A very Cape Townian scene
Last Tuesday in Cape Town got off to a rocky start. Our daughter woke up with an upset stomach, and promptly went into the lavatory to throw up. She vomited again after breakfast, and would do so several more times as the day went on, though fortunately with lesser frequency and severity. We weren't sure what the cause of the intestinal distress was, but it did impact our activities for that day. Amber is a trouper, however, and accompanied my wife and I as we set out on a somewhat limited exploration of the city.
Close to our hotel is the Bo-Kaap district, a magnet for camera-toting tourists such as myself. From the Wikipedia entry:
The Bo-Kaap ("above the Cape" in Afrikaans) is an area...formerly known as the Malay Quarter. It is a former township, situated on the slopes on Signal Hill above the city center and is a historical center of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town...Bo-Kaap is known for its brightly colored homes and cobble stoned streets. The area is traditionally a multicultural neighborhood, and most of its population is Muslim...the area contains the largest concentration of pre-1850 architecture in South Africa, and is the oldest surviving residential neighborhood in Cape Town.
According to Shu-E, the origin of the vividly-colored heritage houses lies in the fact that the residents originally weren't allowed to have residential addresses, and so turned to bright colors as a way of distinguishing their homes. These days, the former slave quarter is falling victim to inner-city gentrification:
Holding up well, considering:
From Bo-Kaap, we turned our attention to the V&A Waterfront, "where the City meets the Sea". It's a mixed-use, commercial/residential development that includes bars, cinemas, cruises, restaurants and shops. It was also a place where we quickly found a pharmacy, explained to the pharmacist the troubles our daughter had been experiencing, and walked away with a couple of OTC medications that helped Amber feel better by late afternoon. It was simple conveniences such as this that we had forgotten about in the fewer than three months we've been living in Addis Ababa:
We also took time to explore some of the shops, and I crossed a very important item off the personal Cape Town to-do list by purchasing an official South Africa national rugby team jersey. And speaking of rugby, the Springboks Rugby World Cup Pool B match against Canada, taking place at NOEVIR Stadium Kōbe ノエビアスタジアム神戸, was being broadcast live throughout the Waterfront on big-screen and restaurant TV's. We caught the first-half and part of the second over lunch at Quay Four, yet another establishment serving that cuisine my wife couldn't get enough of in Cape Town - seafood:
Toasting the Springboks' 66-7 shellacking of the Canucks:
Amber didn't eat anything for lunch, but the sight of a Krispy Kreme outlet perked up her appetite:
If shopping malls like the V&A exist in Addis, we haven't found them yet:
After taking care of our daughter's needs at the chemist's, it was time to see to my wife's. Live Mart Bakery Cafe is a Taiwanese-run grocery store located in an industrial area northeast of the city center. Shu-E took the time to stock up on some familiar goodies from home:
I was pleased to find nǎichá 奶茶:
We returned in the late afternoon to the Dutch Manor Antique Hotel, where I tried unsuccessfully to pass myself off as a buff rugby player:
Amber was feeling much better as dinnertime approached, and so we got back in the car for the short drive to the South China Dim Sum Bar (we could've walked there, but the hotel desk clerk advised against it). It was one of those hipster foodie spots that bear little resemblance to the dim sum joints I've eaten at in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but the food wasn't bad (the girls enjoyed the fried turnip cake) and the atmosphere had a cool, young vibe. And don't feel sorry for the young gentleman sitting alone - his female friend turned up later:
And so while our sightseeing options were restricted on Tuesday due to our daughter's condition, the good news was that she was feeling more like her old self by the end of that evening. And the even better news was that she was almost back to normal for the remainder of our stay in Cape Town.
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