Africa Chapter 2

Cape Town: 

Rarely do words escape me but I struggle to describe all that is Cape Town.

Day 1:

We made our connecting flight to Cape Town with no problems besides the incident with the porter and my mood improved greatly once we got into the taxi with all of our bags and no missing items. Then my jaw dropped at how quickly the taxi fare meter moved! I remembered it is in Rand (ZAR) and I chilled out; it ended up only being $26USD. After a quick 15-minute ride we checked into the Westin Grand Cape, a beautiful Starwood property right in the center of downtown and near the marina. We were on a SPG floor so our room had an amazing view over the “wheel of excellent” and the waterfront. After getting settled we headed to the marina for some chow and found a casual seafood restaurant with some of the best live music I have ever heard and outdoor seating. (Gotta love that!) It’s technically winter in South Africa this time of year so the evenings tended to be a bit chilly and we soon learned flip flops aren’t popular among locals. After dinner we got in the free Westin shuttle and headed back to hotel to climb into our heavenly beds and catch up on some much needed sleep.

Day 2:

Cape Convoy. After a good night’s rest we were ready for our tour with Cape Convoy. (A wonderful company, I highly recommend booking with them!) At 8:30am, Rob our chatty hyperactive guide, picked us up at the hotel and as soon as we climbed into the VW EuroVan we knew we were in for a treat. After picking up our fellow comrades we headed along the coast, stopping just 20 minutes outside of town for our boat tour. It was a quick little ride to seal island (home of about 20,00 seals) 

and the view of the coast and the peaks was gorgeous. Even though I see enough seals in Alaska, these guys were pretty cute and fun to watch. After the boat tour we headed to a Simon’s town for some shopping where my friend and I found some great buys in a vintage boutique. As we made our way toward Cape Point, Rob taught us about the beginning of South Africa, all the history leading up to the apartheid days and the present political and economical status. I’m not much of a history buff (I get WWI and WWII confused frequently) but I enjoyed learning the history of South Africa and it helped me understand the challenges the nation presently faces. (They seem to have a lot)

  As we were driving we came upon a troupe of baboons in the middle of the road and we jumped out of the van to take some pictures. There was about 20-25 in the troupe and luckily for us they weren’t aggressive because you can see how close we got. 

We had to be very careful though because baboons love to get into cars and look for food so Rob had to pull the EuroVan ahead and leave us alone with wild baboons. (Which was a little scary at first) Later we learned an interesting fact about mother baboons; when a momma baboon has a baby and it dies the mom will continue to carry the dead baby around until it is practically skeletal. (Kind of gross and sad) Apparently they can’t accept loss and will refuse to leave their young.

   Eventually we made it to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope…two of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is a humbling experience to look out on the horizon and know that the next thing down there is Antarctica, you really feel like you are at the end of the world. (Not to mention the cliff you are above is a few hundred feet of jagged rocks!) After another baboon encounter and a lot of photo ops we headed back toward Cape Town, stopping to watch a gorgeous sunset over Hout Bay. Along the way we passed many townships, (think of District 9) which were both interesting and terrifying. I could not imagine walking inside a township by myself, and Rob even said this is not a safe area to walk around in, no matter what time of day, and especially for women. Like every major city Cape Town struggles with crime, but like other cities it is contained to specific areas for the most part. Unfortunately South Africa has developed a notorious reputation that has deterred tourist business but they are hopeful he recent World Cup will help change that image.

Day 3:

Once we were up and ready we headed to the marina to check out the shops and get some lunch. Ironically we went to Thai food restaurant that wasn’t half bad and enjoyed the view over the marina, it sort of looks like Disney land with all the bright colors and ornate buildings. After lunch we finally got down to business and started buying our African keepsakes…. Eventually I wound up with carved salad tongs, hand-woven baskets made from telephone wire, a really pretty bright  red/orange glass serving plate, two matching bowls and coasters and some carved napkin ring holders. (I’ll have to throw an African party when I get back) My friend also got the wire baskets and some great little carved statues, which I eventually got for myself at the game reserve. We elected not to ship our new loot and wait until we got to Zulu…note to self: Overweight baggage on South African Airways is a very costly and a bad idea. Another thing to note was when we asked about where all the stuff we purchased was made the sales clerk said locally, yet we found almost identical items at Zulu Nyala which is a few hundred miles away….(hmmm?)Don’t  the Beach vendors in Mexico say the same thing about their stuff.

