Fun Times in Cape Town: Festivals, Weddings, Cricket and New Friends!

When all is said and done, Timmy and I spent about a month in Cape Town. Our time seemed to go go by so fast! Due to his work schedule and a cold that made me man-down for about a week, I feel I did very little exploring. But that's okay as there is always more time! Much of the time we had was spent with Timmy's incredible group of friends. They all welcomed me into their circle immediately with open arms and hearts and I feel so blessed to have met each and every one. They really make Cape Town feel like my home away from home. Here are some highlights of our fun times!

Wolfkop Weekender for Amy and Tal's Bachelors 

We got back from Europe and went straight to a music festival for Timmy's friends - Amy and Tal's - bachelorette/bachelors party. 

Wolfkop Weekender is an intimate gathering (500 max attendees) and music event; a best-kept secret, hidden deep within the Citrusdal Valley (2 hours outside of Cape Town). Taking place twice a year, the summer Lilo River Flow festival, makes for perfect days on the river.  Everyone brings lilos (flotation devices) and create a sort of floating super-highway. From the river you can see the stage and listen to music day and night. Camping is down stream from the festival site. We finally went camping!! Just with hot water showers, flushing toilets and food trucks. Okay so it's not really camping but I still slept outside in a tent so that has to count for something, right?!

The group set up a girls camp and guys camp with about 12 people in each. I had an official space in a 6 person tent with Liv (from Paris), Amy (the bride) and her 2 sisters Bailey (Timmy's best friend Mose's girlfriend) and Kelly. I ended up sleeping in Timmy and Andre's tent both nights - all three of us cuddled up in a 2 person tent, so cozy! For the most part we all hung out as a group, but as it was a bachelors weekend, we did separate activities for the bride and groom-to-be. The girls went off and had a picnic where we showered Amy with underwear and shared stories about her and Tal. Having only met these girls a few hours before, you would think that it would be awkward, but it wasn't! The minute I arrived they all gave me a huge hug and stole me away from Timmy to hang with them. It was so sweet and made the weekend so fun and comfortable. 

Mumford & Sons 

The party continued the following Friday at the Mumford & Sons concert. The concert was at the Grand Parade - the main public square in Cape Town surrounded by the Cape Town City Hall, the Castle of Good Hope, and the Cape Town railway. As it was down the block from Timmy's apartment I decided we should host everyone at our place before the show. While Timmy worked on the edit of his video, I went out and shopped for cheese and crackers, veggies and dips and a nice selection of booze. All one needs for a good pre-party. The concert was amazing and had such a great vibe. Despite all claiming the need to have an early night, we all went back to the apartment for one (or more) night cap. The partying never seems to end here! 

Amy and Tal's wedding

The next weekend was the big event everyone had been waiting for - Amy and Tal's wedding! The wedding was located on a farm outside of Riebeek Kasteel - 87km/54 miles (about an hour) from Cape Town. The venue was all inclusive with cottages or dorms for every guest. Once we arrived we were set for the weekend. Friday night started with a big bring and braai pot luck to kick off the wedding festivities. We recovered the following day with swimming in the beautiful dam and relaxing in the shade (it was a scorcher!). The wedding ceremony was very causal and so sweet and personal. There was not a dry eye in the house! The incredible dinner that followed took place under a beautiful vine-covered gazebo.  There was one long table for all the guests that was beautifully decorated by Amy's friends. In South Africa, a good friend or family member is in charge of being the host of the night, introducing the couple and all the speakers. Mose (Amy's now brother-in-law) was the MC for the night and did a killer job! We later danced the night away under the stars until the sun came up (we went to bed at 7AM!!!). It was quite the jol (South African slang word for party)! I was so happy to be there celebrating an incredible day with this special couple. Even though I had only known these people for 2 weeks I felt as if I had been part of the group much longer.

The Cricket

One of our last weekends in town, we went to a T-20 cricket match with a big group of friends. I was told that I was very lucky with such an exciting ending. South Africa (the Proteas) beat England on the last ball of the night. Thanks to Bailey I think I somewhat understand the game, but mainly I enjoyed chatting with friends and drinking $1 beers. which is clearly the point of most sporting events.  

