-Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
I hope you have all been holding your breath in anticipation of my next post! It has been quite a jam-packed past few days, as my dad and Jess only have a limited time to absorb the city so we kept busy. I'll leave this overview to just the first day, as I'm tiredly typing this at quarter to 11 pm in the business centre of our hotel. We're leaving Cape Town around 7 am tomorrow to catch our flight, but I'll try to update as soon as I can on the remaining Cape Town activities.
After their morning nap on the couch, I decided to kick start Dad and Jess' introduction to Cape Town with a ride on the double decker bus. Unfortunately, the weather conditions for their arrival weren't the best; it had been rainy in the early morning and it stayed fairly overcast for the rest of the day. The lack of sunshine did not, however, invade the great time that was had by all (nor did it stop the two of them from getting some red faces at the end of the day!) We briefly got off at the bottom of Table Mountain and were going to attempt to take the cable car up to the top, but decided to try another day when the "tablecloth" of clouds wasn't so heavy. Instead, we took the time to hop off at Camp's Bay, the popular seaside area of town, to grab a bite to eat for lunch. After scarfing down some delicious food, breathing in the fresh air of the Atlantic and wiggling our toes in the sand, we hopped back on the bus to finish up our tour.
The weather has been anything but cool during my month here, so I've never gotten the chance to wear my sweatshirt outdoors. I pulled my "Tufts Medical" hoodie out for the day and quickly realized that it served as a magnet for fellow American tourists. Several people over the course of the day approached us asking if we were from Boston and I'm glad I got to have such a great conversation starter to meet people from "home"!
We returned to our hotel in the evening to rest up and come up with some dinner plans. We had originally asked the staff if it would be possible to have an extra cot put in our room since I wanted to stay with Dad and Jess. As we were leaving in the morning, they had assured us that they were preparing the cot for our room...lo and behold, we entered the hotel room to the sight of a neatly made-up baby playpen at the foot of the bed. We immediately started bursting out laughing and then realized we would need to figure out some different arrangements, as the room had only two twin-sized beds and a very small, though comfy-looking, "cot" that I certainly wasn't going to fit in. The staff was very helpful in moving us to a room with a fold-out couch; granted, this meant that we could place the cushions on the floor, but nonetheless with some sheets and a down comforter, it turned out to be a comfortable substitue for a bed.
As we were feeling pretty tired after a long day, I suggested that I take them to the Perseverance Tavern right around the corner from my apartment. I figured the relaxed environment and delicious, simple food would hit the spot. They seemed to really enjoy it and they appreciated the extra factor of the history that the restaurant offered, as well.
It's been strange seeing my Dad and Jess in this atmosphere in which I have been completely isolated from the Western world for a month, but also deeply welcoming. It's very nice to have familiar faces around for a while and we've definitely been having a grand 'ole time. The Internet is being a bit finicky, so I can't post pictures yet. Check back soon for further updates!
xo Em
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