Posted Up in Luxury

Cape Town is home to some of the best food, wine, and hotels on the continent. Like a slice of Italy in Africa, this city has a unique cultural twist that is unparalleled to any place I have ever been. And while my heart lies in Durban, Cape Town has some amazing amenities on offer.

One such is the Twelve Apostles Hotel on the coast. Becca and I had the privilege of staying here recently, and let me tell you it is bougie! But good bougie, not bad bougie. 

Weather you're coming from far away and plan to stay a while, or if you're coming from town for a quick getaway, this place will not disappoint. 

Guests have the option of a mountain or ocean facing room, and while the mountain is amazing, the sun sets over the ocean, so snag one of those rooms if you can. 

If possible, call in advance and reserve a spot for the gin tasting. Three different local gins, paired with tonics and nibbles are tested and then each person has the chance to make their own bottle of infused gin! I put star anise, cardamom pods, and orange peel in mine- SO GOOD. 

The breakfast buffet is ridiculous — I'm not even going to try to describe it because there is no way I would do it justice. But seriously, go, and bring an empty stomach. 

Currently, the hotel is offering some sweet winter deals such as the Hibernate to Rejuvenate package. Find out more about their current offers

*This post was sponsored by the Twelve Apostles Hotel .

Cape Town Take Two!

These past few weeks in Cape Town have been absolute bliss.

We are still staying in the hostel called Zebra Crossing which has been wonderful. The manager Katherine is super accommodating and the rooms are beautiful and always clean. 

We've been working a ton, but when we aren't working, we've been exploring yummy food spots like Yours Truly, Fat Cactus, Tiger's Milk, R Cafe, and TONS of others. On Saturdays there is this market in Woodstock called The Neighbourgoods Market which is fabulous. They have amazing food (like that avo toast pictured above) and gorgeous clothes and jewelry up for offer.

Last weekend we took the train (for R10, less than $1!) to Simon's Town, a cute little English town on the coast. We went because we had heard that this was where the penguins were and none of us can resist cute fuzzy birds, so we went. We stayed at this  super cute Airbnb and it was amazing! The lady who owns the house was so sweet and even picked us up from the airport. The location is ideal as well!

The next day we got picked up by our journalism mentor, Martine, and she drove us along the coast to her house. We lunched at her house and walked along the beach before heading back into town.

Mozambique

After Mozambique's civil war, the government commissioned artists to turn old guns and weapons into art to inspire creativity over violence among their people.

Professor Yussuf Aadam

Ruth First's office where she was bombed!

Olà from Mozambique! I’m am currently laying in my bed in our air conditioned hotel in Maputo, watching tv with my two girlfriends Becca and Sam.

On Monday morning we drove from Durban, SA to Manzini, Swaziland. The drive was 6 hours but very comfortable. When we got there we decided to take a 3 hour hike up Shiba’s peak. I decided to wear my chacos because it was hot out and they’re great hiking shoes. But about half hour into our hike we started to get attacked by ants. Thousands of them were covering our feet and legs; everyone freaked out so we turned around and headed down the mountain. When we finally got back to our hotel, we sat down to dinner at this lovely pizza place. We ordered lots of wine and ice cream to reward  ourselves after our hair-raising day!

The next morning we woke up early and went for a run with Imraan. Then we got on the road and headed to Mozambique. 

We arrived in Maputo around 1 and got Periperi chicken for lunch. It was super yummy and a traditional Portuguese dish. Mozambique was colonized by the Portuguese until the 1970s, so there is a huge Portuguese culture there. Then we took a three hour walking tour of the city. I must admit, it was not the prettiest city I've ever been in, but it is very safe compared to Durban, and the people are all super nice.

After our walking tour we walked to the grocery store and got picnic stuff and wine and just ate in our hotel room. 

The next morning we got up, showered, ate breakfast, and headed to Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. We met with Professor Yussuf Aadam of the African Studies department. He worked closely with Ruth First (a big part of the SA anti-apartheid movement) and was with her when she received the parcel bomb in her office and was killed. We got to see her office where that happened too. It was morbid but also pretty cool. 

Then we went to this place called Memmos for lunch and ate yummy pizza! It’s nice when they organize meals for us ahead of time but it also sort of sucks because then we can’t choose what we want and end up eating a ton of pizza or fries... not really complaining though :). 