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And now #TVontheroad is off again! Next stops: New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan and the States. Stay tuned! 

Winter Holiday in Europe

As mentioned in my previous blog entry, Timmy was shooting a video for a memory card company KLEVV. Originally he wanted to shoot scenes from all of our travels, but as they needed the video by February, Cuba was the only country (in addition to scenes shot in California and South Africa) that would make the video. To add more variety in location, as well as additional cool shots, Timmy decided we should go to Europe to capture a Paris and a skiing scene. Clearly I wasn't about say no to a trip to Europe! 

Jan 13-16: Paris

Paris was broken into two segments. The first two days Timmy and I had a romantic Parisian holiday.We stayed in the most adorable boutique hotel called Hotel Le Lapin Blanc in the Saint Germain area. Having both been to Paris a few times before, we didn't feel obligated to do much. Rather we spent most of our days walking around the city in search of the best croque madame, pan au chocolat, French onion soup (which they simply call onion soup ha!), beef bourguignon, etc... Timmy also shot various time lapse shots of me walking around the streets of Paris; he is making a video of all our travels which I will share at a later point.

Over the weekend Timmy's school friend Liv and her boyfriend Dan met us for the shoot days. When they joined we moved to an Airbnb in the Montmartre area. I had never been to this part of Paris before so it was cool to check it out! We were centrally located right below the Sacre Coeur cathedral, cute little cafes, amazing restaurants and bars as well as walking distance to the Moulin Rouge and Boulevard de Clichy. I had heard so much about Liv so I was very excited to put a face to the name. She and Dan were a blast and added so much to our Paris trip! For two days we shot all day and then had incredible dinners and drinks at night. The Paris scenes were all done in time lapse format. Timmy would follow Liv and Dan around the main sights of Paris with his camera and I basically followed the three of them carrying the purses, bags, coats, etc. It was fun to see Timmy at work but I only wish it wasn't so cooooooold!!! 

Jan 17-18: Switzerland: Engelberg and Luzern

After Paris we flew to Switzerland (a new country for the list!). My friends Alex and Stacy have been many times as it is their favorite country. I can see why! Just the short drive we did from Zurich to Luzern and Engelberg covering gorgeous mountain passes. I am sure this place is quite beautiful in the spring or summer, but in January it honestly is a winter wonderland.

Our first stop was Engelberg where we met up with Martin, Timmy's friend Jenna's husband. Having grown up skiing he was the perfect person for the shoot. We stayed at the Berghotel Trübsee ski resort which is literally high on the slopes of Mount Titlis. We were there for two days, the first of which Timmy was shooting. As I was exhausted from all the traveling and late nights in Paris, I decided to be a ski bunny and lounge around the lodge while Timmy and Martin hit the snowy day in search of the perfect shots. The next day I would brave the slopes! 

I have been snowboarding a couple of times in the past but never skiing. Given that I am not a pro at the former (the last time I went was 10 years ago) I decided I'd give skiing a try. It was the perfect conditions for my first day. It had snowed the day before so there was a lot of fresh powder, but on this day it was beautiful and sunny. It was only -5°C (23°F) instead of the -20°C (-4°F) the day prior. And I thought I was cold in Paris! I hired a ski instructor for the first few hours of the day who showed me the basics on the bunny slopes. Timmy and I then went to slightly higher runs (still green) and spent a few hours going down them. By the end of our day I had gotten a hang of this skiing thing! Or so I thought... 

After we were done skiing we went up to the top of Mount Titlis which is 3,028 meters (9,934 feet) high. After walking around a bit, we grabbed a snack and a beer - you have to après-ski! 