    Around 5:45ish we headed to Camps Bay to watch another great sunset on the beach and then enjoyed dinner at a rib/seafood joint right across the street from the beach. I had a very tasty mystery fish (can’t remember the name) and after a bottle of wine we decided to head to a bar down the street for a little people watching and wound up making buds with some locals for the evening. Camps Bay is a really great area for tourist and very safe. I would have liked to have another day in Cape Town just to hang out there and people watch.

Day 4:

Going out the night before a wine tasting tour may not have been our smartest idea but by our second glass of sparkling wine (You can’t call it Champagne unless it is from the Champagne district in France) at J.C. Le Roux in Stellenbosch we were feeling great. We also booked this tour through Cape Convoy but Julius our guide was almost the complete opposite of Rob, which suited the occasion perfectly. After some more glasses of bubbly we watched the cellar guide at J.C. Le Roux saber the top off a bottle of sparkling wine with a sword. (I definitely will be trying that party trick when I get home)

  The next part of the tour had nothing to do with wine but it was a great experience nonetheless. We visited a Cheetah reserve were we actually got to pet the Cheetahs. (for 100 ZAR) As a child I was absolutely obsessed with animals….(I was kind of a weird kid) and the Cheetah was one of my all-time favorites so getting to touch one was pretty special for me but if you look the picture it was not the most magical of circumstances. (The cheetah whisperer was a touch rude and since the cat was on the fence I could only touch its hindquarter area.)

   The next winery we visited was Waterford. It was very picturesque and would make a great wedding venue. (If only they allowed weddings) Our tour group sat in the courtyard and sipped five different wines, the last three which were paired with infused chocolates. After a quick look through the cellar which according to Julius was the most beautiful cellar in South Africa we headed to downtown Stellenbosch for some lunch.

   After lunch we headed to the last winery of the day, Peter Falke Winery. If I thought the other two wineries were pretty (which they were!) they didn’t hold a candle to how gorgeous the Peter Falke winery was. We lounged on the comfy outdoor furniture and sipped five different wines while chatting about nothing important and watched the sun slowly sink down toward the horizon. Feeling pretty good, we jumped in the EuroVan and headed back to our hotel, preparing ourselves to wake up at 3:30 am for our flight to Joburg and then to Richards Bay.

Day 5:

3:30 rolled around way faster than I would have liked and after a stressful night of trying to repack my bags and stuff in all my new purchases I was not ready to pay $200 USD in over baggage fees to South African Airways!!!!!! I guess $50 to the porter in Joburg was a steal. 

Africa- Chapter 1

I Smell a Scam: Trials and Tribulations at the Johannesburg Airport

Normally I would have some pretty choice language to help narrate this story but I want to keep it as PG as possible….enjoy.

We left the Air France lounge in Paris completely spent. Let it be noted that no amount of free cheese and champagne could make me feel any better about the twin babies who bawled at the top of their little lungs almost non-stop the whole time we where there. Baaabies….currently on my top five “least favorite living things” list.

We boarded our AirFrance Airbus…more like battle ship. Two full decks of seats. (we got to be on top!) This plane was literally larger than life. After two Tylenol pm in the lounge and a glass of grape juice I mistook for wine, I was out like a light…missing dinner which was served around midnight and the screams of the little Dutch baaabies. Yikes. We arrived in Johannesburg at 10am and passed through passport control and baggage claim with zero problems. I was admiring all of the World Cup signage when things went from great to complete crap. A nice gentleman approached us as we searched for the South African Airlines ticket counter and directed us to a group of black and orange dressed men called “porters.” A rather dodgy fellow steered our luggage cart as we followed him through the airport. When I say dodgy I mean blind in one eye, skinnier than a meth head in Granite Falls and the proud owner of roughly three very yellow teeth. A real gem.

Red Flag number one, he mentioned something about our bags being too heavy on the escalator… yes you read that correctly. He was talking in a low voice about the cost of extra weight, but it was difficult to understand him and I truthfully wasn’t really expecting to being scammed that soon so my radar was down. From what I could make out we were going to have to pay extra for the bags, not surprising since we were sitting economy class on this flight and I am embarrassed to admit the bigger of my two suitcases is about 64lbs. (I am moving to Florence for four months!)  Next we made our way to the ticket counter but first weighed all of our luggage on one scale that was separate from where we checked them, we then got a receipt which apparently said we were 35kg overweight. (Red flag number two the porter didn’t talk to the scale workers in English.) I still didn’t really get what was happening until after we had our boarding passes and the sketch-wad porter was still with us trying to explain how, “we just can pay him since he saved us a money on our overweight luggage.” DUPED! Not even 10 minutes after getting to Africa!  Finally I stopped him and made him explain the details of his scam, which I discovered was a pretty simple scheme. Basically the employees there have some kind of system where the porters convince the idiot tourists like myself that they’ll take their bags and then get them checked for less than what they would pay to the airline and in turn they get cash and the people at the ticket counter get a cut. After a few frustrating minutes of dealing with the porter (trying the weigh my options and wishing I knew metrics and the local currency better) I finally paid him $50 USD (more than he makes in a week I bet!)…I am still pissed about this. Lesson learned: No one touches my bags but me.

