This spring, I'm making a few changes to my home and garden and I'd like to incorporate elements inspired by our recent trip around the world. Although I can't plant exotic tropical flowers in Boston, nor do I have the space for nest beds, I can look for a few pieces that remind me of some of my favorite places. So, in no particular order, here are a 15 things from around the world that would be fun to replicate at home. 

1. Bangkok, Thailand: Nest Beds
Nesting has taken on a whole new meaning in Bangkok. The shape of these human sized sanctuaries will make the most boring of outdoor spaces intriguing. Add a light inside and create glowing garden sculptures at night!

Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: Chillin' Out In Bangkok

2. Hamburg, Germany: Modern Rococo
I'm typically not a fan of rococo and prefer balancing frills and flourishes with corners and crisp lines. However, I reveled in this little cafe in Hamburg, sipping my chai tea slowly while sinking into a cozy velvet couch.  I have no idea if they intentionally distressed the walls or if they just spruced up a derelict space with vintage couches from Oma and Opa's house. Whatever they did, it worked. 

Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: Hamburg, Bremen & Bloemendaal

3. Cappadocia, Turkey: Canvas & Carpet Covered Terraces
While in Turkey, we spent two glorious mornings having breakfast here, overlooking the cave town of Goreme. I've been thinking about using canvas to provide shade on my deck during the hot summer since it's pretty easy to put up and take down. I also love the rug covered table for extra lounging.

Photo by Eva Barbier. To learn more about Turkey, visit our Turkey Destination Page. 

4. Cambodia: Colored Wooden Blinds
These colorful blinds would add cheer to any space such as a nursery, kitchen or my home office.

Photo by Eva Barbier from the blog post: Waterworld: The Floating Village of Kompong Phluk, Cambodia

5. Yangshuo, China: Wagon Wheel Benches
Check out these benches at our Inn in Yangshuo. They are made by attaching local wood planks to an axle and wagon wheels. This set-up is a charming alternative to a traditional picnic table. 

Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: Days 167-170: Yangshuo, China - Hiking and Biking the Karst Mountains

6. Koh Lanta, Thailand: Bamboo Lounges & Pyramid Pillows
Koh Lanta is one of the places i miss most often because we found total relaxation here. Perhaps it's because bamboo lounges and beds are scattered along the beaches, waiting for a wanderer to plop down for a cold beer and a little shut eye. The colorful pyramid pillows are a nice touch, and help prop up one's head in order to enjoy the sea view.  I don't think bamboo would last in the harsh Boston weather, but if i ever live somewhere milder I plan on creating my own little slice of Lanta. 

Photo of The Indian bar in Koh Lanta by Eva Barbier from Our Guide to Koh Lanta, Thailand

7. Ubud, Bali: Stone & Wood Carvings
Bali is full of insanely talented artisans and artists that have been perfecting their craft for generations. We visited gardens, homes and temples full of intricately carved statues and furniture. Two of my favorite pieces were these Balinese women who seem full of happiness and peace. Generally, this is how I feel after a really good meal. They would look lovely in my garden and remind me of the warmth and hospitality we experienced in Bali. 

Read more about Bali here: Ubud, Bali - The Barong Dance, Stone Carving & The Awe-Inspiring Contact Lens 

8. Melbourne, Australia: Bold Tile
This tile covered the inside of a bench shelter in Melbourne. It was a pleasant surprise, since the structure was grey on the outside. I thought the pattern would make a nice outdoor table top. 

Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: 3 Days In Melbourne

9. Kruger Park,  South Africa: Drapery Over Doors
The decor at safari camps is fantastic, but much of what you'd expect from the African bush - typical wood furniture, local animal fur rugs, and lots of neutrals.  One thing I really liked was the use of drapery, particularly over doors or entryways.  I'm not sure if this has a practical use in the summer (ie keeping bugs out of rooms) but they really made our accommodation, a tent, very homey. 

Photo by Eva Barbier in blog post: Tanda Tula Safari Camp

10. Paris, France: Black & White Tile
Black and white tile was everywhere in Paris so it always reminds me of my favorite city.  I don't know if it's the the tile that contributes to the glamour of Paris or if it's Paris that makes the tile so chic.  Let's just say it's a symbiotic relationship. If my bathroom wasn't so tiny, I'd tile it like the picture below. 

Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: Our Favorite Room in Paris: Six Cent Deux 

11. Arrowtown, New Zealand: Recycled Container Garden
This is a neat idea for people who have a lot of outdoor space. Arrowtown is an old gold mining town in New Zealand. There was a lot of abandoned equipment from the mining days so local artists used them in their artwork and homes. Here is an old pipe transformed into a container garden. 

Photo by Eva Barbier. To learn more about New Zealand visit our New Zealand Destination Page. 

12. Winelands, South Africa: Chrome+Stone+Wood
The wineries in Franschhoek, South Africa are stunning both inside and out.  I particularly enjoyed the modern decor of the tasting room at the Gran Provence. The chrome bar and fixtures gave it a sleek modern look which was nicely offset by the rest of the room, comprised of natural elements from the region - stone, clay and wood. While it's void of color inside, the view was bursting with color outside the glass doors. 

Photo of the Gran Provence tasting room by Eva Barbier as featured in The Winelands Awards.

13. Seminyak, Bali: Colorful Shutters
These pretty shutters, spotted in Bali, would liven up a pool house or backyard shed. 

Photo by Eva Barbier in blog post: Bali, Indonesia - Laid Back Seminyak

14. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Copper Light Fixtures
Giant copper lights were suspended from tall tree trunks in our hotel lobby in Chiang Mai.  They were especially enchanting when twinkling at night. Perhaps they could be used on a much smaller scale in an entryway, over a dining room table or kitchen island. 

Photo of VC@Suanpaak lobby by Eva Barbier from Chiang Mai, Thailand - Hits & Misses

15. Caye Caulker, Belize: Weathered Wooden Signs
The tiny Caribbean island is comprised of small wooden structures that have been weathered by the salt and sand in the air.  Painted wooden signs were strewn about the island featuring island mantras (Go Slow) and store names. I think these would look great hanging in a bohemian urban garden. 

Photo by Eva Barbier from Caye Caulker - You Better Belize It.

The day after our shark encounter was a rainy one.  Luckily for us, it was a travel day because we were driving back to Cape Town from Hermanus.  This time, we opted to stay in a different part of Cape Town called Greenpoint. We found a neat little boutique hotel called Villa Zest that felt more like staying at someone's ultra modern home than staying at a hotel. While the rooms were compact, the staff was very friendly, the common room was very comfortable and the breakfast was delicious. We'd recommend this place, especially if you are into modern design. 

Table Mountain
The next day was clear and sunny so we decided to take advantage of the weather and go up  Table Mountain, one of the official New Seven Wonders of Nature.  One can hike up the mountain or take the cable car up. We opted to hike up because we had been consuming mass amounts of food in the Winelands and really needed a challenging workout. The hike up took us an hour and half and the view at the top was the perfect reward for our workout. Check out some of the photos:

Magritte Moment
That evening was so lovely that we decided to walk along the beach in Camps Bay. The light was phenomenal so I spent most of the time taking pictures. While approaching Camps Bay in the car, I spotted what looked like an amature photo shoot of a man in a suit floating in the water. It immediately made me think of one of my favorite artists, Rene Magritte (famous for painting men in bowler hats).  I jumped out of the car and from a distance, I snapped a couple of shots of the scene. I was incredibly jealous of the photographer, but happy I had the chance to see his vision! 

Here are a few more shots from the sunset at/around Camps Bay:

Gold Restaurant
That evening we walked down the street from our hotel to Gold Restaurant. It's a popular tourist spot in Cape Town that received rave reviews online because, not only do they serve typical South African dishes, but they also have a series of live performances of African music & dance.  While the food was very good, I enjoyed the dancing and music most. 

Here are some video clips of the performances.  The first dance featured below was amazing but sadly, I ran out of memory right when the guy went crazy on the dance floor. You get a brief glimpse of it - maybe enough to tempt you to go see it for yourself one day! 

USA: The Impossible Dream

During this stay in Cape Town, we talked at length to a gentleman from Zimbabwe who was working in South Africa. As most of you know, Zimbabwe went through an economic meltdown and political revolution in the late 90s/early 2000s and has been slowly trying to recover ever since. Because of this, many people have fled the country to find work - some permanently and others, like this man, hope to one day go home to a growing, stable country. We talked for a while about his history, family, the challenges he faces being from Zimbabwe and living in a South African township, and his vision for the future of his young family.  