We then headed to Luzern where we were having dinner with Jenna and Martin. Prior to going on our trip, Ginger had mentioned that we must try raclette. She briefly described it to me, explaining that there is a hot stone with which you melt cheese. Obviously I was sold, so I was really excited when Jenna had prepared raclette at their house. My expectations were far surpassed, honestly I think I died and went to cheese heaven eating this amazing food! As Ginger said it's basically melted cheese (though it's a special kind) that you pour over (a special kind of) potatoes and other veggies. Sounds simple but it is absolutely incredible!!!!

Jan 19-20: Chamonix

As amazing as Switzerland was, it is a very expensive country! So Timmy and I decided to head over to Chamonix, so I could discover a new place and we could ski for much cheaper. So... remember when I said I got the hang of skiing. HA! My experience in Chamonix was far from my perfect day in Engelberg. The first issue was that the slopes were much busier. In Engelberg I basically had the run to myself, here there were so many people whooshing past me. Timmy kept insisting that I did not need to worry about anyone behind me as it was their responsibility to get around me, but every time I heard someone approach I would freak out. The second issue was that the conditions of the slopes were not as great. There was no fresh snow so the slopes were somewhat icy or slushy. The last was that the beginning of the run was steeper than the ones I had mastered in Engelberg. So despite it not being that much harder as a whole, I had mental block telling me I could not do this. 

Timmy was so patient waiting with me as I had a few freak outs and mini internal-tantrums. I felt so bad holding him back as he too is somewhat of a beginner and wanted the practice. But he was too chivalrous to leave me alone. So basically after crying the whole way down the first run, I realized I could do it and managed to make it down a few more times before lunch. After lunch I was ready to do a couple more and call it a day. Timmy and I decided to try another run that looked similar to the one we had been on (from above). Well the fog had come in, and again I was freaked out by the unknown, so again I cried the whole way down. So yeah, still need to get the hang of skiing. I am determined to keep trying as I did very much enjoy it... when I wasn't crying. Luckily I bought a full set of ski clothes so I clearly have to take advantage of them and go again. 

Despite my mishaps on the slopes, I am so glad we came to Chamonix! Chamonix is one of the oldest ski resorts in France.  It was such a cute little town, walking around I felt as if i was on a movie set (Chalet Girl anyone?).  The streets were filled with ski shops, restaurants and little bakeries.  On our last night Timmy and I had a fabulous dinner of fondue and wine before grabbing a well deserved night cap at a local bar. A fabulous way to end a fabulous holiday!!

But it wasn't overly quite yet...We woke up early the next morning to go up to L'Aigulle du Midi at the top of Mont Blanc, the highest European mountain reaching 3,842 meters (12,605 feet) high. It was stunning, and yet the coldest I think I have ever been in my life. And you are talking to someone who has gone swimming in Antartica! After taking a few quick shots I was ready to go down. But this time it was me who played the good sport and waited in the cold for Timmy to capture some footage. What a team we make! 

While I had an incredible time in Europe I was ready to head back to summer in South Africa! :)

A South African Road Trip: Two Days at a Time

When I arrived to South Africa I flew into Durban as Timmy's friends were getting married three hours away. After the wedding Timmy and I did a road trip back down to Cape Town. Here is our route and some of the highlights! I have to give props to poor Timmy who had to drive the whole trip as I do not drive stick shift (nor have experience driving on the left side of the road). But if I do say so myself, I think I was an excellent co-pilot and did not fall asleep the entire trip (except the day we went to Durban, but I blame jet-lag for that).

12/31 & 1/1 - Underberg for Andrew & Claire's wedding 

I landed the morning of New Year's Eve at 10:30 AM. As mentioned Timmy's friends Andrew and Claire were getting married...did I mention that they were getting married that night?! So basically I came off a 30 hour flight, drove three hours, showered as fast as possible and went straight to a wedding! Talk about exhaustion! But it was a great way to get straight into it and avoid the jet-lag. The wedding (my 9th of 2015) was absolutely beautiful.

