It’s an odd thing, me in Cape Town, South Africa. I had never really wanted to go anywhere in Africa but when my sister won a safari at a silent auction that all changed. She asked if I’d join her and I declined, but my wife took her up on the offer.
Over the course of 12 months of planning, I helped them both with hotel and transportation. During this time frame, I kept noticing stories about Cape Town in the travel magazines I subscribe to and decided Cape Town would be a fun place to visit. Since sis and my wife would transition to Cape Town I figured if I could find cheap airfare to Cape Town, joining them would be a good idea. The great fare showed up in December and I pounced on the $810 BWI to Johannesburg bargain.
Franschhoek.
We would all meet in Cape Town and have three and a half days together. I arrived two days ahead of the girls and hit the ground running despite 49 hours in transit. The Airbnb I rented put me within 15 minutes walk from the V&A Waterfront. This large complex of shopping, restaurants, and ship facilities turned out to be better than I expected. The best part of the whole waterfront were the busker musicians putting on a show for tips and applause.
Marimba band at the V&A.
I was very impressed with the young men playing marimbas, drums, and a trombone. Tips were filling up the cash box as the guys sang and played African music to the crowd’s delight. What a great way for local musicians to cash in on the tourist trade. Over the next three days, I heard several talented musicians playing at different spots in the V&A.
A One-Man Band
My favorite musician was Rheinhardt Buhr who is a master at the electronic music form called sampling. This one-man band impressed me the first day I saw him and all three of us later on Sunday as I took my wife and sis around the V&A. Be sure and check out Reinhardt’s Youtube videos like this one to get an idea of his talent.
Reinhardt Buhr at the V&A.
Food and wine were on my mind daily. The Airbnb hostess left a list of places to try and Giovani’s Deliworld would be my first stop. Just a ten minute walk down the Main Road and I arrived in time to meet Giovanni inspecting the inventory. This gem of a foodie fun house offers deli products, house-made yogurt, fresh Italian style bread, lots of sandwich choices, a coffee bar and more. I grabbed an avocado toast for breakfast and came back the next day for sandwiches. All were very tasty and inexpensive.
Giovanni’s Deliworld.
Further along in my V&A wanderings I spied the elegant Cape Grace Hotel and popped in for a look. At $700 or so per night for a basic luxurious room, this ain’t cheap. A nice concierge person took me on a tour of the hotel and showed off the antiques on each floor. If money was no problem I’d love to stay there on my next visit.
Cape Grace Hotel.
As I approached a part of the V&A with restaurants lining the waterfront I saw an ingenious photo op/marketing tool. A big yellow box frame invited visitors to sit for a photo with Table Mountain in the background. This lucky lady picked a blue sky day for her photo.
Photo op V&A Waterfront.
A Fine Food Tour of Cape Town
To get to know Cape Town better, I took a food tour with Cape Town Culinary Tours. Over the four hours together, our group of five wandered downtown and tasted several African country’s cuisines. Starting at the Meeting Point restaurant, we enjoyed authentic Tanzanian fare at a very reasonable price.
The Meeting Point restaurant.
At Khadim’s, we experienced Senegalese Touba coffee. Not that I like coffee, but the presentation was fun to watch and the coffee drinkers in the group liked Khadim’s brew.
Khadim.
Stops at an Ethiopian restaurant, chocolate shop, and wine bar rounded out a very enjoyable tour. If you like these sort of tours, I highly recommend taking one of the two tour options Cape Town Culinary Tours offers.
Ethiopian fare at Madam Taitou Restaurant.
Of all the wineries we visited, Tokara was best for wine and food (don’t miss lunch) Vergenoegd for entertainment and Kanonkop for friendly dogs and excellent wine.
Tokara Winery
After Cape Town, we three headed to Franschhoek where another Airbnb awaited us. Our lovely hostess Delana let us check in early at her Villa Roux cottage, then she took us to town so we’d be on time for our lunch at La Petite Colombe. This high-end, fine dining restaurant was serving a special winter menu that put it within our budget.
For only $70 USD, we got a multi-course lunch with generous wine pairings. This was one of the best lunches I’ve ever had. From start to finish the food, service, and wine were exceptional.
The yellowfin tuna dish was one of the most beautifully presented lunch items any of us had ever seen, and it tasted great too!
Yellowfin tuna La Petite Colombe.
Walking the Town
After lunch, we waddled up and down the main drag in Franschhoek impressed with the shops and such. Since the girls were more into the shopping than I was, I caught a tuk-tuk ride to Rickety Bridge Winery on the outskirts of town.
I arrived just after the wine tasting room was closing and pleaded with them to let me sample wines quickly. As the server lined the up glasses of wine, I sipped and picked wine in record time. Only ten minutes had elapsed and I’d tasted almost ten wines. I bought one bottle of their pinotage for the night and vowed to return the next day to buy the sparkling rose.
Happy customer at Rickety Bridge.
At Vergenoegd Winery, we arrived just in time for the 10:30 parade of Indian runner ducks. Everyone loved watching 200-300 of the winery’s 1,200 ducks march off to work. But these ducks were just for show. The working ducks for the day had already marched off to work. Still, it was great fun to be part of the quacking and marching on display.
A long line of ducks at Vergenoegd Winery.
Wine at lunch.
I hope to get another visit in next year if the airfare specials crop up again as there are many more wineries and restaurants to visit yet. See more about my trip on GoNOMAD.com soon.
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