At one point I asked him what he thought of the US, since I like to get an outsider's perspective on our country. He response:  To live and work in America is my biggest dream.  But it is impossible for me to get in. It will never happen. America  - it is the impossible dream. 

He was very sincere and looked off into the distance when he talked about the US, as if he was visiting the imaginary life he had built there many years ago. A few things struck me about what he said:

1) What made it impossible was that he literally can't get into the country. He wasn't concerned about having no money - he would do anything - any kind of work - everyday for the rest of his life just for the privilege to live and raise his child there.

2) He knew we were from the US and never said anything like - you are so lucky to have been born in the USA.  He didn't seem resentful or make us feel badly about our good fortune for being born in a successful country. He just answered my question simply and honestly.  

3) He spoke similarly about the UK and Germany. He just wants the opportunity to work in a strong, diverse economy where you can make a better life for your family if you work hard.

I think about my grandparents who fled Cuba or Chris' grandmother's family that fled Germany during WWII. They both came here with very little money and almost broken spirits.  Everything was taken from them so quickly.  But they had the freedom and opportunity to work and prosper. And they did so quickly - rebuilding little by little from the ground up. 

I've always known that I'm lucky to have been born in the USA, but I never felt more thankful for my country and the freedom & opportunities we have as Americans than I did after that conversation. 

We were in Cape Town during peak shark viewing season, so we could not let the opportunity remain unexploited.  Chris was very excited about the chance to dive with the great whites, while I was more hesitant about the encounter.  We booked two spots with Great White Shark Tours, Chris to dive and me (I thought) to watch from the safety of the boat.  You see, I saw Jaws the Revenge at the young age of 6 one summer in Puerto Rico. That summer, I was so scared of sharks, I refused to swim in any body of water, including pools, fearing sharks would somehow find their way in through the drains.  Not only was I scared of the sharks, I was also afraid of plunging into the frigid winter seas.  

We departed from Gansbaai, a small town about 45 minutes south of Hermanus, and about two hours south of Cape Town.  We took the boat about five miles offshore to Dyer Island.  This is the area known as Shark Alley that you always see on Shark Week specials.  The area attracts the highest concentration of great whites in the world due to its bountiful seal crop. 

Check it out:

We dropped anchor and the guides began chumming the water to attract the sharks.  They also put a seal decoy into the water to further entice the beasts.  Supposedly, it normally takes about 45 minutes for the chum to do its job and the first sharks to show up.

We didn't have to wait that long.  The first shark made his presence known in about 15-20 minutes.  Here are some of the scenes we witnessed from the shark boat.

The first of these monsters was soon joined by 4-5 others.  They ranged in size from about 12 feet up to 18-20 feet.  Some of them were absolutely massive.  We saw some great attacks on the seal decoy but unfortunately, I was a bit slow on the trigger to capture a good shot of it with its teeth bared.  

After taunting the sharks with chum, bait and decoys for about ten minutes, it was time to get into the water.  The first few people suited up and made their way into the cage.

About 6-8 people typically get into the cage at once.  The cage is just wide enough for one person in each slot, and floats in the water with about one foot of cage above the surface.  You wear a wetsuit and scuba mask, but no diving gear, as the air bubbles apparently frighten the sharks.  Then, when a shark approaches, the capitan gives you a signal and you hold your breath and go underwater.  

After watching the first group emerge from the cage unscathed and in awe, I decided I had to try it out.  Chris and I suited up and descended into the frigid water.

We had been toying with the idea of investing in a GoPro before our trip, and the next 20 minutes caused us to thoroughly regret not pulling the trigger.  The sharks were spectacular.  We saw 4-5 different sharks from underwater attacking the seal decoy and bait, and making many close passes by the cage.  There was one massive shark that would come straight toward the cage very slowly while staring right at you with its bottomless eyes.  It would only turn at the last minute, in order to catch a better glimpse of the potential meal awaiting it inside the cage. This was by far the scariest part!

While we didn't have an underwater camera, we found this random guy's video on Youtube. He used the same company as us. This is pretty much what we got to see!

