August 27th, 2009
Today we go off topic to give you a quick introduction to a special place. It is written by my better half Greg, who is a born and bred Capetonian (and has the delicious accent to go along with it). We met in Cape Town, South Africa 22 years ago and have been together ever since. For many reasons Cape Town ranks as one of my favourite cities of all. Its natural beauty is stunning, the people are relaxed and friendly, the weather is gorgeous, and Cape Malay food is sublime. If you ever get the chance to visit, go!
Imagine a mountain range on one of the the Southern most points of Africa, curling into the ocean like a slightly crooked index finger reaching Southwards to Antarctica. This is the Cape Peninsula. In less than half an hour you can drive from the warm Indian Ocean on the Eastern side of this peninsula, to the icy Atlantic Ocean at the foot of its Western slopes. On the way you will see vineyards, Oak trees and “Fynbos”, the indigenous plants that are unique to the coastline of South Africa and constitute the smallest and the richest of the world’s six floral kingdoms.
At the base of the Cape Peninsula is the city of Cape Town, a mashup of Dutch, British, Cape Malay and African cultures. It lies at the foot of its most famous landmark, Table Mountain (Angie calls this “Our Mountain”), and opens out onto a working harbour. The combination of mountain, city and sea is breathtakingly beautiful and quite unique. This is where I grew up. It is where Angie and I met, where we went to University, and where we got married.
These days we are tourists in my hometown. We stayed at a hotel in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a collection of shops, hotels and restaurants that has consumed the harbour over the last 20 years or so. Every morning we enjoyed breakfast with a view of the harbour, the city and Our Mountain. One of the highlights of the trip.
Normal Winter weather is stormy and cold, but we were lucky enough to get two beautiful, clear days. On our first day we walked into a familiar “City Bowl” (downtown Cape Town), a modern city center filled with sassy cafes, small shops, large department stores, modern skyscrapers, historical Cape Dutch architecture and open-air markets. We try to bring home a work of art whenever we travel and this time it was the “shopping lady” that Angie is holding in the picture below. That’s the artist Raymond in the sweet leather jacket and hat. He made the lady using recycled soda cans and wire. Very cool.
The Cape Malay community is one of the distinctive cultures in Cape Town. Cape Malays are descended from slaves (brought to South Africa by the Dutch East India Company in the 16th century) and political exiles from Indonesia. We love the Malay Quarter (also known as Bo Kaap) for its brightly coloured houses. It’s amazing to walk through the area and smell the deliciously spicy fragrances of Cape Malay cooking, with dishes like samoosas, breyani, boboti and waterblommetjie bredie.
Southwest of the city is a winding coastline of natural wonder called the Atlantic Seaboard. Suburbs on this coastline like Seapoint, Clifton and Camps Bay are prime real estate because they are surrounded by perfect white sandy beaches, turquoise water and the treacherous cliffs of the Twelve Apostles. This is another favourite area and we spent our second day walking from Clifton to Camps Bay beach and enjoying the views.
It doesn’t feel right to describe Cape Town’s magnificence without mentioning the social and political upheaval that has defined much of South Africa’s recent history. I was 16 when I first took part in a political protest, and we saw political violence up close as Apartheid police cracked down on our liberal University campus. I remember the precise moment in 1990 when I learned that Nelson Mandela was to be released from Robben Island, a prison just a few miles away from Cape Town. This was the turning point. The legacy of oppression still lives on in poverty stricken rural areas outside the cities, but there has been a democratic government since 1994 and the future is brighter than ever.
We spent the rest of our South African vacation in a different part of the country, visiting my parents in their new home. But one more night in the city on our way back to Seattle gave us an opportunity to catch up with some old friends and do a final, rushed embrace of the place that was so pivotal in our lives. The University of Cape Town campus, St. Paul’s Church in Rondebosch (where we were married), Cavendish Square in Claremont, my studio apartment in Wynberg, Constantia Nek, Hout Bay, Camps Bay, Suikerbossie, Kloof Nek, Tamboerskloof. We miss it already.
48 Replies
Posted on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Thank you for such a fantastic and wonderful write-up Greg!! It was the next being thing to actually being there, which now I want to, really really bad 
Thank you Angie for bringing the world to us
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Ooh, I forgot to add Cape Town looks so magical!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Thank you for sharing. Looks like an awesome place to visit!!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Such a beautiful post, Angie and Greg! The photos are stunning. Thank you very much for sharing your vacation with us.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Thankyou for the article Greg. The pictures are breath taking. I will put South Africa on top of my list of places I want to visit!
