ElephantsAbroad

It’s been a very busy first week here in Cape Town. I think the strategy we’ve employed is to just keep moving. While I have been busy trying to find and apartment and figuring out life in CT, Kip jumped right in to his routine and went to work on Wednesday and Thursday. He was able to take the day off yesterday and join the apartment hunt.

Kip, Henri and I looked at the final four apartments and after some deliberations, we’ve picked our two favorites. We must give Henri two options in case one falls through. This being South Africa, I guess that is a real possibility.

Both apartments are great in their own way. The first is the retro penthouse with the private pool. We’ve let Henri know this is our first choice. While the apartment has some strange quirks, there is something uniquely African about it that we feel we can’t pass up. It seems like we’d be missing out on an experience if we didn’t live there. That said, if it doesn’t work out, we’re going to take it as a sign that the experience of living there is one we might be happy we avoided.

The second apartment is on Beach Road and has an amazing view of the Atlantic. This apartment is less of a gamble and the only real drawback is the lack of an oven. There is a microwave/toaster thing happening but there will be no oven-roasted, South African chickens in our near future should we move in to this one. However, there is a huge private terrace perfect for braaing. While we were enjoying the view, we spotted a few whales who had come in to show off. The broker seemed thrilled as whale watching from the terrace is a pretty amazing perk of this apartment.

Henri will let us know on Monday or Tuesday which apartment we will end up with. Either way, we will be happy to move in on April 1st. Hotel living is not our cup of tea.

Speaking of tea, I had a great time with the other expat wives on Thursday. They made me feel so welcome and it was really nice to receive some tips on living in Cape Town. For example:

• Do not try to make changes to your order at a restaurant. Apparently you will never receive what you want and trying to manipulate the menu will just complicate things. (This is unwelcome news as South Africans seem to love mayo on EVERYTHING)
• Just because something in on the menu doesn’t mean they have it. (We actually experienced this on our first night)
• There is no elevator etiquette. Every man/woman/child for themselves!

It’s beautiful and sunny here today (sorry East Coast friends and family) so I think we’re going to head to Clifton Beach for the afternoon. Henri took me by there on Wednesday to check it out and it is fantastic! We won’t be getting in the water since it is freezing cold and fairly shark infested. Both are unpleasant aspects of the beaches here, but one is potentially more unpleasant than the other.

I’ll try to take some better photos on today’s outing. Until next time…