After our great white encounter, we decided that the sharks were not nearly as aggressive as we had expected, and were mostly curious about us rather than threatening.  It made me think of the movie Edward Scissorhands, where Edward just wanted to shake someone's hand or touch someone's face but couldn't because he would cut them with his sharp scissor hands.  Similarly, the sharks wanted to play and explore, but instead of scissors for hands, the sharks have a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.   While this gives me a better understanding of what is going through the shark's mind, I still would not want to find myself in the water with one!

As we headed back to Gansbaai after our adventure, we were accompanied by these birds, who were hand-fed in mid air by one of the boat's crew.

We spent the night in the quaint town of Hermanus, which is known as the best spot in the world for land-based whale watching.  The town also employes a Whale Crier, whose job is to wander the streets and inform everyone about the latest whale sightings.  Unfortunately, while we were there, we didn't spot a while or hear a whale cry.  We did enjoy a night in the town, however, and an excellent dinner at La Pentola - highly recommended if you are ever in town! 

The next day, we headed back to Cape Town and hoped for better weather than the previous weekend's...

After a few days in Cape Town, we drove out to South Africa's famous winelands.  We've been to a few other well-known wine regions including Napa/Sonoma/Healdsburg in California and Marlborough in New Zealand.  While these regions are both stunning, we liked South Africa's Winelands the best because of their unique landscape, friendly locals, phenomenal red wines and amazing (and affordable!) food.  

Similar to California's wine region, the Winelands consist of a number of small towns.  The biggest is Stellenbosch, which is full of great wineries, but the town center is pretty crowded with tourists, students and people who work in the area. The next largest town is Franschhoek  which consists of beautiful vineyards, a small town and some of the world's best restauarants. Then there are smaller towns like Paarl, where the town itself is nothing to write home about, but the vineyards are very pretty. 

Our brother-in-law, Jerry, is a chef and long time wine connoisseur, so he had some connections with a few wineries in South Africa. Thanks to said connections, we had a nice list of places to visit! We also ventured out on our own and made some great discoveries.  

We did a lot in just 3 days so for this entry, we will list our favorites.  In case you don't know us, we should note that we are, by no means, food & wine experts.  We are, however, fortunate in that we have very similar tastes in wine, so we tended to favor the same wines during our Winelands tour.  Some have even suggested that we had less sophisticated palates (ahem...cork dork at New Zealand's Serasin winery).   We just like what we like.  As a preface to the following, we should mention that we only made it to about eight wineries, and tasted 3-8 wines at each place.  Therefore, we are by no means qualified to issue the following awards.  However, we will do so anyway.  So without further ado, here are our Wineland Awards:

Best Red Wines:

First place: Boekenhoutskloof's flagship Syrah shown in the picture below (seven chairs on the label).  We wanted to buy a bottle, but they only sell it by the case and, sadly, do not ship to the US. We tasted this on our 3rd day in the Winelands and it was easily the best red we had during our visit. 
  
Second place: a tie between Choloclate Block (also a Boekenhoutskloof wine - it's second-tier offering) and Mont Rochelle's 2007 Syrah.  We tasted the Mont Rochelle at dinner at Ryan's Kitchen the first night and loved it so we went to the vineyard the next day and picked up a bottle.  It is really a shame (or maybe a blessing) that none of these places ship to Massachusetts! 

Best White Wines:

First place: Grand Provence Sauvignon Blanc.  Normally we enjoy Sauvy's from New Zealand, and this wine was very close to one of our favorites (as it happens, the one our unsophisticated palates were ridiculed for enjoying, so take this one for what it's worth!)  It turns out they use grapes from the coastal region, similar to those in New Zealand, while others source their Sauvy grapes farther inland.  These other local attempts at Sauvignon Blancs fell a bit short for us.

Second place:  Hamilton Russell Chardonnay.  Typically we do not like Chardonnays due to their heft and full, buttery taste.  This wine, however, was lighter and crisp with a great flavor.  They use clay barrels in combination with oak, which gives it this taste.

Best Pinotage:

Pinotage is a red wine variety produced exclusively in South Africa.  We tried several of these at various wineries, but really only cared for one of them, the Pinotage produced at Neil Ellis winery.  Apparently, about 80% of the Pinotage grapes burned last summer due to excessive heat, so it may be a while before production levels are restored.

Best View:

First place:  The beautiful view from Tokara, which is perched atop a hill on the main route between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.  The bright colors and diagonal lines of the vineyard contrasted with the blue sky.

