Honey, I’m hoooooooome! : )
Well not quite… I am officially back in the ‘Bique (in Maputo, the Mozambican capital city I seem to be frequenting often these days) and will make the last 12-hour leg of the journey tomorrow to return HOME to my hut. I will have been gone for a full fourteen days, which is the longest I have ever been away from my site save over the Christmas holiday when I went back to the States. I was not ready to leave Cape Town but I am ready to get back into some semblance of a routine and dig back into my “normal life.” Not to mention going back to work. I am a little anxious about returning to said “normal life” however, after a glorious and very surreal two weeks back in the western world (People speaking my language! No one staring at me! Stuff to do! Food options! Hot showers!)… I am actually really nervous. But it will all work out!
I have about three thousand entries in my google reader and very slow internet at home, plus about six hundred pictures of my Cape Town/World Cup experience to sort through, so God knows it will take me a LONG time to get caught up with my blog and also with everyone else’s, but I figured for the time being (while I am traveling and getting caught up on my work/job/life) I should leave y’all with a little preview… more to come on all of this, I promise!
So in sixty seconds or less, here’s what I did in Cape Town!
I… road tripped from Maputo to Joburg where I was the coldest I have ever been in my life, and then got on a 27 hour train to CPT.
I immediately launched into world cup mode with drinks and Fan Fest.
I explored the city for hours on foot and fell in love with it.
And by running along the coast some of the mornings, but it was also freezing, so staying under the down comforter was often more attractive.
I did beer tasting at Mitchell’s Waterfront Brewery/ale house. Nick Wilson, this one is for you.
I went wine tasting at a few winieries in the Cape Winelands. Cannot wait to share my newfound knowledge with all of you : )
The tour included cheetahs…
And gourmet pizza in Stellenbosch, an iconic town in the Cape winelands.
Basically I ate my way through the city. I indulged… at least three to five times per day. AMAZING food from all over the world. This city is a foodie’s dream. Especially if you have been living in the equivalent of “under a rock.”
Oh, and I like, went to a World Cup game or something.
Portugal may not have won 7 to 0. Best game of the first round, huzzah! Communism is defeated!!! Ha. Kidding.
And in my free time I climbed a mountain. (Table Mountain, to be exact–the iconic mountain smack dab in the middle of CPT!)
And saw pretty views.
And visited penguins in a native habitat.
And visited Cape Point, the southern tip of the continent where the two oceans meet.
And watched a TON of soccer, with a TON of awesome people/new friends from all over the world.
Not too bad of a trip! I am pretty sure every one of these “bullet points” could be its own entry but I at least wanted to post a lil recap : ) so if that satiated your interest, feel free to ignore my blog for the next couple of weeks! But as I have time and my electricity and technology allows me, I will be posting about my adventures as well as about the cultural, racial, and socio-economic situation in South Africa and perhaps even a little about those vuvuzelas… ayoba!
Who has been watching the World Cup? Is it a big deal in America, or do people not really care? How do you feel about it? Take it or leave it or love the excuse to settle down with a group of friends and a cold beer? : ) Who are you rooting for (now)?
Sad for team USA getting kicked out but… Go Ghana!
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I LOVE THESE PHOTOS!!! especially looking out ontop of that mountain.. how amazing was that view!! breathtaking! wow what a heck of a journey!! <3 seriously so fun to look at and follow you along the way!!
xoxo
thanks kelsey!!! don’t know if you will see this but I LOVED loved loved your last entry… eckhert tolle day. but for some reason blogspot hates me and keeps eating my comments
Those photos are great! I especially love the mountain one! I hope to get down to South Africa one of these years and climb Table Mountain (among many other things I’d love to do/see there)! Surprisingly, many more people here in the US have been excited about this year’s World Cup than in year’s past. It helped that the US squad had such a dramatic and surprisingly long run this year. I know I watched the matches for the first time ever…I hardly cared when the last World Cup was on. Now, it’s a bigger deal. I think this will help bolster soccer’s rep here in the US!
Dude… I had a summit sandwich for you! Seriously. I thought of your blog when I was eating it
I hope that’s not creepy…
Lol! No. That’s completely awesome! I want to make the summit sandwich love go global. Everyone the world over must know that sandwiches taste better when you’re on top of a mountain. Simple fact of life.