How sweet that this place means so much to you and Angie.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Angie, I can see by your expression how much you love that place.
I also love your new piece of art.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Thank you, Greg, for writing about the place that has meant so much to you and Angie. You really make Capetown come alive for those of us who have no idea what it’s like.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Thanks for the beautiful description and pictures. I was fortunate enough to spend almost a year living in Cape Town (Rosebank). Your email brought back memories of the cottage where I stayed as well as the amazing people and food.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:18 am
You did it justice Gregg. I also grew up in Cape Town- Constantia, Rondebosch, Clifton, Wynberg and Hout Bay – I felt very nostalgic reading your post. Thanks.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:21 am
That was so touching – thank you for sharing a special place in your lives with all of us!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Thank you for sharing with us! I have an unkle who worked many years in South Africa (we Portuguese are all over the world eh eh) and also says that is the most beautifull place in the whole world.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Thank you Greg. My eyes welled up when I read your write up.
Sandy, we are always *very* happy visiting Cape Town. It’s a magical part of the world for us and you are awfully kind to even notice how happy I am in the pictures.
Deb, it’s such a treat to have a fellow Capetonian comment on this blog post. Thanks for chiming in.
Rute, there is indeed a strong Portuguese influence in South Africa because it’s so close to the once Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique. I hope you visit!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Excellent travelogue, Greg! I knew nothing about Cape Town and now I can see why it is such a special place to you and Angie.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:39 am
All I have known of Cape Town was from relatives who visited and praised its beauty. Its wonderful to finally see photos and to know you two met there, went to university there, married there. Those years are magical.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:45 am
What a lovely guest post, and glimpse into this gorgeous city, which clearly holds claim to both of your hearts. And with good reason!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Thank you for showing another view of Africa.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Oh FABULOUS- I loved this post, Angie!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Thank you both, Greg and Angie, for sharing your special place with us and giving us a glimpse into your lives and history. What a great vacation for you guys. I hope to travel more as my kids get older…you two are such inspiration and have expanded my list of places to see.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 9:07 am
How lovely. I really enjoyed this post. Thanks!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 9:35 am
What a treat to not only see so many of Greg’s beautiful pictures but to have a guest post as well! Cape Town sounds wonderful, and I especially enjoyed getting a flavor of the colorful markets and Cape Malay community. How wonderful that you were able to travel there to visit. I hope that it was a wonderful and relaxing vacation.
Congratulations on 22 years!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Fascinating write-up Greg, and such stunning pictures! Thank you both for sharing a little slice of your vacation (and history) with us.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Thanks for such a lovely post. I’ve never particularly had an interest in seeing south africa but your pictures changed my mind in a matter of seconds. It looks like such a diverse, colorful place…its not hard to see why you both love it so much!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Looks like a beautiful place!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I was really touched while reading this. Thank you so much Angie and Greg (fantastic write-up and pictures!! You should have included a sound bite, I want to hear your accent!-) for sharing a bit of your past and present life with us.
I’ve always known South Africa and Cape Town are absolutely breathtaking, and seeing these pictures makes me want to visit all those stunning places even more.
And I absolutely love Afrikaans (not only because it resembles Dutch;-), the vocabulary is just so imaginative.
Do tell, what is “waterblommetjie bredie”?
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Breathtaking. I love the colorful houses, which oddly reminds me of New Orleans even though I haven’t been there in many many years. Thanks, Greg!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 10:42 am
What a beautiful writeup about a beautiful place!
I have been completely captivated by the idea of going to SA one day ever since choosing it as the subject of a project in college. Meeting my two South African “mums” in France just added to the appeal. It ranks in my top 5 places to visit in the world, and I have already planned it as a stop on my tour of the southern hemisphere. Needless to say this post delighted me.
Thank you for continuing to share your travel experiences with us, Greg and Angie. It means a lot to those of us who ache to travel but just can’t right now. I’ll be sure to check with you when I take my trip someday
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Greg and Angie – this is a very emotional and beautiful description of you routes and present life. cape town sounds amazing!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Thank you for sharing your special place, Angie and Greg! Your writeup makes it come alive so vividly even for those of us who have never traveled there. It’s so sweet to go back to a place where you spent your youth. It must have been a wonderful trip.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Wow, what a treat. Thank you so much Greg, for the wonderful write-up and pictures. You could be a travel journalist! I really enjoyed reading this and learning more about the Cape, a place I know very little about. You made it come alive in the report.