Second place: Delaire Graff's main outdoor patio. The owners of this vineyard also own a diamond business and have poured a lot of money into this place. It's decadent.  The wines were not our favorite, but we really enjoyed the stunning view of the fall leaves and colorful gardens surrounding the property. 

Best Dinner:

We ate at a place called Ryan's Kitchen in Franshhoek. Supposedly you can't get a table at this place in the high season, but this time of year, you can walk in.  It was our good fortune.  While the menu was very interesting we opted for the fixed menu chosen by the chef, which ended up consisting of the following:

• Amuse-bouche:  Beet mousse with crispy mushroom crumbles served in a miniature pail
  
• 1st Course: Tuna tartare in a tunnel made of frozen vegetable puree with seaweed gelatin cubes, aubergine and some sort of dust that made the tuna effervescent
  
• 2nd Course: Minced lamb in a thin pancake / crepe with chopped nuts, white pepper meringue and roasted red pepper 
  
• 3rd Course: Wildebeest medallions on a bed of minced green beans with duck fat french fry cubes
  
• Dessert: Guava souffle with caramel ice cream and some sort of chocolate concoction with pumpkin seed oil ice cream. The guava souffle was one of my all time favorite desserts!
  

This was our favorite/most interesting meal from South Africa.  We also had dinner at The Common Room which was not nearly as creative or delicious.

Most Relaxing:

We had lunch at La Motte winery.  This winery is owned by the same family that owns (or owned) large stakes in a number of famous luxury brands, such as Cartier. The wine estate is expansive and beautiful, and there was a great spot for lunch where we spent a few hours eating, exploring the grounds and of course, sampling the wine.  Here are a few photos:

Best Decor:

Part of the fun of visiting all of these wineries is seeing how each has chosen to decorate its facilities and wine tasting area.  Each is different based on the owner's personal style and tastes.  While it's tough to choose, for us, first place goes to the tasting room at Grand Provence, which was certainly not the most elaborately decorated place we visited, but had great style.

Best Lodging:

This isn't really an award because we only stayed at one place in the Winelands, but we thought it was worth mentioning because it was wonderful!  We stayed at a guesthouse called Fransvliet outside of Franschhoek.  It consists of 4 lovely cottages situated in the garden with a great view of the vines and the mountains.  The manager, Victor, was incredibly hospitable and the owner, Shirley, was very friendly. Shirley owned a cooking school in Johannesburg for many years and recently decided to retire to Franschhoek.  Victor also worked with her at the cooking school, and moved his family to Franschhoek to manage the property. 

The rooms are massive and nicely decorated by Shirley's daughter who is an interior designer. The bathroom is huge, with a claw foot tub, heated floors, and wonderful bath products (I loved the lotion!). Each room has a wood burning stove and two complimentary bottles of wine - a perfect combination for a cool winter's night.  

Another thing worth calling out is the breakfast. The amazing breakfast!!! We ate at gourmet breakfast in the main  house every single morning. Here is a sample of our menu:

-A fantastic juice made from ginger, lime, apple and pear
-Yogurt with fresh warmed berries from the orchard outside
-Cappuccino and fresh breads & pastries
-Eggs with portabello mushrooms and bacon

If you ever make it out to the Winelands, definitely stay here!

Best Bartender:

We stopped into Tokara primarily to see the grounds and the view, but ended up having a tasting and spent probably an hour talking to the bartender who helped us out.  He was very young, maybe early 20's, but very passionate and knowledgeable about wine. He talked about wines from different regions - inside and out of South Africa. We think he may be a winemaker some time soon!

Best Wildlife:

The storm brought forth it's finale on our third day in South Africa - gale force winds, hail and rain. During the hail storm, we were at the Two Oceans Aquarium,  watching the penguins freak out due to the noise the hail made on the tin roof over their habitat. It was pretty funny. They would look up, nervously, at the ceiling and then waddle in and out of their little huts. It was like the cartoons where one of the characters would run back and forth in a panic until the more level-headed character gave him a good slap across the face to calm him down. But sadly, no one could calm down these little guys. 

The hail only lasted about 5 minutes and then things went back to normal, but some of the penguins remained cautious and confused.  Here are some photos/videos:

The penguins above did not trust the lady feeding them and she eventually gave up. I think they were paranoid from hail storm and they had a baby in their cave.