It looked like such a fun trip! Seriously…the world cup, food, penguins (which happen to be my favorite animal). Oh, and partying
What an amazing journey you have been taking!! And I have def been keeping up with the world cup!! I was born in the US but my parents are from Germany and I’m studying abroad in Germany right now, so, although I was sad about the US game yesterday, my German boys played an amazing game today! I’m so jealous that you were there for a game!! Enjoy the rest of your trip and I will definitely keep checking up on your awesome adventures! – Vicky (PS I was also wondering how the world cup atmosphere is in the US, but I feel like more of my friends are watching it this year!)
You’re baaaack!! Oh how I’ve missed you. Loving the pics, still jealous times 100. You got to see a cheetah and a penguin and a monkey all in one trip. Seriously?! How much are plane tickets to Africa? Can’t wait to see all of your WC pics! It was a sad day yesterday with the big US loss. I definitely think this is the first year that the states (at least Philly) really got into the Cup. I still think it’s exciting, even if the US is no longer in the picture.
More pics to come I promise! If I have internet this week… and, plane tickets to Africa are… expensive! Haha. Africans wonder why Americans “don´t travel” or “don´t want to come to Africa” but it is SO much more expensive to fly here! It sucks because traveling here is so much cheaper than Europe but airfare is twice the price
hard to convince anyone to come out and visit! Although sometimes you can get cheap deals into South Africa but connecting ANYWHERE from there costs your firstborn child.
AHHHHHH you were at a WORLD CUP GAME!!! Haha I’ve been waiting for you to get back primarily so I could read about it! As you know, the World Cup is big in our household…we’ll still be watching even though the US is out!
And all of this food looks INCREDIBLE!
I promise I will write more about the game
Who are you rooting for now??
You never fail to impress me! Running on the coast sounds amazing, as does wine tasting!! And I cannot believe you went to a world cup game. How many people can say that?! I personally am not super into the games but I know a ton of people who are! Your life is just too exciting girl
WOW, what an awesome experience! And yummy eats too
I think it’s underestimated how much Americans are into the World Cup. I grew up in KY and soccer was HUUUGE there and especially in the Mid West. HUGE. And New Yorkers are doing a pretty good job of celebrating…so many bars here are open bright and early at 8am!
http://www.firednfabulous.com/
Awesome pictures Courtney. What an awesome trip. I love you for going to Mitchell’s & doing the beer tasting. How cool.
What is the food in the six cups? That looks intriguing
If I’m correct (and I’m pretty sure I am since I lived in Ethiopia for 3 months) it’s Ethiopian food!!
It is indeed Ethiopian food as Danielle said… You are a foodie in LA and you don´t know Ethiopian food?!?! Go to Little Ethiopia NOW. You will not regret it. Not one bit! Report back! : )
Court, you ate Ethiopian food! I loved the whole preview but especially the Ethiopian food shout out. My only question was, why did they put all the lentils and stuff in little cups instead of right on the injera?
Love you!!
they dumped it out onto the injera right after i took this picture!!! when i write more details about the amazing food i will feature ALL of the photos from the amazing ethiopian food (which I had been looking forward to for months… MONTHS!!!)
I love all the pictures, especially the cute animals! The World Cup seems to be pretty big in the US right now . . . though I’m not really a sports fan! My boyfriend and his friends are always watching it. We actually went to a wedding this weekend where (I kid you not) one of the guys was watching the game on his phone during the ceremony!!!!!! And no one thought this was wrong, everyone kept asking him for the score. Craziness!
that is SO cool you went to a game! And can I have that monkey and/or cheetah as a pet please? they are so cute!
I love this blog, because I cannot afford to travel. So I’ll be living my life through you, if that is okay
I’m so glad i found your blog, Court! Sounds like you had an incredible trip. I have to admit, i’m super jealousss! But i love you and can’t wait to hear more!
Gahhh, i can’t believe you were THERE! Love all your pictures, esp that little monkey haha.
Have a great day!
Wow, you’re quite the traveling girl. As always, I love all of your pictures. How awesome it was for you to be at the World Cup! I gotta tell you, you definitely inspire me to just get out there and see the world. I must confess I have always lived in my little bubble and I would love for the opportunity one day to go on a mission trip and really experience the world without all the comforts of home. I think it would really help me put things in perspective.