Capetonians talk about winter the way Game of Thrones talks about winter. Every broker I saw this week said the same thing to me when I asked about outdoor space, “winter is coming.” When I brought this to Henri’s attention he very seriously said, “Well, it is. And it’s bad.” But how bad does it really get? The internet tells me the lows are in the 50s and it rains a lot. I can handle 50s and some rain. I did 6 years on the East Coast.
That said, Kip and I are taking full advantage of the still beautiful and sunny days. We kicked off our weekend with a date night (all nights are really date nights these days as we do not have a kitchen and go out Every.Single.Night). We started at the Mount Nelson for a sundowner and then headed across the street to Nelson’s Eye. The Mount Nelson is a colonial holdout which we were told to visit for high tea but went for cocktails instead. The Mount Nelson grounds are a throwback to another era. Its long, manicured drive leads up to the Pepto pink historic hotel with its white shutters and grand entrance. Henri told us about Nelson’s Eye and described it as “a hole-in-the-wall with the best steak in town.” Sold!
Henri was so right. It was a total hole and served amazing food.
Yesterday and today were both perfect cloudless days, which we enjoyed at the beach. I DROVE to Camps Bay yesterday which was stressful but not completely unpleasant. Kip was a trooper, took a beta-blocker, and calmly gave me the confidence I needed to hit the wild streets of Cape Town. Neither of us had been to Camps Bay yet and we wanted to check it out. The beach was much more commercialized than Clifton and very crowded. It was still gorgeous, but we both decidedly prefer Clifton and we spent today there instead.
I’ve been dying for some Mexican food and we heard about a restaurant called San Julian that is owned and operated by a Mexican family who came here for the 2010 World Cup. They loved Cape Town so much that they decided to stay and open a restaurant. I am so happy they did! We had a great meal there topped off by an odd photo op. Our waiter was psyched to hear I was from Texas and immediately made us put on sombreros and gave Kip a gun. I guess that is how Texans feel at home? Hats and guns.
Before we headed to Clifton this morning, I went to my first yoga class in Cape Town. I went to YogaLife in the De Waterkant suburb. I loved the class, studio and teacher and will for sure be returning. As an added bonus, there is a fabulous coffee house around the corner called Origin Coffee. They serve delicious coffee but the big draw is the house-made bagels. Yes, bagels!! The real reason I’ll be going to yoga will be the post-flow celebratory treats.
I’m pretty sure the house hunt has come to an end. We found two places that we really like and security has already signed off. Now we are just waiting for the lease to be signed by HR and we should be good to go. I am not going to get in to details of either place until I know which one we are moving in to. I feel like I jinxed the last two. Hopefully we’ll have everything signed in the next couple of days.
We’re moving hotels tomorrow and we’re both looking forward to the change in scenery. Still would rather be moving in to our permanent home but I can’t complain too much. Complaining a little… but not too much.
ElephantsAbroad 