After lunch we went to the  Raid of Matola Museum which is located on the outskirts of Maputo. This carefully designed monument details the role that Mozambique played in South Africa's liberation movement and the impact that exiled South Africans had on Mozambique. More specifically, it tells the story of the Apartheid government's raid on Maputo. Homes sheltering ANC exiles were bombed in hopes to eradicate the liberation movement from Mozambique and to prevent Mozambicans from aiding in the struggle. It was really interesting but almost 90 degrees out and we were all so tired that most of us couldn’t keep our eyes open throughout the tour. 

Then we came back to our hotel and napped before heading out for sangria and Indian food.

This morning we ran down to the beach and along the water. Then we had breakfast and headed to some markets. Mozambique is known for its inexpensive cashews so the first market we went to we got big bags of cashews. Next we went to the Feima market which has tons of amazing baskets and cloths and things. We bought a ton of presents for our families and friends at home!

Now we are back at our hotel relaxing. Tomorrow we head home for South Africa, yippee!

Cape Town Take One!

On Friday we drove down to Port Edward on the South Coast. We stayed at this super cute hostel/bnb called Ku-Boboi. The chef was french and he made us the most delicious French toast and crepes and yogurt parfaits every morning- I was in heaven! We only really had one full day there, and we spent it on a long hike on the beach and in the mountains, and then we went and got roasted on the beach.

The next morning we drove back to Durban, and a couple of us went to a coffee shop to get some homework done. For the most part we don't have much day to day work, but we do have a bunch of big projects that we are working on that we needed to get started on. Unfortunately, while I was at the coffee shop I began to feel extremely ill. I had the chills and a headache, so I decided to go home. When I got home I found out that my whole family was sick too. I packed for Cape Town and then went to bed.

I woke up Monday morning extremely sick: high fever, chills, horrible head and stomach ache. I sent everyone on ahead to the airport without me, but last minute I decided to catch an uber and meet Imraan (our program director) so he could drive us the rest of the way. He picked me up in this tiny sports car and we zipped off to the airport. 

When we arrived in CT we dropped our stuff at our hostel (Zebra Crossing) and headed to lunch. Due to my poor stomach, I just got a salad, but everyone else got the best fish and chips I had ever seen! After, the five other girls hiked Table Mountain. Imraan and I hiked the first bit with them but turned back so I wouldnt exhaust myself too much more. That evening we went to Indian food with Martine and Johnathan, our Journalism program directors. They work for Round Earth Media, a world wide media outlet that has agreed to partner with SIT. 

The next morning the other girls hiked Lion's head peak for sunrise, and I went for a run and a coffee along Long Street, because I still wasn't feeling too well. Cape Town is the MOST beautiful city! It looks like a slice of Italy/France/California right in the middle of Africa!

At 10 we met up with Martine and John and they took us to GroundUp, a media outlet that some of us will be interning at, and then the Sunday Times, where the rest of us will be interning. They are both so different but SO COOL. Edit: Since writing this post I have started writing for the Times, check out my articles here. 

That night we went out to dinner at this place called the Fat Cactus. We got yummy (but super inauthentic) Mexican food and a jug of strawberry, mango, lime margarita! We sat next to all of these techies who had started this gay dating app. They were super nice and gave us lots of helpful tips about the city; everyone here is super friendly!

Yesterday (Wednesday), we met Martine for breakfast at Company's Gardens, and then walked to the District Six museum (Nestled into Cape Town's north western corner is the District Six Museum, based out of an old Methodist church and opened in 1994. The museum exhibits the forced removal of Black, Coloured, and Indian community members from the city's six municipal district. One of the most vibrant parts of the city, the eradication of these people was painful and turbulent. After the demolition of their homes, the land was unused and their stories were lost. The museum's mission was to find those who lost their homes and community and tell their stories. They do so beautifully, recreating bedrooms, barber shops, and kitchens using remains that were donated by the families or rescued from the land.) 

Anyways, after the museum we went to what New York Times called the best coffee in the world coffee shop called Truth Coffee Roasting— The coffee was good!

Then we headed to the airport, and flew back to Durban!