South Africa #4

Ok, so to continue from yesterday. After we went on the big wheel we decided to look for a place for lunch. There are all sorts of places to choose from, from your basic burger joint to fancy-ass places that probably require a tie. We decided on a spot that overlooked the water and had a covered patio that wasn’t in the direct sun, it was starting to warm up. We found this place (the one with the flags) It had a lot of seafood, and if you’re going to have seafood in Africa, Capetown is assuredly the place to have it.

I had a platter that included mussels and calamari and two other items that differed depending on the catch of the day. I got a whitefish called “cardinal”, very similar to halibut, and King Prawns, which had the meaty part removed and then mixed with seasoned breadcrumbs and spices and was tucked neatly back into the shell and served with the eyeballs on stalks, mournfully staring at me as I ate them. They were delicious. (The meaty part, not the eyeballs) also, for my squeamish friends, look at the tiny tentacles of the wee baby squid that were sautéed in butter and garlic until crispy...so tender and delectable. Mmmmm....babies.....

The bill was R160, which is about $17 Cdn. It also included salad, bread and a coke. (No, I’m not day-drinking yet...good god people, it’s hardly lunchtime. I shan’t comment on my table mates who had a bottle or 2 of wine as they insisted that I would learn to day-drink before the trip was over.)

After that we decided to do some touristy things, as we are indeed tourists.

A Greenpeace ship was here to do some Greenpeace prostesting.


We also checked out the local Maritime Museum, which was only $2 Cdn to get in, good thing because it wasn’t much of a museum. A whole bunch of replicas of old steamships and a life boat from a very infamous collision between a passenger ship and a military ship, from waaaay back in the day. 

As we were repeatedly accosted by salesmen trying to get us to take a harbour cruise, we decided to do take one to finish up our afternoon. It was fun, like any harbour cruise in any other city. A small bar where you could buy alcohol and soft drinks and a guide who gave you a spiel of what you were seeing. There were also 10 or 12 local girls (I’m pretty sure, they had the right accent) all about 18-19, dressed to the nines, taking selfies. It was like an episode of the Kardashians. They wore the same type of clothes, the same style of make-up and they must have taken three or four hundred pictures of each other...I do not exaggerate. We were more amused watching them than watching the scenery. But here is a little scenery anyhow.

A sea creature.

Seals hanging out on a buoy.

And 

View of the harbour as we left.

AAfter that we took a taxi back to the hotel, tidied up and went for dinner. The restaurant was a few blocks from the hotel, so we just walked as a group. You’re not supposed to be out at dark, but we gathered up 12 people, and headed out. We figured at least one would be able to run for help in case of an attack. 😉. 

The meal was excellent, I had a parpadelle pasta with mushrooms, sage and truffles in a white cream sauce. Actually, to be honest, the pasta was a bit sticky, but the flavour was good. And i had a glass of South African white wine....it was dark outside so I felt confident that I was ok to drink. Semi-joking, because I am a serious light-weight when it comes to alcohol. One glass is pretty much all I can do before getting sleepy.

Anyhow, this post is getting to the point where I think I had better publish it before it vanishes.

See you tomorrow!