The Weekend

It was a really busy weekend. We fit a lot in--new pics posted to the left.

Friday night was our first real night out in Cape Town. We put on makeup and everything--a first for this trip! We were supposed to go to dinner at a restaurant named Fork on Long street (the most popular/touristy street in cape town). However, as you may know, Cape Town is experiencing a pretty big energy crisis and the power at the restaurant was out. So, we went out for pizza instead. And I'll tell you, it was some good pizza. Things to know: wine and beer are very cheap. You can pay 17 rand for a beer (about $2.50) and anywhere from 42 rand up for a bottle (not glass) of wine (about $6). And, it's good wine.

We went out on long street to a bar called the Dubliner (super touristy and a little cheesy) and then across the street to a more "authentic" bar called Jo-burg. Both were fun. It was good to get out.

We got up really early on Saturday to take a nine hour tour of the Southern Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts. What beautiful scenery--south africa has amazing vegetation and beautiful beaches. It was extremely windy. I've learned that they do mean it when they say that you can experience all 4 seasons in one day. It's cold in the morning and night, and really warm in the middle of the day. (And I'm already starting to get a pretty sick tan!) On Saturday, it was just cold...and the winds were gusty enough to make you feel somewhat uncomfortable hiking up to the top of cape point--the point at which the atlantic and indian ocean meet.

How cool it was to see the indian ocean--it's something I've heard about my entire life and to finally see it was breathtaking. Plus the water on the indian ocean side (or False Bay side) is much warmer.

We also hit the famous "penguins"--I have about 30 pics of penguins and some movies for anyone interested. Also, we made it to an ostrich farm. They are really ugly animals.

We went to the beaches on the indian ocean side but it was freezing. While the young girls (heidi, danielle and myself) were taking shelter from the sand storms in the car, the older ladies (alana and debbie) braved the cold and went in the water. They said it was great but I'm pretty sure we made the right decision.

Today was much more relaxed but we were still up and on the go. This morning, Danielle and I went for a run to Cape Town University--about 5 minutes from our house in Rosebank. There are 3 parts to the campus--upper, middle and lower which are all at the foot at Table Mountain. But you feel like you're climbing a mountain as you go further up their campus. About a half mile after running up the hills of campus, we decided to walk. The campus is very large and beautiful. A bit different from my days at GW.

This afternoon, we went to Green Point market--a huge market where all sorts of goods are sold. It was great to see what everyone was making and there was some great art. That said, I'm going to buy most of my goods from Sibanye since I know that the funds go directly to the people of South Africa.

After Green Point, we brought a picnic dinner to Kirstenbosch botannical gardens (which are so amazing that we are going to go back to see more) and went to the Watershed concert. Watershed is a South African band I had never heard of but they were really good. It got really cold about half way through so we left.

So, the weekend is over and we're back to work tomorrow. I'm coming down with a bit of a cold so tonight I'm laying low. We are going on a little field trip after our placements to make some crafts tomorrow afternoon. Hope mine doesn't look like a five year old made it...I have a feeling it might.

Hope you are all well!
Love
C