Divine City

In Kirstenbosch Gardens

Today, I am just going to indulge in some of the awesomeness that living in Cape Town brings! Cape Town. The New York Times voted it the best city to visit; UCT was voted the third most beautiful campus in the world. And I live here and go to UCT! RAD! I am one of the luckiest person in the world and so are many of my friends and blog readers (theoretically, I can actually tell the countries my blog has been accessed from - which is just amazing really - and since it is mostly South Africa, I am presuming there are Cape Townians in there.) 

View  of Robben Island from Signal Hill 

This year, Cape Town is World Design Capital... and I am not entirely sure what that means. I do know that it means that they are encouraging people to explore and appreciate everything that Cape Town has to offer, which is a concept I can definitely get behind. Here are some of the reasons that I have left my desk over the last couple of weeks. 

Camps Bay taken with my BB

It is summer!!! How amazing is the sunshine? The sun is going down late (~8pm today) so you can still put in a full day of work and have time to enjoy Cape Town in the evening. Just 12km from UCT is Camps Bay, a ridiculously beautiful beach with sand so white and soft it should be illegal... BUT if the water is too cold, drinks too expensive and the crowd too hipster for you there's Muizenberg (23km from UCT but an easy train ride away). The water is deliciously warm and if you are feeling brave you can try surfing the reliable and small-enough-to-not-be-daunting waves (I say that, but I am still too scared to try it). Judging from the lovely restaurants along the beach front, (there's an ice cream place, Primi and Knead that I noticed) and in the area (there's a great Indian place just around the corner from the beach front that has delicious food but no card facilities), and how busy the market is on Friday nights, Muizenberg is becoming a more and more popular place to hang out. 

From Signal Hill looking at Lions Head

Table Mountain - of course - but if you are feeling too poor to take the cable car and too exhausted or don't have the time to trudge (shudder) up, there are great vistas from the road too the cable station, which I was reminded of when I dropped my couch surfer off up there. And there are also great views from the easily accessible Signal Hill.

Oh, and, host a couch surfer; they are generally awesome people and will give you a chance to be a bit of the tourist in the name of doing a good deed. 

Kirstenbosch! The most beautiful spot for live music, any music of course, but this year I was lucky enough to see my favourite band, the Parlotones (it is TRUE love) and am looking forward to Freshly Ground thanks to my super organised friends that buy tickets in advance. Usually I am too disorganised and they are both concerts that get sold out quickly. This will only be the second time I am seeing Freshly Ground and the first time was only little over a month ago at the Mandela Celebration event. 

With the CHAN cup happening I have also managed to visit our beautiful Cape Town stadium a couple of times. South Africa vs Mali was a little quiet but the South Africa vs Nigeria game was nail biting and the crowd was amazing. Even though we lost, it was such an awesome atmosphere the you couldn't feel too sad about the result

If you feel the need for some culture, the Maynardville's Shakespeare is a treat. Don't worry about trying to understand the Shakespearean English, the cast are excellent and will suck you in and carry you through the story with ease. Richard is wickedly magnificent in this year's Richard III, and even in this heavy, tragic story the cast elegantly deliver the witty lines that the brilliant bard has thrown in  to break the tension. (Organise to picnic before and take more clothes and blankets than you think you will need. Read the synopsis or the Phillipa Gregory novels before hand just to make sure you don't miss anything). 

Watch the sun go down at
Llandudno. 

OK so that, just some of the things that I have been up to in my resolution to make most of the summer sunshine. There are also many awesome markets, that fall variously along the hipster spectrum; so if you need a caffeine fix to get you working, you may as well get it from somewhere exciting. There are mountains to climb (shudder), dams to swim in, beaches to explore and wine farms to escape to. There is also the cricket to look forward to... If you want to escape the heat, the aquarium will sooth even the most frazzled mind (once you get past how expensive it is on your PhD budget!) 

Coffee... or high tea at the Mount Nelson
if you are feeling fancy and flush

There are also loads of awesome places to eat and drink when you just can't look at another paper anymore. I have the imagination of a flea so always tend to end up at Banana Jam - because I know it is reliably fabulous and they have cocktails and craft beer and happy hour from 5-6 daily; Forries - because it is close to UCT; or, the Waterfront - because I know it is cheesy, but whenever I go there I feel like I am on holiday and that has to be a good thing. Even though I never get around to it, it excites me that there are so many places in Cape Town to still explore. 

My favourite beach
I can't risk telling you where it is.

But GO, GO now before the hordes of undergraduates descend. GO, GO because you never know where you will be next year so try make the most of where you are today. GO, GO because winter will come, and it will rain and then you will be sad you didn't go when the days were long and the sun was shining.  GO, GO but make sure you wear sunscreen! (Thanks Jessica) I am off to spend the evening in the lovely Simonstown with one of my Namibian Dolphin friends. I am hoping to say hi to some penguins and maybe (if the water is warm) swim at my favourite beach...

PS If you don't live in Cape Town, come visit!!! I will happily show you around. 

PPS There are awesome things about everywhere, so if you want to tell me about your favourite thing from your home, please do... Maybe I will come and visit. 

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