The wedding ceremony was in a really beautiful old Catholic chapel. The reception was in a big tent (marquee) on Andrew's family holiday farm just outside of Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal. The wedding was a sort of camping/scouts theme, done all DIY in a gorgeous way. Andrew and Claire are both architects by trade and built and designed the dance floor as well as all of the furniture and decor. The highlights of the night were Claire's sisters rapping/singing their toast to Justin Bieber's "Baby" (Cause now they are "Clandrew, Clandrew, Clandrew ohhh...."), the amazing dance party and the fireworks!!!! You know how I feel about fireworks. I only made it until about 1 am (yes I said only, weddings here last way longer than the the States) before I hit a massive wall and needed to go to bed. But until then I was dancing up a storm. This is where I got my nickname Party Vandi (thanks Andre!). 

All of the wedding guests stayed in small cottages adjacent to the farm. Timmy and I shared a small one with his best friends Andre and Mose (oh and I can't forget Andre's dog #OlivetheMountainGoat). After the wedding we stayed an additional day and threw a big New Year's Day braai (South African BBQ). 

South Africa is currently in the middle of a big drought. As luck would have it, it rained both the night of the wedding and the next day. I say luck somewhat seriously and also sarcastically because who wants rain on their wedding day? (I mean it is supposed to be good luck?!) But it was actually perfect. It was very warm and sunny during the ceremony and cocktail hour, and then began to rain as everyone entered the tent. The only issue was that the tent wasn't properly put up so when it started raining hard (during the speeches) the roof started to dip a bit. One of the groomsmen remedied this by walking around with a pole and slopping the water off the roof.

BUT the rain the next day was INTENSE! At one point during our braai it began to rain so hard (200ml in one hour) that we all had to go inside. It was so fun watching the mountains across our cottage turn into a massive flash flood. Their next day Claire and Andrew went to check out the tent and discovered that the rain had completely broken off the legs and punctured a hole into the roof. Additionally there were many large pockets of water in the roof. Had it rained that hard the night before we could have been killed! Obviously the gods were shining down on them and #DrewandDuswedding went off without a hitch!

1/2 & 1/3 - Durban with Gail & Dermot
After the wedding we did an incredible drive through the Underberg pass and then a quick 3 hour trip to Durban. For those who have been following along since 2011, you may remember my two South African friends Chloe and Gail, whom Laura and I met while traveling through Central America (#AwesomeFoursome). Well they are both from Durban. Chloe is currently in Sydney, but Gail and her husband Dermot live in Durban. Since we were in the neighborhood we had to go for a visit. And what a lovely visit we had! The main highlight was having a braai at their place, drinking umpteen bottles of wine and catching up. So fun having friends all over the world!

1/4 & 1/5 - Hogsback 

The next day we hit the road again for an 8 hour drive to Hogsback which is a small town in the mountains of the Eastern Cape Province. Timmy hadn't been here since he was a young child, but was excited to show me this place that he remembered as magical. And that it was. One of the best ways to experience the beauty is on foot. The area is full of forests with gorgeous waterfalls and there are so many hikes one could take. As Timmy and I really only had one full day, we did one hike and then had lunch at an adorable outdoors restaurant called Butterfly's Bistro. After lunch we grabbed a bottle of wine and watched the sunset in the gardens of a beautiful hotel called The Edge. If we ever return to Hogsback I 100% want to stay at this hotel. There are some little cottages that stand on the cliffs (hence the name The Edge) that appear to be the end of the world.

1/6 & 1/7 - Pumba Private Game Reserve

We were originally meant to go camping on our road trip. Timmy loves camping and was so excited to show me just how great of an experience camping can be! While I am sure it would have been amazing, for those who know me and my lack of camping experience, I am sure you can imagine how nervous I was for this portion of the road trip. Well I never got to see as the camping was called off as soon as Timmy got a job filming a video for a memory card company KLEVV. In this video (which I will post as soon as it has been published) Timmy shot various scenes throughout the world with people doing awesome activities. Well what is more awesome than a Safari Game Drive? Nothing! So we nixed the camping and instead went to Pumba Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape.

