Monday, March 23, 2009

Cape Town Cameos #2

Continuing our trip to the Mother City, we went to bed after a hectic day and woke up the next morning to ash in the doorway. Going up onto the rooftop deck, with its wonderful 360 degree views, we were greeted by the sad sight of Table mountain burning,

and the drone of helicopters shuttling back and forth with giant buckets of water to release on the flames.

The fire had burned all the way over the mountain from the Rhodes memorial side and was burning right down to the city limits.



However the sadness caused by that sight was lifted by a stunning sunrise over the City....


Even the ugly crane that that hovered over the Waterfront skyline took on a brief glorious etherial beauty



After a leisurely breakfast on the delightful little patio overlooking the street,
we went to town to stroll around and check out some art galleries. Being the oldest town in South Africa, Capetown has a delightful city centre, an ecclectic jumble of historic and new, with influences from many different cultures.
To just park the car and wander around soaking in the sights and sounds (not to mention the delicious aromas of coffee and Malay cooking wafting from corner cafes as you pass!) is a rare treat.


First stop on the gallery circuit was 34 Long St, an old building wedged between tall modern ones on either side,

but very contemporary inside!



Finally the coffee aromas got too much for us, and we ended up enjoying cappuchinos in a lovely Italian Cafe with an entire wall of driftwood encased between two sheets of glass.


We eventually ended up having lunch at a pavement cafe in Greenmarket Square,
being entertained by the Ganga Muffins, a jazz/blues duo with a distinctly Cape flavour to the music... it was such fun!




We then went for a drive around the mountain to check out some of the panoramic views from up there, before heading across to the back of the mountain for a bit of shopping in Newlands. From above Sea Point we got a view of the half finished Greenpoint Stadium,


and the infamous Robben Island with the Greenpoint lighthouse in the foreground.


We rushed back to change, then straight off to run the gauntlet of the rush hour traffic, and off to Camps Bay, for dinner and a show at the Theatre on the Bay. it started drizzling just as we arrived.


And then cleared a bit and rounded a perfect day off with this sunset from the theatre dining room.


The show was very good, an Italian called Ennio Marchetto who is uses origami in a very original way, to make costumes and change rapidly between characters. A good laugh, and then off for a well earned sleep..........

check out Ennio in action

8 comments:

imac said...

A very busy and hectic, but beautiful day then, great post and pics.

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

It seems that you got lots of opportunities to explore Cape Town during your short stay. Its been a while since I've had a chance to just chill in the Mother City and explore like that. Normally its in and out for work.

Sheila said...

Cape Town looks like a very diverse city, both in buildings, population and restaurants.
I'm looking at the pic of the Ganga Muffins, and wondering if their music is anything like Cape Verde music, which I love?
I've enjoyed this, thanks Suze
xx

Shirley Goodwin said...

Lovely photos as usual! The buildings are gorgeous. Hope they got that fire put out.

Tom said...

I have really enjoyed reading this and your posting before Suzi... The pictures are a joy to see and I look forward to seeing others.

Tom

Avril said...

Enjoyed your trip around Cape Town with super photos! Snap - I have a similar photo from the Theatre on the Bay taken a few years ago with my little camera so the quality is not as good as yours - very very nice photo!

Tom said...

I was doing the rounds again.. and was hoping for an up date here.. ha!... but with the buildings artwork... and that crane to look at my time was not wasted... When the local moors are on fire we get the smell wafting over here, we can see and here the helicoters also....
I saw Big Peter last week.. he is doing a lot of painting at the moment.... mostly peoples pets, but also landscapes. You know he as a dog called Defor ( D for Dog )well he is getting another and calling it Befor, B for Bitch... ha! only Peter could come up with that.
Also the picture you painter from Peters photograph... the farmer as now replace the wooden gate with a shiny metal one... looks awful but open great... Progress.. maybe but it looks so out of place.

Give my regards to Max..
Tom & Jane

BluegrassBaobab said...

Your pictures make me long for my home town. Godd pictures. Cape Town is one of the grand cities in the world.