Relaxing weekend in Cape Town

We had many days off this last week due to Pubic Holidays, so we took advantage of it an explored South Africa.  On Thursday, Rachel, Katie and I went with Matt, our mentor, to Cape Town and then Kirstenbosch, "The most beautiful gardens in Africa".  We had a lovely picnic on the lawn, performed acrobatic moves down the hill, then proceeded to get lost in the gardens.  All in all, it was a good time.

 Katie rolling down the hill.  I proceeded to do somersaults down the hill after this. Great idea. 

Us lost in the gardens!

After this little fun adventure, I came back to Stellenbosch to immediately return to Cape Town with Lindsay.  We went on the train which only took about and hour and a half and cost $1.50.  We got a room at the Fountains Hotel, which ended up being in the mist centralized part of the city.  It was a perfect location.  

The view from our balcony.

The first night we went to the Waterfront which is where the shopping is.  At the mall here there is a Louis Vuitton, Max Mara, Burberry, Armani, etc.  There are also stores that normal people, such as ourselves, shop in.  I found my new favorite store and it is essentially the J Crew of Africa. I was in heaven.  Before shopping, we shared a bottle of wine and sushi.  This was my first sushi experience, well for that matter my first fish experience.  Why would I eat cooked fish for the first time?  That makes too much sense.  I just went for the raw slimy stuff!  And I actually really liked it!! I can now say that I have one up on my Mother (get on my level, Mom!). Lindsay documented my whole sushi experience: 

 About to take the first bite of my Philly roll.

 Not so sure about Lindsay's roll.  It had tuna, salmon, AND caviar!! 

 Surprisingly, it was good too!!

After our shopping adventure, we ate yet again and had a late, romantic dinner at the harbor.  We ate at this wonderful restaurant where we had butternut squash and feta salads.  Delish.  The next morning we missed breakfast but made it to a wonderful hippy place recommended by South African Cosmo where we had a wonderful late brunch followed by playing with their vintage clothing that is sold there.  We walked along the sidewalk for about 6 hours going into most stores, trying to find our way back to the hotel's direction.  We walked down all of Long Street, I believe, and that is one long street.  After a nice swim in the pool and a detox session in the sauna, we ventured back out for dinner to an Ethiopian place, as recommended by the girls who waited on us at brunch.  This place was called Timbuktu and was sooooo good (Mom, Dad, and Ben, we WILL be going here when you visit).  After walking up a few flights of stairs, we were seated on a balcony that looked very middle eastern.  We ordered our food and were told to wash our hands at the washing station right before our food arrived.  Apparently we were going to eat with our hands.  The food was delicious and authentic.  I am so glad we had this wonderful cultural experience.  

 Enjoying the atmosphere.

Indulging on the Ethiopian food.

The next morning we missed breakfast, again.  So we ventured back down to the Waterfront to check out an area we missed and saw some wonderful views of Table Mountain and gorgeous jewelry made of elephant hair.  

 Table Mountain

An elephant made entirely of beads!!

We were sad to leave this wonderful, busy city, but eager to get back to the 'quiet' life of Stellenbosch.  

Xx,

kCl

Monkeying around

Two weekends ago, we rented a car for the weekend.  The first day, we went to the huge mall that is close to here, but yet too far away for walking.  I found the gems in that mall, per usual.  On Saturday, we went to Monkey Town and saw tons of monkeys.  Here we played with monkeys for a half an hour for a mere $5!!! It was sooooo much fun! After that we drove around the coast, went to the beach, and ate an amazing meal.  It consisted of the best gazpacho ever and butternut/feta quiche.  We also made good use of the car that day and went to the grocery and got a big haul.  On Sunday, Kelsey and I went to the beach and ate gallons of sand each due to the wind.  We then drove all around the coast for hours and went to the top of one of the mountains and saw an amazing view.  We kind of got lost and found a  cute, quaint town called Pringle Bay.  When driving around to find a place to eat (we had two options), we saw baboons!! They are wild here and we followed them trying to get pictures until they ran away.  We heard that they were dangerous so we asked our waitress about them.  She said that they will only bother you if you have food.  If they come up to you, you put your bags down and walk away.  They will go through your bags and take what they want.  You can then come back and retrieve your stuff.  Sounds kind of crazy to me.  She said you get used to them though, and they are harmless as long as you leave them be.