Paris: The Good. The Bad. The Ugly (and stinky)

The Good:

Gelato. yum!

Our Hotel. After getting ripped off on a 60 Euro taxi fare we checked into our hotel, the Prince de Galles located on George V Ave next door to the Four Seasons. The front desk was very friendly and our room was terrific. (The bed was very comfortable, the bathroom was spacious and ornate, and we discovered a tree prong US converter/adapter lurking in the closet on the last day. The overall theme of the Prince de Galles was quaint elegance, nothing over the top but classic and comfortable. The concierge gave us sub-par recommendations for dinner but we’ll discuss that later. Another major perk was the location. We were a 10-minute walk to the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. A 30-40 minute walk from the Louvre and just two streets over from the Champs Elysees.


Sacre Coeur. Paris is pretty flat but a 15 Euro taxi fare (from the Louvre) took us up the only hill where my favorite part of the trip awaited. The picturesque little neighborhood is filled with cafes, artists, little boutiques and plenty of photo ops. After strolling around the artists and declining to have our faces sketched, we sat at an outdoor café and I enjoyed some fabulous people watching over a savory crepe. After lunch we toured the winding cobblestone streets and checked out the amazing views over Paris – It’s HUGE. We did a little shopping and more eating. Soon I found cherry gelato dripping down my cup while trying to tell my mom (on the phone) how great everything was and take pictures of all the impressive architecture at the same time. Finally we caught a taxi and headed to the room for a two and half hour power nap. Whoops!

Artist's paint board.

Notre Dame/Arc De Triomphe/Eiffel Tower
All different. All amazing.
On our second morning we woke up early and headed to the Arc De Triomphe after grabbing a cappuccino and croissant. It is stunning…but we never figured out how to cross the crazy round-about traffic to get up close and personal.
We visited Norte Dame on our final day and I think we saved one of best stops for last. The architecture is absolutely incredible, almost indescribable. The line was long but it moves fast and there was no entrance fee. The inside was pretty dark but it only added to the humbling atmosphere. After lighting some candles, observing the two euro recommended donation, we made our way around the church taking in the stained glass windows, various paintings and sculptures. We sat in a row towards the back and let it all wash over us before heading to café for some breakfast.

Me, after the tour.

The sun's halo effect on the bell towers.

The Eiffel Tower was amazing to look at, especially at night when it glitters with lights but my friend and I made the mistake of saving the “going up it” part for our last stop in Paris. The line for elevator tickets was outrageous and the gypsies in that area had me on edge. After a few frustrated and confused moments we finally decided to climb the stairs to the first level….doesn’t seem that high until your huffing and puffing on your second “break” looking up and trying to count the flights of stairs you have left. Also I do not recommend wearing a dress or skirt for this activity, maybe some yoga pants and sweatband, because it gets pretty windy the higher you get and between the wine and pastries I wasn't ready for much activity. The views make the hike worthwhile and the elevator down is free, but the overall area is crowded and a little stinky. Guard your purse from the gypsies at all times.

View during dinner.

The In-between:
The Louvre. Obviously the art was fantastic and the building itself is beautiful and shockingly large but the crowds were almost too much. (Check out my picture of people taking a picture of the Mona Lisa) Don’t get me wrong I loved the Louvre it was just the other people pushing me and sweating all over me that I wasn’t wild about. I’m still not accustomed to the lack of personal space most Europeans allow and the combination of the sticky heat, jetlag remnants and sore feet took a little something away from the experience. Also some people are stinky and it’s really hard to appreciate a Botticelli or Leonardo while holding your breath. Tip: Don’t hold your bladder…the ladies room line is long, slow and really unpleasant when you need to go.