The aquarium was the perfect activity for a rainy day. We saw lots of different fish - many from the Indian Ocean which were new to us. They had a great shark exhibit and at 3pm we watched the divers feed the sharks.  This sounded great in theory, but it wasn't as exciting as we had anticipated. 

After the Aquarium, we drove to the Hotel Mt. Nelson for high tea. This was my first time having high tea and I enjoyed it very much! 

The clouds started to break apart by sunset, but it was still raining & windy.  We drove to the west side of town and watched the sunset from the car which was spectacular! I didn't have my good camera with me, so the pictures don't do it justice.

Penguins & Rainbows
The next day was far less rainy, so we decided to drive down to the Cape of Good Hope. On the way, we stopped at a penguin colony and enjoyed watching the penguins in their natural habitat. If it didn't start to rain, I could have watched them for another hour!  

BaBOOn!
After visiting the penguins, we drove throughout Cape Point National park, where we saw many different animals and stunning views of the ocean.   At one point, I was taking a picture of the cliffs and a baboon appeared very close in my lens. I was so startled, I let out a little yell, grabbed Chris and ran away.  We then turned around (from a safer distance) and I snapped a couple shots of the baboon.  There were some locals parked nearby that found this very funny and told us that as long as we didn't have food in our bags, the baboons wouldn't bother us.  Although we didn't have food on us, we still didn't feel any better about being 20 feet away from a big baboon and walked back to the car. 

Our pictures might be hanging in Pakistan
When we were at the Cape of Good Hope, a bus full of Pakistani tourists pulled up.  There must have been 30 guys, taking pictures and enjoying the view.  Chris and I were navigating our way across the rocks to get back to our car when two of the guys stopped us and asked for a picture (they didn't speak English - they just showed us their camera). Chris figured they wanted him to take a picture of them so he smiled, said yes and went to grab the camera. One of the guys said no and pointed at him and the other guy. Chris was confused and then realized the other guy wanted a picture with him. So he posed for the picture - smiling with some random dude from Pakistan. Then the guy gave his friend the camera and stood next to me indicating he wanted a picture with me.  Before I knew it,  he was next to me smiling and his friend snapped a picture.  They thanked us and then ran toward the ostrich and started snapping photos with the bird.  

We started laughing once we got back to the car, thinking about the stories they might tell about us when sharing photos from their holiday. They didn't even know what country we were from.  We imagined the voiceover when they shared the photos with their families - Here is the Cape of Good Hope, here is an ostrich, here are some odd looking foreigners - the man was 8 feet tall and the girl had crazy hair, here is a rainbow.  I wish we took a picture with them!

A Beautiful Drive
The rest of the drive was just stunning. Check out some of the photos below. 

We finished the day at the Royale Eatery, a gourmet burger place on Long Street, before heading off to the Winelands the next morning.

Our second morning in Cape Town was a daze, due to head colds, jet lag, and the storm that had rolled in. We dragged ourselves out of bed for the hotel's complimentary breakfast. When we arrived in the Taj dining room we were shocked by the variety of delicious food - fresh fruits, eggs, traditional Indian breakfast, cheeses, sushi, different pastries & breads, and fresh juices.  We truly fed our colds. 

We spent the remainder of the morning relaxing (or in my case sleeping). In the afternoon, the downpour turned to drizzle, so we walked a few blocks to see the District Six Museum. 

Here we learned a lot about Apartheid and South Africa's recent history.  District Six was a diverse neighborhood in downtown Cape Town until the 1970's, when the apartheid government forced 60,000 inhabitants to leave and move to townships located further outside the city.  The pro-apartheid government gave a couple reasons for the removals:

1) They made it illegal for races to mix, saying interracial interaction bred conflict.  This was a very diverse neighborhood so they separated everyone to facilitate compliance with the law. 

2)They deemed District Six a slum full of crime, prostitution, gambling and drinking. They said it wasn't even fit for rehabilitation so it had to be destroyed. 

While these were the official reasons given by the government, many people believed they did it because they wanted the land, which is located close to the harbour, city center and Table Mountain. 

In 1968, the government declared Disctrict 6 a Whites Only neighborhood, and by 1982 over 60,000 people had been relocated to Cape Flats township, a very bleak, sad place. We would later drive by a stretch of shanties in the Cape Flats area on our way back from the Winelands/Hermanus - they looked even worse than the favelas in Brazil. 

