Lisa, Jordan & Isla’s Playground

Hi all,

Not sure who, if anyone, is keeping track of our travels (or even reads this site frankly), but hey, we have internet access at the place we’re staying, so why not connect for a few minutes.

Yesterday, our first day in Cape Town was pretty laid back as we’d just stepped off the plane. We drove to Camps Bay, where we’re staying, and after a coffee on the beach drove up to our hotel and chilled out for a bit. It’s a great house, with great hosts, and a great steep hill to drive up…the kind where you need to go in first gear, without the A/C on and your foot off the clutch or you won’t make it (which we didn’t the first two times – now I have the hang of it). The place is called Auberge Du Cap and it’s as high up Table Mountain you can go in this part of town. Far(-ish) from the beach (30min tough walk) but great views. Our hosts, Mike & Morgan, are really nice, and their place is beautiful. We’ve also met some of the other guests, who are also good fun.

Later yesterday afternoon, we drove into town to the V&A Waterfront, walked around, checked out the shops and had a drink at Quay 4. Nothing special, but worth a visit. We’ll be back on Monday for our trip to Robben Island and to check out the Aquarium, which we’ve heard so many good things about.

Last night we went for dinner at Aubergine, on the recommendation (one of many) of my colleague Stephen. It was outstanding! We’ve been to some Michelin starred restaurants that aren’t as good as this place was. Fantastic food, well designed, prepared and prsented. An extensive selection of wines (mostly local) and a sommelier with an equally extensive knowledge who was lovely to chat with. The entire meal, with three courses, wine pairings, dessert and tea cost a total of 60GBP. That meal would have cost 200GBP, at least, in London. Highly recommended.

Today, after a leisurely morning and breakfast, we decided to head to the Cape Winelands. It was still really windy (and still is even now at 11pm – like, you-need-to-hold-on-to-something windy) that we figured heading inland was a good bet. We drove to Franschhoek and meandered in and out of all the arts and crafts shops. A few pieces we really would have considered purchasing if there hadn’t already been deposits made on them. Really nice pieces of work. Apparently, Franschhoek is also the place to go for great food (especially French), but it was a bit early in the day. So, we then drove to Stellenboch and went to Spier vineyard for a picnic and wine tasting. It came recommended, but to be frank, was too big and touristy for our taste. The picnic was excellent and the wine tastings were great (5 wines for R10, which is about 70p), but still, they has a craft market, three restaurants, a zoo, etc. Not a small country vineyard. We’ll head back to region again, we think, but to a smaller vineyard with less of a crowd.

Then, as it was really hot, we came back and sat on Clifton Beach for a couple hours. And on this beach, everyone was 20 and gorgeous. I hate that. But the sand is white and soft as anything. Unfortunately, the water is 13 degrees. Bloody cold. Even getting the ankles wet was too much.

Later this afternoon we relaxed at the hotel, met another couple from London who had just arrived, and went into Camps Bay for dinner at Summerville which came recommended from my current client. Quite a nice place for fish and the wine we had was outstanding (Anura Viognier 2005).

Tomorrow is supposed to be 30 degrees with almost no wind. So it’s our beach day. Should be less to write about (and less of my ramblings for you to read).

Note: Also discovered that this laptop at the hotel has an SD card reader. So, even though I didn’t bring ours, it looks like I should be able to get a few photos up as we go…at least this week. I’ll try to put a few up tomorrow – we witnessed a beautiful sunset this evening.

More soon….