The Bad:
Dining and shopping were utter fails for me, which really is a bummer since we were in Paris of all places! The first night we were directed to the equivalent of the cheesecake factory if we were in Seattle…a big, crowded, over-priced restaurant right on the corner facing the Eiffel towel. We decided to skip that place and look for something on our own. That decision led us on a 45-minute walk around the empty streets of Paris – I was convinced that a perfect little café was going to pop up at any moment– it never did because it was Sunday night and most restaurants are closed Sundays! Finally we made our way back toward the hotel and found a cute little place with outdoor seating. Two entrees, a couple glasses of wine and a cheese platter ran us 81 Euro!!!! The service was slow, but I soon learned that’s how it is everywhere in Paris. (and in most European countries) The food was so-so, I had a goat cheese risotto that was filling but a little mundane. The next night we followed Rick Steve’s advice to a restaurant that no longer existed and after another long hungry walk we finally went back to the cheesecake factory equivalent. I think it was called Chez Francis, but I have to give it credit because my mozzarella/tomato salad was very tasty and the bill reflected the service and quality…until a mouse scuttled out under the table next to us. Not cool.


As for shopping... I'm not sure what happened, I failed miserably though. (Some Band Aids and a belt - that's literally all I bought!)

The simple understated beauty of Paris.

The Ugly: 
My French and my feet! Paris is dirty and hotter than hell in August. When in Paris look where you’re going but keep your gaze elevated on the beautiful buildings and not and the trash and pigeons at your feet and be prepared to hold your breath should you get a random whiff of something rank. Another ugly thing was the line at the Musee d’Orsay…we were short on time and had to bag it until the next visit. Still upset over this.


Until next time Paris…Au revior

Getting There

I’m in my early twenties but I like to think that I am a decently seasoned traveler…up until three days ago when I discovered I have been doing it wrong this whole time!

First, let me describe my big adventure and the whole purpose behind this blog. On August 7th my best friend and I departed the Seattle-Tacoma airport and began a trip which includes Paris, South Africa and three places in Italy, the last stop being Florence where I will spend four months at the Florence University of the Arts finishing my degree in Communication (Public Relations) from Washington State University.

After spending six weeks in Pullman, Washington for the first summer session at WSU, I spent a quick weekend at my parent’s home in Stanwood, Washington before leaving for Bristol Bay, Alaska. There, I spent five weeks commercial fishing for Sockeye Salmon with my Dad as I have done for the past nine years. After earning a little coin, I then had a two-week layover at my Parent’s home, with a side trip to beautiful Whistler, British Columbia and a skydiving stint in Snohomish. Amazing. After several frantic shopping trips and an all-nighter packing my two checked bags and two personal items I was finally ready to leave....Ready as I’d ever be.

My View of Mt. Rainier Leaving Seattle 

I arrived at Sea-Tac a little after five in the morning and wheeled my Smartcart into the first class line at Alaska Air. One of the many perks of saving over 150,000 miles was that I would at least get to travel to Europe and Africa in style, and believe me the disparity between coach and business class is vast. Only a few moments after take-off I had the most gorgeous view of Mount Rainier, a wonderful sight to remember my last few moments in Washington. After a quick layover in Dallas (and a trip the KLM lounge where we found free drinks and the delicious Walker’s Shortbread Cookies!) we boarded our KLM flight and took our business class seats…Champagne! Hot towels! A three-course meal with recognizable food! More Champagne and all the almost all the legroom I could ask for! After dinner I was able to brush my teeth and wash my face before donning the complementary eye mask and taking a snooze, that doesn’t sound that exciting but it helped combat that nasty feeling you get after flying. I woke up at 6am Paris time and watched a gorgeous blood orange sunrise over the North Sea. This is when everything finally hit me. We began our decent into Amsterdam (unfortunately we did not leave the airport) and sat comfortably in the KLM/Air France lounge for several hours waiting for our next flight. Regardless of the perks of business class, the combination of stale pressurized air and all the germs I assume go floating around, I always feel disgusting after a long flight so I took advantage of the shower room in the lounge and I would highly recommend it to anyone who values personal hygiene. It was spacious, clean and even had a hair dryer but I didn’t go that far.
After sitting around for over six hours the next flight wasn’t so great, but it could have been worse – things can always get worse. (Nine years in Bristol Bay has made me appreciate this cliché saying) We boarded our Air France flight too Paris which was quick but jetlag was sinking its teeth in and the two hour flight left us feeling spent. We were finally at our first stop and had our fingers crossed tightly that our bags had made the journey with us, which they did so we jumped in a cab and headed toward the city.