biscuit Mill might be my new favorite place. I plan on attending every Saturday morning.

Saturday night we attended the Stomers Rugby Game. The spirit of the fans was just like a SEC college game day. Everyone, including us, was dresses up in their jersey with their face painted! Before the game some of the locals put on an African Braai for us. This is a traditional African BBQ and probably the weirdest BBQ food I have ever eaten. We liked to the call the meat “mystery meat” because no one had any idea what kind of meat we were eating. I was starving because I hadn’t eaten since the Old Biscuit Mill so I ate my hot dog thing like a champ. The rugby game was pretty interesting. It took some time and lots of questions to figure out what was going on but I really enjoyed the game. During the first half of the game a vendor walked by with donuts that smelled exactly like a funnel cake. Due to mine and Briley’s sweet tooth, we went on a mission to find a funnel cake. After about 10 minutes of searching and a lot of locals asking us what a funnel cake was we settled on a brownie and popcorn.  

My first weekend in Cape Town was great and my time here is already flying by. I can’t believe it has already been a week and next week my group starts our experiential learning week with a trip to Robben Island, a wine tour, and a trip to Cape Point.