A squirrel monkey trying to take pictures through my camera!

 My new BFF

Lindsay and me at Gordon's Bay

 Mo and me

 Kelsey, Mo and me

Linds and me

St. Patty's Day here was crazy.  We didn't have much green to wear so we decided to draw/paint all over ourselves!!! 

 Mo, Kelsey and me

 Rachel, Ali, Katie, and Mo

 Annie, Kelsey, and me

 GREEN ONION RING!!!

 The roommates!! Mo, Karolina, me, and Ali

 The interesting fish at Entrouge, a nightclub

 Kelsey, Melodi, Katie, and Katie having a movie night 

 Southern Ally and mye

 Romantic milkshakes with Kelsey and Katie

Happy St. Patty's Day!!! Pog Mo Thoin!!!

Safari Weekend in Africa

Three weekends ago I went on a mini weekend trip with the group that I came to South Africa with, ISA.  Early Saturday morning we traveled to a township called Tow's River where we played with children at a school.  A township is essentially an underdeveloped living area here in South Africa.  These are the areas where the houses are made of metal and wood slabs and what we would call shacks.  At this school, we assembled bouncy houses for the children to play on, colored, face painted, played cricket, etc.  The children LOVED the bouncy houses.  The children also loved us.  They were crawling all over us and jumping on us in the bouncy house.  When I was in the bouncy house at one point, there was a group of girls that made it their goal to tackle me to the ground.  The children live in extreme poverty, yet all have a smile on their faces and play like there is no tomorrow.  At lunch we gave the all of the children hotdogs.  There was one mother that was there that was saving the left overs of the children's buns.  She said she had other small children at home that needed to be fed.  It was sad to see her walking around picking up these leftovers.  When it came time to leave, we all received the biggest bear hugs from the kids.  I think all of us left with smiles on our faces.  

 The first two pictures is what the school looked like inside

 Tanner (a guy in my group) playing with the kiddies in the bouncy house.

 Tanner showing off his hula hoop skills (or lack there-of).

Mama Rachel and all her kiddies>

 Beauty Salon in the bouncy house.

 I literally had 5 girls braiding my hair at once.

 Do not mess with this girl. She has a crazy arm on her. She pitches for the boy's cricket team.

 This girl was definitely my favorite! She fell asleep in my arms for a good half an hour while her older brother played in the bouncy house. 

After the school, we went to the Aquila Private Game Reserve, which was near by.  We stayed over night here and Rachel, Ali, and I had our own villa in very luxurious accommodations.  I had my own King sized bed for the night! This place was gorgeous and people such as Paris Hilton and MC Hammer have stopped by here to partake in the activities.  We arrived Saturday afternoon and we started our stay here with margaritas and a refreshing dip in the infinity pool.  After cleaning up in our private outdoor rock shower, we went on a sunset safari and saw the tons of animals.  Over the period of two safaris, we saw the Big 5 which includes Rhinos, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalo, and Lions.  These are called the Big 5 because they are some of the most dangerous animals in the world.  Other animals we saw include zebras, springbok, giraffes, wildebeest, ostriches, eland, and cheetahs.  It was basically a live version of the Lion King.  Dream come true.  During the safari, we stopped for some dried meat and nuts accompanied by sparkling wine.  This was cool because around us we could see wildebeest and giraffes.  When we got back, there was a feast of traditional South African cuisine waiting for us.  The next morning, we woke at 5 for a sunrise safari.  The sun was not even up when we began, but we quickly saw it and anticipated its arrival to warm us up from the extremely crisp morning air.  Following a huge breakfast, we laid by the pool for several hours, had another huge meal, and then loaded back on the bus to come home.  I think everyone was sleeping on the bus way home.  It was a very successful weekend indeed. 

 Yes, we were this close.

 Wildebeest 

 Sprinkbok

Wildebeest  

 Our little break

 Our mode of transportation

 lion

 lions mating-- they mate every 20 minutes for 1 minute to keep their fertility rate up.

 the pool and swim up bar-- hard life.

 eland

 cheetah

leopard