We stayed at the Pumba Msenge bush lodge which was absolutely INCREDIBLE! Our room was made of all windows and had a balcony with a pool that literally sat on the bush. On our last day as we were eating breakfast on the patio, the area was full of giraffes, baboons, warthogs and impalas all grazing nearby. It was quite magical! In addition to our lodge, the game drives were a major highlight. We saw all of the Big 5 (elephants, lions, rhinos, buffalos and leopards) as well as many other animals (giraffes, hippos, nyalas, impalas, monkeys, etc.). 

A hilarious highlight from the trip was that we got a flat tire on the first two (of our four) drives! The first time was right after we saw a leopard... We ran over a branch (or something in the road) right next to an open space and had to get out of the vehicle. As soon as we were out, the leopard reappeared and was standing literally 50 meters (150 feet) from our vehicle. It was an incredible experience, albeit kind of scary to be so close to such a wild animal. One of the rangers from another vehicle tuned our driver for letting us get out of the vehicle and in Afrikaans asked a third vehicle to get in between our car and the leopard ASAP. (Note tune is a very common South African word used for giving someone grief or mocking someone... I may use it often as I am starting to speak with South African slang).

The second time our car got a flat tire was during a rain storm. Again we had to get out of the vehicle, which was not so fun in the rain. But again, we experienced an incredible sighting during this mishap - a group of about 20 elephants bathing in a river less than 10 meters (30 feet) away from us. We sat there for about 30 minutes watching the elephants play. It was so cool that in then end we didn't mind at all that we were sitting in the rain. After two flat tires in a row I could tell that our guide Justin was a little embarrassed. But the rest of the trip went off without a hitch and he provided an amazing experience showing us all the animals and telling us hilarious stories about his years of working in game reserves.

1/8 & 1/9 - Driving The Garden Route to Betty's Bay and Timmy's family 

The next leg was another long drive of 8 hours. Luckily this drive took us through one of the prettiest drives in South Africa. The Garden Route stretches along the coast from the Tsitsikamma National Park in the Eastern Cape, down to Mossel Bay in the Western Cape. It includes beautiful towns such as Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and Nature's Valley. People typically take a few days to explore this beautiful region, with its lush forests, beaches and lagoons. As our goal was to get down to Timmy's parent's house the same day, we didn't really have this luxury.

Luckily Timmy and I came back about a month later to visit his bother Topher, sister-in-law Clara and their son Sunji who live in Plettenberg Bay. There we spent our days hiking through waterfalls down to the beaches in Kranshoek and exploring the lagoons of Nature's Valley. This was a great trip, both because we were in such beautiful surroundings and because it was so great spending quality time getting to know Timmy's brother and family. They are very spiritual people who are very in tune with nature and their bodies. We ate vegan food the whole time we were there and spent the our time just talking and enjoying each other's company. 

I digress...We finally arrived to Betty's Bay, a beautiful beach town 1.5 hours away from Cape Town where Timmy's family has had a holiday home for over 30 years. The house is so beautiful.  Perched on a hill, the backyard overlooks beautiful mountains while the front of the house overlooks the ocean! Last April Timmy's parents, Christine and Gerry, both retired and moved down from their home in Johannesburg. While in the process of building a gorgeous house in nearby Hermanus, they are staying at the holiday house. In addition to this first road trip, Timmy and I have gone to Betty's two other times.

His parents are absolutely wonderful and it's been so great getting to know them. It came as no surprise that they would be, as they raised such incredible sons. We have shared so many delicious meals and wonderful conversations about South Africa, the States, literature, politics, family, etc...

It's funny, Timmy and his dad share the same humor (i.e. witty sarcasm) which Timmy's mom often does not understand (just like me!). I feel so blessed to have been welcomed by Timmy's family in such an easy and natural way!

1/10 & 1/11 - Cape Town at last!

After going non-stop we finally were home in Cape Town!! Well, kind of... We only had one full day before we took off for Europe (see next entry). So after our long road trip we spent a night eating pizza, watching a movie on the couch and the next day running errands around town. 

Check back in a bit for my adventures in Cape Town!