After spending three months of fall in Italy, we were ready for something completely new and different. As winter began to approach in Europe in late November, we were also looking forward to swapping hemispheres to chase summer. We spent the month of December in Cape Town, South Africa.

South Africa was a “maybe” destination. When we first started throwing out potential destinations for this trip a couple years ago, we both excitedly mentioned South Africa. However, when we started to actually plan the trip, it felt less feasible; it was so far away, and it was really the only place we planned to visit in the area. We felt it was impractical and removed it from our skeleton itinerary.

When our friends Kevin and Dana returned from a round-the-world trip, they raved about South Africa, and we started reconsidering the possibility of fitting it in to our own trip.

Jeff and I have done a lot of what we refer to as “bananagramming” during this trip, the term inspired by the game Bananagrams. During this game, sometimes the best approach is to completely scrap the words you’ve built and start over; it can be intimidating to start over, but new perspective can lead to a better outcome. So, when Jeff and I feel at a standstill, we “bananagram” the plans we’ve built and take a moment to brainstorm completely different ideas, then discuss whether we like a new alternative better.

Our initial itinerary for the first four months involved one month in Italy followed by three months in South America. I could tell Jeff was bummed at the thought of spending only one month in Italy, so after some bananagramming, I threw out another option: Scrap South America and instead spend three months in Italy and one month in South Africa. We ended up with this itinerary instead, and we’re so grateful. We loved our three months in Italy, and we loved South Africa.

Cape Town was a drastic shift from Italy. Our first day exploring the city center had us feeling like we were on another planet; all the buildings were new, and the streets were wide and desolate. Where were all the people!?

As a city, Cape Town is spread out. There are mountains cutting through the middle, which create a “bowl” for the city center (known as the “City Bowl"), while other neighborhoods sit on the opposite side of the mountains.

*The "City Bowl" as seen from the top of Table Mountain*

Although South Africa has 11 official languages (!!), English was prevalent everywhere we went, which we were grateful for! It was so convenient to be able to have a conversation with the locals, ask for recommendations, and of course, read signs and menus.

We loved the Western Cape of South Africa for its beautiful geography (ocean, mountains), its superb food and wine, and the overall affordability.

Highlights

Our Airbnb & Hosts

We loved our Airbnb for the month, which was near the city center. It was the nicest apartment we had stayed in; it was spacious, new, and even had an outdoor patio! An unexpectedly great thing about our Airbnb turned out to be the hosts, Mia and Henroux. They were incredibly warm and welcoming from the first time we met them, and they invited us into their lives. We had the chance to spend time with them and their friends, which made our experience in Cape Town exponentially better. As it turned out, Henroux’s birthday was a few days before Jeff’s, and they invited us to celebrate both birthdays together with their friends. We’re grateful to have met new friends while in Cape Town!

Great Food, Great Coffee, Great Design

Cape Town’s food scene was fantastic! The breadth of cuisine options was impressive, reflecting the diverse cultures and ethnicities within the area. We enjoyed amazing sushi, Indian, Tunisian, Greek, Mexican, and Peruvian, but our favorite was Cape Malay cuisine. After spending three months in Italy, we easily avoided Italian food the entire month.

The coffee in Cape Town was also amazing, a refreshing change from the consistent but boring Italian coffee scene. Cape Town had a bounty of great coffee shops and plenty of delicious iced coffee and cold brew options for hot summer days. My favorite was the iced coffee at Bootlegger, a small chain in the city which also had banana bread that we were big fans of.

Jeff and I were impressed by the great design we found throughout the city. We loved the branding, the signage, and interiors of restaurants and shops, and the many local makers offered beautiful clothes, bags, and other goods. I wish I had more money and space in my luggage to have been able to buy more souvenirs from Cape Town, but we did pick up a couple things!

Penguin Experience

A popular attraction near Cape Town is Boulders Beach, which is a sanctuary full of African Penguins. We had discovered an Airbnb experience called “walking with penguins” and used the Airbnb gift card Tim and Nicole had given us as a trip gift for it (thanks, Tim and Nicole!).

