Parents Part 2 - Cape Town, the mother city

Cape Town, Cape Town, what a gorgeous city. A little bit European, A little American, always African but in it's own way. This vacation was like a little oasis and a dip back into not quite what home is like, but somewhere in between home and Lusaka in terms of cosmopolitanism, efficiency, art, and funk. I know I constantly harp on walkability, but Cape Town it's walkable (where it's safe) and scenically spectacular. A jagged table protrudes from the centre of the city, as though one day it was just magically raised up, an elevator caught on the top floor. Often covering Table Mountain? Its table cloth – a shroud of cloud that may or may not burn off throughout the day, but that genuinely looks like a table cloth. In the six days I was there with my parents we covered a ton: walking around the V&A waterfront, taking the cable car up Table Mountain, exploring Long and Kloof Streets, a day-long excursion driving down the peninsula all the way to Cape Point (where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic). Beaches! Penguins! Windy Cape Point! Windy roads turning into dry bushlands melding into the lush winelands of Constantia and the thick forests that insulate the wealthy homes. A farmer's market unlike any other, wines and vines, botanical gardens, galleries and museums, fish and sushi, game meat and a passion for tapas, local fashion and a Blake Lively spotting; Cape Town spoiled me on a number of levels.

Scoping the scene on Table Mountain

Beaches of the peninsula

Windy Cape Point!

I've been to farmer's markets in some of the hippy-est and foodie-est places – Vermont and New York, Maine and Montreal – but the Old Biscuit Mill's Saturday Market is unlike anything I've ever seen before. A veritable cornucopia of colorful, fresh, homemade, exotic products, it's part hipster and part hippy. It reminds me of the Tams in Montreal in that it brings together all kinds of different people of diverse ages and backgrounds, but it's more bustling, more gourmet. One side is completely dedicated to food: artisanal coffees, homemade sausages, cheese, wine by the glass, multiple kinds of mushrooms eloquently displayed (pink ones at that!) fresh by the kilo or simply grilled with herbs, oil, and salt to pop in your mouth right there, nuts and dried fruit, organic chocolate, fruit and veggies, baked goods of every dimension, sweet tarts, savoury quiches, hearty breads, delicate croissants, sandwiches made to order with succulent home-roasted meats, waffles, crepes, burritos, open-faced sandwiches, Asian noodles, falafel, flatbread pizza with Parmesan and prosciutto, game meats like kudu and impala, ostrich and guinea fowl, fresh figs to pop in your mouth, washed down by iced tea...and if that wasn't good enough? On the other side were little stands and stalls set up by local designers selling their wares. None of that made-in-China-trying-to-look-African bullshit, but hip, funky, trendy designers. Just as Cape Town is a mix of cultures, backgrounds and styles, so too were the designs – Part European, part African, part North American, even a slight Asian influence. I didn't actually land up buying anything, but the prospect of and temptation to purchase was great. Primarily the positive energy and vibes blew me away – festive, frailach (to throw a Yiddish word in there), full of a certain joie-de-vivre...however you want to phrase it, Saturday Market at the Old Biscuit Mill had it. That, in and of itself, is reason enough to make the trek back to Cape Town.

Just a sampling to whet your appetite...

I had heard that Stellenbosch was tacky, touristy, very commercial, and that Franschoek (which translates as “French Corner”) was the place to go for wine. That may very well be true comparatively speaking, but Stellenbosch is still picturesque with its grape vines stretching up spectacular mountains. So verdant, life-giving, green; the modernity of the vineyard Delaire both contrasted and complimented the landscape creating a stunning and memorable scene, while the more family-friendly Warwick had big umbrellas and the potential for picnics. They each engendered different feelings but were enjoyable and different in their individual ways. Franschoek will just have to wait until next time...

The view of Stellenbosch from Delaire

Townships of Cape Town - A final goodbye on the way to the airport