The gorgeous weather returned for Joe's final full day in Cape Town (I know, I know, I'm not to happy about that either-my newly designated Travel Partner has to leave a day before I do....) though it was still a bit cooler than earlier in the week. We really only had one major thing left on our list to see: Bo Kaap.
Bo Kaap is a neighborhood (not far from our hotel in fact) that is the heart of Muslim Cape Town. Located in a steep area, the district is characterized by narrow streets and brightly colored homes, which are its main attraction. In actuality, the painting of homes really began relatively recently, maybe twenty years ago, by an ambitious resident that wanted to re-gentrify the area.
We had seen at the nearby tourist center that walking tours of Bo Kaap were available, so we went for that. At 11:00 we joined our guide, a German woman named Ursula, and a few other tourists to began our tour. We got a little more than we bargained for, as Ursula first took us around the city center. At first I thought we would be shorted our time in Bo Kaap, which is really all we wanted to see, and we had already done everything we wanted in the city center. It worked out though. Ursula ended up showing us some neat things that we had over-looked, primarily a couple of cathedrals and a couple of art-deco buildings (I'm still an architecture buff at heart). Apparently Ursula had her own opinions on architecture, which she didn't mind sharing with us. After showing us the old city hall, done in a Victorian style with granite imported from Aberdeen, Scotland, she pointed out the new city hall, which she described as "a monster". A modern walkway built between the South African Mutual Building (very neat art deco designs on that one) and another fell afoul of Ursula as well: She said she thought it was "awful". We also picked up quite a bit of the city's history, which had pretty much passed us by before. Ursula was a very knowledgeable and friendly lady, and was able to give us info on the city without boring our tits off. I think both of us enjoyed having her lead the way.
Eventually we came to where Joe and I most wanted: Bo Kaap. We didn't spend much time up there, but I don't think it is warranted, its pretty small in area. We first went into Bo Kaap's oldest mosque (there are ten in the area, all very small, squeezed between other buildings). Afterward we walked the streets, lined with, again, brightly painted homes. Again we got the low-down from Ursula, who said she remembered when all the homes were simply white-washed, but now the colorful paint-jobs are acting as a tourist draw. She took us along what she said were probably Bo-Kaaps most iconic streets, where Joe and I got in some photography (well, maybe for Joe, I just snap photos. I am going to get there though, you watch) after yesterday's quiet day.
Before leaving Bo Kaap Joe inquired about walking up Signal Hill. Signal Hill abuts Bo Kaap and is the location of the city's Noon Gun, a cannon that fires everyday at noon, an old tradition carried over from sea-faring days. Walking up Signal Hill was also something the two of us had wanted to check off. Ursula confirmed that, yes, we could make the steep walk up there, but stated that there is a lot of "nonsense" going on up that street. She said she had been mugged there multiple times. Never mind then.
After two brief stops in a Dutch Reform church and an underground market, we said our goodbyes. As it was already well past lunch time, we were both feeling the hunger pangs, and dropped off our gear and headed down to the waterfront to our new favorite establishment, a little diner called "Dodge City" that served a special called the "steak and shake", a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake for the equivalent of under 7 bucks. After filling up, we decided that we couldn't let the nice weather go to waste and first strolled around the waterfront, finally settling down on a bench that faced Table Mountain, giving us a clear view of the city's iconic feature. There we sat in the warm sun, enjoyed the breeze, people watched, and chatted until my watch told us that it was probably time to head back.
We hung out for a bit, then set out on Long Street for a light dinner. We settled on the Long Street Cafe. We both ordered the chicken wings (quite good actually, a nice tangy, with a touch of spicy, sauce). Joe went for a drought beer, and I got a glass of mango juice, very manly, I know. Apparently the waitress who dropped off our drinks (different from the one who took the order), thought so too. She came over and asked who had the beer, gave it to Joe and then, when giving me my mango juice, literally LAUGHED IN MY FACE. Yeah, what kind of pussy goes to a place with a bar and gets a mango juice? Way to strip a guy of any confidence. Dinner was enjoyable otherwise, food was good, so was the conversation.