Our penguin walk was led by Jon, who worked for a non-profit organization in conservation efforts for the marine life in the area. The proceeds from our walk went to the cause, which was an added bonus! Jon led us on a walk in the surrounding area, teaching us about penguins along the way, including the history of the African Penguin’s presence in the area. We learned a lot of interesting, fun facts about penguins! It was a very windy day - sand was whipping everywhere! Jon warned us that penguins hate the wind, so we wouldn’t be seeing them at their best, but the wind also weeded out the crowd at Boulders Beach, which was a bonus!

Some of the penguins were moulting while we were there. During their annual three-week moulting phase, they can’t go in the water, which means they can’t get food, so they’re pretty miserable sitting on the beach waiting for it to be over. Penguins seem like such fun, goofy creatures, but they’ve got a lot of challenges and pressures to face every day! They’re under threat from seals, sharks, and whales. There’s even a mosquito that has been giving them malaria, and they can get pneumonia.

During our time with Jon, we learned that the organization was in need of warning signs to protect the penguins from inconsiderate tourists who would harass them. Jeff lent his design skills and created a few fun informative signs for them to print and post near the penguins.

Markets

Jeff and I enjoy checking out markets, especially when traveling to new places. Cape Town had an impressive amount of options for weekly markets, and we experienced three different ones during our visit.

We first checked out the Neighbourgoods Market, a hip and busy market at Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock. There was an amazing range of food options, and everything looked delicious! We had pumpkin flapjacks, a Swahili donut, and a Syrian pita filled with ostrich meat and falafel.

The following Saturday, we stopped at Hout Bay Harbour Market, which was an indoor market with a different feel - definitely a more surfer/hippie vibe. We tried a Tunisian shawarma wrap and a plate of dim sum and dumplings while listening to a live band playing cover songs.

The Oranjezicht City Market, located near V&A Waterfront, was our favorite market! This market boasted beautiful views since it’s right on the waterfront, along with great vendors. The entire market was well-laid out, with impressive displays and signage. While at this market, we picked up goodies for our home-cooked Christmas dinner!

Clifton Beach Day

During our first week in Cape Town, there was a three-day heat wave, with temperatures in the 90s. We dug out our swimsuits from the bottom of our suitcases for a beach day!

After putting on our swimsuits and prepping our beach bags, we took an uber to Sea Point for brunch at Kleinsky’s Deli. Clifton Beach was superb. It was, I think, the nicest beach I’ve spent a beach day on. Since we had the ability to go in the middle of the day in the middle of the week, we basked in the limited crowds. Jeff rented us beach loungers with comfy pads and an umbrella - it was only R165 for the entire day ($12), but it was such a luxury, one that I’ve never enjoyed at a beach elsewhere! Interestingly, alcohol is not allowed on Cape Town beaches; the beach was perfect, but a cold beer would have made it even better. As we were winding down, the after-school/after-work crowd began pouring in, and a group of performers set up next to us to play drums, sing, and dance traditional African songs. It was a great way to end our time there.

Neighborhoods

We explored different neighborhoods in Cape Town, including Sea Point, Woodstock, and Bo-Kaap. Bo-Kaap is the “Cape Malay Quarter,” where Malaysian slaves and exiles once lived. During Apartheid, it became a township restricted only to Muslims. The homes are colorful and there are hints of cobblestone beneath asphalt on some streets. It offered a charm we had felt lacking in the buildings of Cape Town.

It was particularly interesting to see the juxtaposition of Muslim women covered in head-to-toe black walk past the vibrantly-colorful homes. We were also fortunate enough to walk past a wedding photo session for a couple that was just married, with family and friends lining up in traditional clothing in front of the colorful houses.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden

One day when the forecast was warm and windy, we thought it would be a good day to check out Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, which is located on the backside of Table Mountain. The gardens were beautiful! It was like walking into Jurassic Park as we entered, with lush green plants and mountains in front of us. The gardens were immaculate, and the variety of plants was so fun to wander and explore. There were even dinosaur sculptures in one area, which was such a fun surprise after we had felt a Jurassic Park vibe!

We took little breaks on benches to enjoy the view and sip the bottle of rosé we had picked up at the market the other day. We listened to “In the Jungle" and dreamt about being “bench specialists” to choose optimal locations for benches in beautiful gardens.