Thanks for going off topic and sharing more about your personal backgrounds, A&G!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Great what a wonderful entry – thank you. And thank you for sharing those amazing photos with us. Glad to hear that you both had a great time!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Great photos and wonderful words to go along with them. Wish I can visit.
-meream
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Thank you so much, Greg, for sharing your travel experience with us. The article was so informative and the photography beautiful. I can see why Angie calls this her favorite city of all time. It is obvious that this is a very special place for the two of you.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Thank you so much, Greg and Angie, for sharing your very special memories of Cape Town with all of us here. The pictures are beautiful, and I really enjoyed reading Greg’s words. I’m very much intrigued by Table Mountain, and the combination you describe (mountain, city, and the sea) sounds incredible. I’d love to visit your city one day.
Also, congrats on 22 yrs!!!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
What a lovely glimpse into another world. Thank you!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Genuinely enjoyed this post. It provided great insight into a region and culture that is unfamiliar to me. Thanks for sharing it through your inspired words and photos.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Greg, thank you for your post. I have never been to South Africa and it was a pleasure learning about it through your eyes. Your pictures are lovely as always. You do a fantastic job of capturing the essense of your subjects. The church you were married in in beautiful. Angie, I would love to see a wedding picture…
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Thank you all for the generous comments. It is easy to take great photos when your subject is as beautiful as Cape Town or Angie. And the best photo is the bottom one, taken by Angie.
@Inge, waterblommetjie bredie is a stew. Directly translated…
waterblommetjie = water flower
bredie = stew
And this is quite literally what it is. Meat stewed with a specific flower that is found in the wetlands of the Western Cape.
Wikipedia describes it as tasting “much like stewed green beans with a hint of pumpkin” although I don’t think that does it justice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterblommetjiebredie
I can’t vouch for it, but here is a recipe from food24.com: http://www.food24.com/RecipeOpen/0,,C0418,00.html
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
*blushing*.
Btw, that’s Greg in the last picture. I took a picture of him taking a picture. I have loads of those because Greg is always taking pictures!
(Eva, I’ll show you a picture of my wedding dress).
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
We vacationed in SA for eight weeks with our 3 year old, two year old, my mom in tow, and a baby in the belly.
Cape Town really is a magnificent place. The wind on the beach was so fierce that my little boys refused to get out of the car one day.
I thought this post was going to be about capes and I was excited as I think a cape is a great fall piece! HA.
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Thank you for the wonderful account of your trip! I am happy to see that both of you enjoyed your visit to such a meaningful place in your lives – and I am glad you shared it with us! Thank you for your openness!
Posted on August 27th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Fabulous travelogue, and the photos are simply stunning. Thank you so much for letting us travel with you in your hometown.
Posted on August 28th, 2009 at 4:02 am
Thanks very much Greg. Lovely writing and lovely pictures.
Angie – we were just given some Mrs Balls Chutney by some recently arrived South African friends !
Posted on August 28th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Wow-thank you for sharing this. This is clearly a piece and place near and dear to your hearts since it melted a bit of mine as I was reading it. Greg, you write so well – clearly you and Angie are well matched I’m inspried to visit the Cape now.
Posted on August 28th, 2009 at 6:29 am
I thought it was you in the last picture, Greg! Such a fantastic photo!
Thank you so much for the extra culinary info. I don’t eat meat, but I’m intrigued now, and hope to be able to taste that waterblommetjie sometime.
Posted on August 28th, 2009 at 6:36 am
Greg-Beautiful writing! I really enjoyed reading your perspective on apartheid in South Africa and your hope for its future.
It looks like you two had a wonderful trip, and I think you made a wise choice with “the shopping lady”.
Posted on August 28th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Fascinating post and awesome photos, Greg. Capetown looks so beautiful, it’s going on my list of places to visit after I finish university.
Posted on August 28th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Thank you so much for this post. I am a Capetonian who has been living in California since the early 1990s, and seeing these beautiful pics of my hometown on one of my favorite blogs was such a nice way to start my day. (I’m a UCT alum too!)
Posted on August 29th, 2009 at 10:31 am
[...] years ago today, Greg and I were married in Cape Town, South Africa. The church service was held in one of the oldest remaining stone churches in the country and we [...]
Posted on December 15th, 2009 at 7:52 am
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