Go Travel: Cape Town Wine Farms in Winter
By now you should know that I love wine. In fact friends and family are starting to call me a wino, but I’m sure that’s just a joke (?). Naturally I take no responsibility for my own actions. Rather, I blame Cape Town for this. After all it’s not my fault that I happen to live in the world’s best wine county. I mean, what else am I supposed to do – drink beer [laughs hysterically]? So it should be no surprise that I have spent many a weekend afternoon sipping away on one of the gorgeous wine farms in the area (it definitely beats exercising). And my favourite one? Well, glad you asked ‘cause it’s a beauty: Vrede en Lust.
Go Travel: Hout Bay Cool
Who knew Hout Bay was cool? Not me. I’ve always liked Hout Bay, Cape Town. But in more the sleepy fisherman’s hangout way. It has gorgeous scenery and the harbour is a cute place to spend the afternoon. But the idea of spending a night – a precious Friday night – in Sleepy Shipville seemed strange to me. Until I met Hout Bay’s hottest new arrival, Kitima.
Why I Love Cape Town
As if the ocean, mountains and wine farms weren’t enough, here’s just one more reason to love Cape Town. While most cities have botanical gardens, they aren’t exactly like Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Instead of perfectly trimmed bushes and color coded flower beds, you get a massive park of indigenous plants growing as big and beautiful as they can at Kirstenbosch. Here trees, like this one, are free to go wild. Throw in a backdrop of mountains and a few strategic benches, and you’ve got yourself one great garden!
Visas Are a Big Fat Pain
Two years in South Africa has turned me lazy. I can speak the language, drive around (even if it is on the wrong – I mean “other” – side of the road), recommend good restaurants to tourists and even fake a South African accent when absolutely necessary. I have a South African bank account, hair stylist and temporary residency. I’m all settled in.
But now as I embark on the next Big Adventure, complete with new language, food and continent, I am faced with an all-too-familiar challenge: getting the visa.
Going Wild in the Wild
Wild
That’s the word I’ve been looking for. For hours I spent searching the ol’ noggin for a word that would sum up the Kruger Park here in South Africa. Exciting? Gorgeous? Unpredictable? They weren’t quite right. Then came Wild. Wild works. After all, Wild is the whole point of the Park; wild land and wild animals preserved and protected to maintain their wildness. This is one not-so-small part of the world (it’s bigger than the country of Wales!) that values Wild.
Lions and Cheetahs and Hogs…Oh my!
Someone once told me that the Kruger Park is too big. Seeing animals is so hit or miss that you’re better off sticking with small game reserves. After traveling to the Kruger Park myself, I feel the need to respond to that statement: stuff that.
The Other Side of the Hamptons
The Hamptons is not exactly the place you think of for a low-budget holiday. But somehow JD managed to score us a free place to stay right smack in the middle of fancy pants Celebrityville, Hamptons (that’s not a real town, by the way). We felt a bit out of place as we made our way past Richard Gere’s house and Christy Brinkley’s million dollar mansion. Instead of Louis Vuitton bags, we had our backpacks. Instead of bottles of champaign we had boxed wine. But we weren’t about to complain! We there during the early spring, the off season for Hampton social circles. The skies were gray and it was deliciously chilly as we wandered empty streets and open beaches. Instead of the usual glitzy Hampton scene, we spent our time exploring the shoreline. This travel photo of JD was taken in the midst of one of our somewhat illegal trespassing moments as we made our way to a lonely dock.
How to Visit Expensive Places on a Low Budget
Even if you don’t wear fancy pants on a regular basis, you can afford to visit fancy pants locales. The elite, exclusive and over the top travel destinations are possible to see. That’s right even the bummiest of you bums can find a way to visit the South of France or the Hamptons. What’s the secret to visiting an expensive place on a budget?
Fake it. You don’t need to be rich to live rich. By following the advice below you can make your dream vacation a reality.
Go Travel: Cape Town Coastline
Cape Town is a beautiful city to go travel. The rolling wine farms, intense mountains and long beaches are outstanding. After living here for over two years I thought I “knew” Cape Town, but a recent sail boat ride proved me wrong.
Go Travel: Cape Town Seafood Restaurants
I hesitate to call this a food post. After all this is not even remotely close to being a food blog. I may talk about trying new foods as a by-product of traveling, but it is a very low priority by-product. It’s really more something I say than do because it’s something you’re supposed to say in travel blogs. You see, I am not a Foodie. In fact, I am probably a Foodie’s worst nightmare. I know how to cook exactly nothing and have no interest in learning any more. While I enjoy nice food, it’s really the food I enjoy more than its adjective. “Nice” to me means anything satisfying at that particular moment. Given that I tend to only think of food when I am already past Hungry and heading towards Starving, “nice” translates to “instantaneous”. I may appreciate a gourmet French soufflé, but I enjoy McDonald’s just as much. I’d say on average I consume fast food burgers three to four times a week. Other meals consist of cereal, grilled cheese and your ever-popular liquid diet of alcohol. In culinary terms, I am a hot mess.
But lately something’s been happening. While it might not seem noteworthy to the casual observer, it is significant to me. I fear that I may be developing a slight case of culinary distinction. Slowly I am creating a hierarchy of consumables that is more sophisticated than just “Good” and “Bad.”
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