Thursday, January 9, 2014

Cape Town, South Africa!


 Here I am in all my glory sitting on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.

   I was very blessed to spend New Year's vacation in Cape Town, South Africa last week and let me tell you, that place is pretty epic!
   Cape Town, located in the Western part of the country, has a rich cultural history.
   The city was colonized by the Dutch and is the place where Nelson Mandela spent nearly 20 years as a political prisoner on Robben Island.
   There was so much history to be learned but also so much fun to be had.

I stayed on Long Street, the place where things get popping at night. It's busy during the day, too:

Cape Town is a bustling city. I loved this purple building, called The Purple Monkey. It's a night spot.

I visited a several nice craft markets:

I wanted two of everything I saw! I was in heaven, I tell ya!

Some parts of Cape Town reminded me of New Orleans:

This French influence was brought on by French religious refugees during the early 18th century, according to The Rough Guide to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Naturally, there were many beautiful Nelson Mandela tributes all around the city:

I spotted this tribute of the hero in one of the malls that wasn't far from my hostel.

I went up Table Mountain, which was voted as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World:

The scenery was just stunning! This place was heaven on earth.

Of course, I found a bead store:

I didn't do major damage like I normally do, though.

The palm trees reminded me of Miami:

What say you? Miami or Cape Town?

I went nuts for this coconut:

It was good and refreshing! I love me some fresh coconut.

One of my favorite places was the Slave Lodge:

It was one of my favorite places because it explained South Africa's complicated and painful apartheid history.

I also had a baby:

Her name was Cotton Candy. She was cute and cuddly and sweet. Pun intended:)

I was minding my business at the museum and almost got eaten by a shark:

So yeah, I survived a shark attack! LOL!

I had Ethiopian food:

I LOVE Ethiopian food!!!!! Can't even tell you what this meal did for me!!

I visited five wineries:

Wine and cheese? Yes, yes, please!

The beaches in Cape Town were to die for:

Please know that I AM about that beach life! 

I partied it up:

New Year's Eve was a madhouse!

I went to Robben Island:

This was Nelson Mandela's jail cell. He spent about 18 years at the prison and it was surreal to be here.

   I had such a good time that I'm having some serious withdrawals from my Cape Town visit.
   It's going down as my second favorite vacation, after India.
   Have you visited Cape Town?
   If so, what was your take?





14 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking the time and the talent to put together this great essay on Cape Town. I really appreciated the wonderful pictures and the informative narrative. Good travels God bless and Godspeed. Kevin Dayhoff, Westminster, MD USA

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    1. Happy New Year, Kevin! So nice to hear from you. Thank you for your kind words and for stopping by my blog:)

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  2. Wow, Cape Town looks AMAZING! So much to see and so much to learn. Thanks for sharing your pictures and taking me on a photo-tour of the place ;) Looks like you had a fantastic time!

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    1. Happy New Year, lady! How are you? Cape Town was epic! There was just so much to do and I did all of the big things so I'm happy with the trip. It was a blessing to be there!

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  3. Hi, Jennifer. It's Krysta. I met you at the office in Norfolk last year. I just came across this blog & pretty much sat here and read it in its entirety. I knew you were going into the Peace Corps, but I didn't know you were already gone. Boy am I late! The fourth picture on this page fooled me for a sec! It really is the spitting image of New Orleans. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. And I love the short hair. You look gorgeous! Thanks for updating so regularly with such a full schedule. Can't wait for the next post!

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    1. Happy New Year, Krysta. Forgive me but I vaguely remember you. Were you one of the college kids that came to shadow the reporters? Anyhoo, thanks for stopping by. I've been in Lesotho for about a year and a half now. Thanks for supporting my blog and you take care! Hugs!

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  4. I really enjoyed this post! I loved all of the pictures and your commentary. Wow, you visited the prison cell where Nelson Mandela was held. So much rich history...thank you so much for sharing. I really appreciate it.

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    1. Happy New Year, Crystal! How are you? Yes, it was surreal to be on Robben Island. Nelson Mandela was a tower of a man so it was a blessing to be in his jail cell. As always, thanks for stopping by to read my posts. I appreciate you!

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    2. Yes! I came with a friend maybe two years ago. We just did a quick walk-through of the office, but I remembered you and your nail polish stories very well. Mr. Opfer told us recently that you joined the Peace Corps, but we didn't have much else to go on. I hope all is well!

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    3. Ok, gotcha now, Krysta! I'm healthy and hope you're well, too. Give Mr. Opfer and everyone else my regards.

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  5. Cape Town looks as fascinating city! And I would try this Ethiopian dish.

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    1. Happy New Year Iva! Cape Town is, indeed, a fascinating city. And you've got to try Ethiopian food at some point. It really is delish! I was very surprised to see those Ethiopian restaurants there so I had to have my injera and honey wine!

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  6. I'm very thankful to you for sharing your amazing experience with us.cape Town is wonderful city and also thanks for capturing very nice view of Cape Town.Even I want to experience the lifetime journey of Cape Town.
    Please visit the link: http://invitationtomycity.blogspot.com/

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