Spilling the Secret
I had a travel story about Cape Town in today's Newsday. The full story is here, but below is an excerpt that I've annotated with links to some of our earlier posts on this site...
The beauty of a trip to Cape Town is, you get lots of credit for going to Africa, for heading all the way around the world, for supposedly risking life, limb and malaria, and you're still never more than five minutes from the
nearest world-class day spa.
The availability of such high-quality pampering should be the first clue that life for tourists is not hard here. On the contrary, life is incredibly easy. The city is absolutely lovely, the food fantastic and the local wines superb. But that doesn't mean you have to let your friends and relatives in on the secret.
The only people I've clued in to Cape Town's easy living - and I've been living here since March - are the ones who have visited. We've taken a blood oath to keep the secret. They return home and go on about how they had to rough it, without mentioning the friendly people, cosmopolitan ambiance or world-class restaurants,
and then they throw in a sympathetic word to our mutual associates about the hardships I'm enduring.
Among the hardships: the spectacular view from the top of Table Mountain, the ocean of blooming proteas at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and a half-dozen quaint beach towns just minutes away.
If you come, I ask that you please continue this tradition. Certainly don't tell anyone about the incredibly civilized South African tradition called the "sundowner,"
wherein friends gather on the nearest beach or balcony and greet the sunset with a raised cocktail or glass of wine.
Instead, when you've polished off that cocktail, pull out those postcards with big lions on the front - the ones you purchased earlier in the day at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the city's classy shopping area by the harbor - and jot down a quick note that plays on whatever misconceptions your friends and relatives might have about this corner of the globe: "Help," you might write. "Surrounded by wild animals and/or carjackers. Running out of food. Send help ASAP."
And then go shopping.
The beauty of a trip to Cape Town is, you get lots of credit for going to Africa, for heading all the way around the world, for supposedly risking life, limb and malaria, and you're still never more than five minutes from the
nearest world-class day spa.The availability of such high-quality pampering should be the first clue that life for tourists is not hard here. On the contrary, life is incredibly easy. The city is absolutely lovely, the food fantastic and the local wines superb. But that doesn't mean you have to let your friends and relatives in on the secret.
The only people I've clued in to Cape Town's easy living - and I've been living here since March - are the ones who have visited. We've taken a blood oath to keep the secret. They return home and go on about how they had to rough it, without mentioning the friendly people, cosmopolitan ambiance or world-class restaurants,
and then they throw in a sympathetic word to our mutual associates about the hardships I'm enduring.Among the hardships: the spectacular view from the top of Table Mountain, the ocean of blooming proteas at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and a half-dozen quaint beach towns just minutes away.
If you come, I ask that you please continue this tradition. Certainly don't tell anyone about the incredibly civilized South African tradition called the "sundowner,"
wherein friends gather on the nearest beach or balcony and greet the sunset with a raised cocktail or glass of wine.Instead, when you've polished off that cocktail, pull out those postcards with big lions on the front - the ones you purchased earlier in the day at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the city's classy shopping area by the harbor - and jot down a quick note that plays on whatever misconceptions your friends and relatives might have about this corner of the globe: "Help," you might write. "Surrounded by wild animals and/or carjackers. Running out of food. Send help ASAP."
And then go shopping.
posted by Erik at 8:18 pm
1 Comments:
Cape Town is magical - I lived there for a few years while at UCT. I think SA is a place that crawls under your skin, finds its way into your heart and never leaves. I sure do miss it. Give Table Mountain a hug from me.... way too much Tassies wine drunk on Signal Hill.... vague memories but damn good ones :)
Post a Comment
<< Home