My Cape Town Adventures: Chasing Summer

My newest roommate (whose name is also Emily) recently told me that her blog is titled "Chasing Summer," referencing the fact that she ditched her hometown of Seattle in the middle of winter to come to South Africa spot-on for the summer season, only to return back home after three months to Seattle's summer. I thought the name was very creative and very appropriate, especially since I keep seeing Facebook updates about how cold and snowy it is back home when all I look forward to in a day is taking the coldest shower possible!

My first full weekend in Cape Town was a blast. Saturday morning a small group of us went to the Old Biscuit Mill Market in a neighborhood called Woodstock. It's a gigantic market/bazaar filled with little shops and tents sent up selling all kinds of clothing, jewelry, photography, home decor, crafts, whatever food you think of - you name it! It's held every Saturday and is very well-known in the city among both tourists and locals. We were not disappointed! I did a bit of shopping and sampled every food I could (the endless choices of desserts were particularly appealing). OH, and the taxi ride to get there? Split among the six of us, it cost less than a dollar apiece.

We ended the day with a fabulous dinner at a restaurant called Mama Africa with a huge group of interns. There were about ten of us in total and among all of us, we ordered a bunch of different things and tasted a bit of each other's plates. I got in a bite of ostrich, warthog, bubotie (a type of antelope) and springbok - coming from a picky eater, I really liked it all! The restaurant was beautifully themed, had delicious cocktails, and a live band playing African music in the background. Post-dinner, we all took a stroll down Long Street (popular for its shops, restaurants, and especially pubs and clubs), bar hopping for the rest of the night until two in the morning. It was quite a blast! I got to know some of the others girls a bit better and chatted with quite a few South Africans, all of whom were incredibly welcoming to us silly Americans.

Today was spent at Muizenberg Beach in the hot African sun, where I got to place my toes in the Indian Ocean for the first time. The sun here is quite a kicker - I've already used up a bottle of sunscreen in a week and continue to get burn after burn. A dip in the pool on the rooftop when we returned was very refreshing. Now my Sunday evening is devoted to taking it easy and preparing to tackle another exciting week!

xoxo Em

Some of my friends at the Old Biscuit Mill Market