After removing the residents, the government bulldozed the entire town to the ground, leaving only places of worship. It remained vacant for a while, but then the government built the Cape Technikon (now a Technical University) over much of District 6. 

When Apartheid ended in 1994, the South African government recognized claims of former inhabitants.  The first former residents moved back in 2004 - over 30 years after being removed.  Many people are still trying to get their properties back, but it seems like a long and complicated process.

The museum was built in 1994 to honor the memory of what District 6 was before the bulldozing. There are photographs of families, shops, and schools - everyday things that we all take for granted because we don't think they will just disappear one day. They recreated beauty salons with actual products from the 60's. They also recreated people's homes, hanging pictures of their families on the wall.  

They displayed signs, like the one below, from when the government was removing people of color from the neighborhood. 

They also had video from former residents who walked through the district and shared their memories, including the awful memories of being forced to leave.  They also had tiles featuring poems from those people who were removed and a giant street map on the floor with notes from former residents on the images of buildings where they lived.

This was a very enlightening experience. While we learned a lot about the recent history of South Africa, we probably only scratched the surface.  It's sad to think about how all this happened so recently. If we had been born in South Africa, we would have lived under an apartheid regime until our teens!  While we grew up encouraged by our parents, government and teachers to embrace diversity and tolerance and to celebrate civil rights, the South African government was mandating the exact opposite to its people.  But all that changed in 1994. I remember hearing about Mandela in the news, knowing it was  a big deal but not truly appreciating what this accomplishment meant to the country.

That evening, we went out to dinner at Momma Africa on Long Street to listen to live music.  We were still talking about District Six when we arrived, but all that changed once the band came on - which consisted of a few bongos, a trombone, trumpet, xylophone, cowbell and triangle. They were amazing!  We literally both had fevers, and the only prescription was more cowbell :)

Despite our colds, Chris feasted on a range of local game, which will surely make an appearance in a future post!

After 2 days of plane travel, we landed in Cape Town at 7:30am.  Unlike in the UK, going through border control and customs was a fairly quick process and we were able to pick up the car rental and find our hotel in town within the next hour and a half.  We got a great rate at the Taj in downtown Cape Town and were eager to check in to a nice plush room.  The Taj is a beautiful hotel in an old bank building right in the heart of downtown Cape Town - walking distance from many landmarks and Long Street, known for its restaurants and nightlife.  We attempted to check in early but our room was not yet ready.  To kill some time, we checked our bags and went to a local cafe for some coffee (flat whites!) and a fruit smoothie for me as I had developed a head cold on the plane.  

While waiting, we read the local paper and the big headline was one that was all too familiar to us: BIG STORM THIS WEEKEND. BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES. 

Nuts.  

The weatherman predicted gale force winds, relentless rain and a possibility of hail for the next three days.  I guess they heard we were coming!

After a few expletives, we realized this wasn't that bad. We had phenomenal weather in South America and decent weather in PR. Plus, I had a cold coupled with jetlag and needed some rest and Chris felt he would soon follow my lead.  So it was good that we had an excuse to relax indoors for a couple of days, especially since we had such a lovely hotel booked.

We also decided to capitalize on the remainder of the sunny day at hand, as the rain would arrive first thing the next morning. After our snack we walked to the V&A Waterfront, which is a marina with lots of restaurants, bars and shops. It's a touristy area, similar to Navy Pier in Chicago.  We walked around a bit, and when we sat down on a bench to admire the view of Table Mountain, I immediately fell asleep in the sun (one of my favorite ways to pass time). 

We walked back to the hotel before lunchtime and our room was ready!  A welcome sight after two consecutive nights on a plane:

After a quick shower and change, we decided to take the car out to Kirstenboch Botanical Gardens, which is located 20 minutes outside the city. We explored the gardens for a couple of hours, admiring the view of the mountains and the city. We enjoyed learning about the vast variety of plant species.   We probably could have spent more time there, but were pretty tired at that point.  Here are some highlights from the gardens:

After our visit to the gardens, we drove back along the coast to watch the spectacular sunset!

We arrived back to our room around 7pm and were so tired that we ordered room service and turned in for the night. 

...and it is spectacular! We will write more soon but, in the meantime, here is a sneak preview of what we've seen so far:)