A week in Cape Town...

Howzit followers! This post is coming to you awfully late, and we apologise, but we have been having such an amazing time we haven't even thought to blog! We arrived to town on Saturday and that evening strolled to Long Street for dinner. Being tired from the night before, we made it an early night in preparation for Sunday's activities. Early Sunday morning we headed back to the airport to get a rental car and then headed to Ocean View township to attend church with Rachel's host family from her study abroad days (more on them in a later post). We hung out for awhile afterwards and had koeksisters, like coconut donut balls, as an after church snack. Rachel's host family had prepared lunch as well and we were treated to mince meat-curry-potato-chapati wraps. They were delicious and Rachel can't wait to make them when she gets home!

On Monday we had intended to climb Table Mountain but awoke to an overcast sky and the mountain covered by its "table cloth" - a thick layer of cloud that makes it impossible to see from the top. Instead, we did our grocery shopping and then decided to see our first movie in a theater since being in Chile. We saw Neighbors 2, or Bad Neighbors 2 in South Africa. It was funny and we laughed a lot. On Tuesday, we went to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and many other freedom fighters were held during apartheid. We were given a tour of the prison by a former political prisoner who had actually been held at that site. It was poignant to learn about this part of history and see it all firsthand.

We've also spent a lot of time seeing old friends! On Tuesday night we meet Rachel's old housemate and tour guide Mike for dinner and got to meet his lovely new wife. Rachel didn't think he would remember her from so long ago, but when we contacted his company, 2Way Travel, to set up some tours, he said he of course remembered her and suggested this dinner double date on the Waterfront. On Wednesday we joined Rachel's friend Heather, her husband James, and their son Hannah for a picnic lunch in Kirstenbosch Gardens, a beautiful green space filled entirely with plants naturally found in South Africa and many plants endemic to South Africa. It was wonderful to see how Heather's family has grown as last time we saw her she had only recently wed.

Thursday was filled entirely with a delicious wine tour in Stellenbosch through Wineflies. We tasted a wide variety of wines and even got to taste a special brandy and several "bubblies" (champagne, except it wasn't made in Champagne but in South Africa). One of the wineries we visited created a custom wine for Prince Albert and Charlotte of Monaco named "Chalbert." Also, all of the wineries seemed to have very big dogs, which initially frightened Rachel but they were of course all friendly.

This morning we did a township tour in Langa with a local resident. Rachel will be talking more about townships in a later post, but, in short, this is an important part of South Africa that many tourists ignore. When Rachel studied here, they always said that South Africa was a first world and third world country, which is true. Parts of Cape Town are the most beautiful and wealthy areas you'll ever see. Just outside of downtown, and even in some places near the city bowl, is another world of low- to no-income communities with a political and racial history. Again, this history is discussed more in a later post.

Tonight we met with Rachel's old friends and classmates Twanji and Jade for dinner at a gastropub on Bree Street. It was delicious and we had such a fun time with the guys! Both of them seem to be doing really well and are working in the television industry. So basically...they're big deals.

We have pictures for this whole week but are having trouble uploading some of them at the moment, so check back later for more pics from this post as well as the next few that come up.Read more