After checking out the “boomslang” tree canopy walkway, we laid our makeshift picnic blanket beach towel on the lawn near their concert venue, which hosts concerts on Sundays during the summer. We lounged and listened to the music as the sun went down.

Christmas in Cape Town

Jeff and I were excited for Christmas in Cape Town; although we were sad to be away from family this year, it was actually the first time we had ever spent Christmas together! It was also crazy to celebrate Christmas during the summer. We decorated a Christmas pineapple and exchanged stockings with each other to celebrate.

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated with a jazz brunch at a fancy hotel called Winchester Mansions down in Sea Point, right across from the ocean. We got dressed up for fun and enjoyed a feast - there was even tasty sushi in the buffet! After brunch, we walked across the road to sit on a bench overlooking the ocean and walk along the promenade. Back at our Airbnb, we listened to Christmas tunes to get into the spirit - it was so odd to listen to songs about snow and cold during the hot summer weather!

On Christmas Day, we woke up on the earlier side and packed our picnic for a visit to Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a popular attraction in South Africa. It’s a flat-topped mountain in the city (hence the name Table) which forms part of the “city bowl.” There’s often a cloud bank that forms over it which is known as the “tablecloth” (so clever! we loved this little factoid).

We had admired it from different angles around the city throughout the month and were excited to flip the perspective and see the city from up top! We decided on taking the cableway up to Table Mountain on Christmas morning and hoped for the best; since it was windy season there, the cableway was often shut down at a moment’s notice. There’s also the issue of the cloudy “tablecloth” conditions that can occur, obscuring the view.

*View from the cable car, with Lion's Head on the left*

WE LUCKED OUT! The weather was a sunny, clear day! The cable car/gondola ride up was such a fun experience; as you glide up the mountain, the car rotates to allow a 360-degree view for everyone aboard; it takes only 5 minutes to ascend 3500 feet! It was a trip.

Once at the top, we scoped out a spot in the middle for a quiet picnic to ourselves. Then we hiked around the top to enjoy different views of Cape Town; it was fun to see all of the places and sights we had seen on foot during the past month, like Hout Bay, Clifton Beach, Camps Bay, and the stadium. Jeff led us down a path away from the crowds where we found solitude, sunshine, less wind, and a beautiful view of Hout Bay. We had a self-timer photo session to snap a couple photos of us together on our first Christmas.

Unfortunately, once we were home, Jeff realized that he had gotten some serious sunburn on his face! We were both pretty pooped from our day on top of the mountain in the sun, but we enjoyed leisurely preparing our Christmas dinner together. Jeff made his veggie, chicken, balsamic dish (which I love!), and we tackled trying to make cheesy scalloped potatoes together for the first time. We opened the Shiraz we had picked up from Babylonstoren in Winelands. We face-timed with family, and by the end of our dinner, were so exhausted that we went to bed. We didn’t even have the special dessert tarts we had picked up for Christmas!

It was a unique Christmas for us; neither of us was with family, we were with each other for the first time, and we were in a very distant, exotic place. We had been given a unique opportunity; we did a lot of reflecting on past holidays and what’s important to us in celebrating future holidays as we start our new family.

Final Thoughts

There were aspects of Cape Town that we enjoyed that reminded us of San Francisco - an ocean-adjacent city with easy access to beautiful outdoor scenery, all within an hour of wine country.

Although we loved Cape Town in December, there were some downsides. The wind was crazy (we had no idea that December is their windy month!), and there were a lot of holiday closures during our visit, which was a bummer (the coinciding of December holidays and the summer means a lot of stores and shops close for celebration and vacation). Cape Town is also currently in a significant drought. Safety was also an issue; we wished we could walk around at night without worry, but instead had to take Ubers everywhere, which were thankfully cheap and plentiful. The racial socioeconomic disparities were more intense than we anticipated. We learned more about Apartheid while visiting, and although the end of Apartheid is recent enough that true healing and change will understandably take more time, Cape Town shows hope for a promising future.

As the month went on, our dwindling malaria pills were a daily reminder that our time in Cape Town was ending! We were a little sad each time we opened the bottle of pills. We loved our time in Cape Town and are so grateful we were able to experience this corner of the world!