End Of The Road

The rest of our holiday passed in a blur of soaking up the sun on the Atlantic seaboard beaches, dining in Cape Town's finest restaurants and drinking in the beautiful sights of the Mother City like parched nomads at a desert oasis. I couldn't get enough of the spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and the towering mountains standing guard over it. Every time we drove through Hout Bay and over the top of Suikerbossie on our way into Camps Bay, my breath caught in my throat at the sight of the paradise spread out before me. Indeed, it begs the question 'Why London?' all over again, making my return here a bittersweet event. But for now, that image is stuck firmly in my mind, and brings me almost as much joy as if I was in my car, making that journey right now.

We ate out every night bar two, and went out for lunch at least two thirds of the time. I ate more sushi in 3 weeks than I will see in the next two years - Shoes is not a fan, and it's also ridiculously expensive in London. Among my favourite eateries are the following:

Wasabi - an Asian-Fusion restaurant in Constantia which serves arguably the best sushi in Cape Town. Out of all the sushi I've eaten, this comes out top everytime.

Terroir on Kleine Zalze - a nouveau-cuisine restaurant on the Klein Zalze wine farm in Stellenbosch. Smallish and expensive portions, as is typical of the fare, but incredible flavours in an absolutely picturesque setting. Gets my vote for lunch spot of the trip.

Brass Bell - an old Kalk Bay favourite created in the style of a wrecked ship. Complete with scavenging seagulls and waves crashing at your feet as you eat lunch. Excellent seafood, even better views.

Saigon - Vietnamese restaurant in Kloof Street. A little cluttered in terms of space, but the food is consistently fantastic. The best option is to eat starters all night.... they have a wide variety to suit everybody, and they're so tasty you can easily be persuaded to leave the mains and pick on finger food.

Primi Piatti, Camps Bay - an old faithful. We're sucked in everytime by the enormous cocktails, the delicious carpaccio and the views of the sun setting over the ocean as you eat your meal. Simple, but effective, despite the eyesore orange jumpsuits worn by the waiters. Also good for stumbling into after you've given yourself sunstroke on the beach... you can sit there in a bikini top and guzzle down ice cold beers to cool off.

Blowfish - a seafood/sushi restaurant in Dolphin Beach, Table View, with one of the best views of Table Mountain you'll find. Excellent menu, and you can watch the kite surfers do their thing while you eat.

One of our weekends was actually spent a ways out of Cape Town, at a trance party near Breede River. We're shameless trance party addicts.... the phat bass, dancing from sunrise to sunset and camping with all your best mates is possibly our favourite way to spend a weekend. In Europe, you have to travel to the outdoor parties... London is obviously not a favourite for an event that requires great weather to be successful. Our first trip to an international trance party was last year's Freedom Festival in Portugal. It was one for the books, with memories and experiences unlike any we've had before. But Cape Town outdoors remain our first love, and nothing in the world can beat them. This year I introduced Mini-Me and her boyfriend G to the delights of our stomping ground. They were hooked instantly, and I forsee us all traversing across the country when we finally return home, seeking out the best parties of the season. The only downer this time was the badly botched sleeping arrangements. We'd borrowed my parents' bakkie (pick-up truck), and initially Shoes and I were going to sleep on a mattress in the back while Mini-Me and G shared an inflatable mattress in the tent. Since they ended up going to bed before us, I magnanimously offered them the car, assuming that Shoes and I would sleep less and therefore could handle the aerospace. Due to compounding circumstances involving a blown fuse in the bakkie's car charger (which was the only way to blow up the mattress) and the theft by some of my 'friends' of our sleeping bags, Shoes and I ended up riding out the toughest night's sleep ever, on the hard ground in the tent with only sheets and towels for cover. We were cold, tired and miserable for the few hours sleep we did get. It gave us good reason to get up early, though, and we had that much more time on the dancefloor the next day. Who cares, we'll sleep when we're dead, right?

It seems strange that Cape Town is already an almost distant memory now. Of course, we still bear the faint bronze glow from our hours spent on the beach (although it's amazing how fast a tan fades on this side of the equator... it's like it sees the English sun and goes: Not a chance bru, I'm outta here!) and we still have our wine and longed for food items (Tinkies, Southern Fried and Koffiehuis) that we brought back with us. But it's time to move on from what was, and start looking forward to what will be, namely Spain in the summer and perhaps for the first time ever, a spot of skiing in winter. In a London winter, you get through the dark days by planning your next holiday. It also means you have that much more time to anticipate the next exotic trip. I suppose this is evidence more than anything else why I'm not ready to come home just yet. :-)