So tomorrow Joe head's back to the United States of Awesome. I will be headed back at the same time, but on Saturday. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed having him as a travel partner. He fit right in, and I think we did really well here in the city on the Cape.
Bo Kaap is a neighborhood (not far from our hotel in fact) that is the heart of Muslim Cape Town. Located in a steep area, the district is characterized by narrow streets and brightly colored homes, which are its main attraction. In actuality, the painting of homes really began relatively recently, maybe twenty years ago, by an ambitious resident that wanted to re-gentrify the area.
We had seen at the nearby tourist center that walking tours of Bo Kaap were available, so we went for that. At 11:00 we joined our guide, a German woman named Ursula, and a few other tourists to began our tour. We got a little more than we bargained for, as Ursula first took us around the city center. At first I thought we would be shorted our time in Bo Kaap, which is really all we wanted to see, and we had already done everything we wanted in the city center. It worked out though. Ursula ended up showing us some neat things that we had over-looked, primarily a couple of cathedrals and a couple of art-deco buildings (I'm still an architecture buff at heart). Apparently Ursula had her own opinions on architecture, which she didn't mind sharing with us. After showing us the old city hall, done in a Victorian style with granite imported from Aberdeen, Scotland, she pointed out the new city hall, which she described as "a monster". A modern walkway built between the South African Mutual Building (very neat art deco designs on that one) and another fell afoul of Ursula as well: She said she thought it was "awful". We also picked up quite a bit of the city's history, which had pretty much passed us by before. Ursula was a very knowledgeable and friendly lady, and was able to give us info on the city without boring our tits off. I think both of us enjoyed having her lead the way.
Eventually we came to where Joe and I most wanted: Bo Kaap. We didn't spend much time up there, but I don't think it is warranted, its pretty small in area. We first went into Bo Kaap's oldest mosque (there are ten in the area, all very small, squeezed between other buildings). Afterward we walked the streets, lined with, again, brightly painted homes. Again we got the low-down from Ursula, who said she remembered when all the homes were simply white-washed, but now the colorful paint-jobs are acting as a tourist draw. She took us along what she said were probably Bo-Kaaps most iconic streets, where Joe and I got in some photography (well, maybe for Joe, I just snap photos. I am going to get there though, you watch) after yesterday's quiet day.
Before leaving Bo Kaap Joe inquired about walking up Signal Hill. Signal Hill abuts Bo Kaap and is the location of the city's Noon Gun, a cannon that fires everyday at noon, an old tradition carried over from sea-faring days. Walking up Signal Hill was also something the two of us had wanted to check off. Ursula confirmed that, yes, we could make the steep walk up there, but stated that there is a lot of "nonsense" going on up that street. She said she had been mugged there multiple times. Never mind then.
After two brief stops in a Dutch Reform church and an underground market, we said our goodbyes. As it was already well past lunch time, we were both feeling the hunger pangs, and dropped off our gear and headed down to the waterfront to our new favorite establishment, a little diner called "Dodge City" that served a special called the "steak and shake", a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake for the equivalent of under 7 bucks. After filling up, we decided that we couldn't let the nice weather go to waste and first strolled around the waterfront, finally settling down on a bench that faced Table Mountain, giving us a clear view of the city's iconic feature. There we sat in the warm sun, enjoyed the breeze, people watched, and chatted until my watch told us that it was probably time to head back.
We hung out for a bit, then set out on Long Street for a light dinner. We settled on the Long Street Cafe. We both ordered the chicken wings (quite good actually, a nice tangy, with a touch of spicy, sauce). Joe went for a drought beer, and I got a glass of mango juice, very manly, I know. Apparently the waitress who dropped off our drinks (different from the one who took the order), thought so too. She came over and asked who had the beer, gave it to Joe and then, when giving me my mango juice, literally LAUGHED IN MY FACE. Yeah, what kind of pussy goes to a place with a bar and gets a mango juice? Way to strip a guy of any confidence. Dinner was enjoyable otherwise, food was good, so was the conversation.
So tomorrow Joe head's back to the United States of Awesome. I will be headed back at the same time, but on Saturday. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed having him as a travel partner. He fit right in, and I think we did really well here in the city on the Cape.
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