Cape Tizz for Rizz

Jdave and Mrob's Time Alone:

Jill and I arrived in Cape Town at the butt ass buttbutt of dawn on Thursday. We stayed at a hostel called the Cat and Moose, which was on Long Street. Honestly, I had really mixed feelings about CT when we arrived. It felt sketchy and deserted and kind of creepy. But, I was also exhausted and willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. We mostly just wandered around that day. We did quite a bit of shopping, went to a museum and saw the gardens. We also ate at this delightful little cafe where I had a phenomenal butternut quiche. Awwwesome.

On Friday, we decided to set sail for Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held, among other things. We had planned to rent bikes and do a self guided tour so we were pretty excited. I knew things were going to be alright when we got to the ferry, headed out to sea and promptly saw a seal playing in the waves. Oh wait, no, the seal was dead and its bloated carcass was floating in the ocean warning us not to continue. Anyway, we get to the island and discover that 1. we can't rent bikes and 2. we have to get on a tour bus with a bunch of dipshits. You know, as much as I like to think I'm a woman of the people, I freaking HATE having to interact with the people. So, the tour gets started and it's kind of interesting. The island used to be a leper colony and we also saw some WWII stuff that was interesting. Then, we get to the prison and are guided by a former inmate. That was actually very cool. I felt bad, though, because people asked some seriously dumb questions. For example, one guy raised his hand at the end and was like, "Were you a prisoner here?" The guide was obviously annoyed and responded, "I have been saying that since we started. What were you thinking?" We also got to see Nelson Mandela's prison cell. Honestly, if I can't do things like that on my own time at my own pace, I just get frustrated. On the plus side, I no longer get crazy seasick, so that's neat.

That night, we ate dinner at a really cool place, Cape to Cuba, which Carlos had recommended to us. It did not disappoint. The food was great, the atmosphere was cool and a dude dressed as a nun was floating about.


The Gang's All Here

After dinner, James and Hannah came and picked us up for our move out to Camps Bay. The house was truly amazing. The view was phenomenal. I may have to retire by the ocean, I think.

The four of us then headed out for a drink and to wait for the rest of the crew to arrive. Johnny met up with us and we carried on to a different bar, Dizzy's, where we discovered some live music. This dude was jamming out some serious hits. It was a great night.

The next day was our winery tour day. Hannah and James had organized a driver to take us around the various wineries in the area. I can't even tell you how fun this day was. Here are a few highlights:

-Raymond (the driver) was a wealth of knowledge and all around laid back guy. Very interesting, very informative and very patient.

-Roderick. Roderick was working at one of the wineries and had a really dry sense of humor. He comes into play later in the weekend, though, so more on him to come.

-Johnny easily creates more catch phrases than anyone I have ever met in my entire life. His dedication to repeating a joke is unparalleled (and I mean this in the best possible way) and I feel like he is completely unique in his ability to enjoy a phrase like it's new. Every time he says something, he fully commits himself to the phrase. It never gets old. I can't even tell you how many times we heard, "Grow up," or, "I was [whatever he was doing] HARD." And it was hilarious each and every time. Jill and I actually have adopted a number of these Johnnyisms, so I'll be bringing them back stateside with me.

-The wineries themselves were beautiful. Something about the light here makes everything look slightly unreal. Everything is crisp, focused and vibrant. Half the time I felt like I was looking at an artist's interpretation of what a winery should look like.

-And, I'd like to pour one out for HandJ's lens cap. I feel like this thing was the 6th passenger. Every 10 minutes James would say, "Do you have the lens cap? Where's the lens cap?" Sadly, the lens cap did not make it back.

I have so much more to say about this day, but I have so much more to get through.

Anyway, after the wineries, it was house party time. I've already mentioned how I'm a total dumbass and sprained my ankle, so I'll just move right onto Sunday. We got up early-ish to go see the penguins. It was so cool! There were just little penguins running around and doing their thing. Again, though, I have to sing Johnny's praises. He managed to rent a wheelchair for me and he wheeled me around the boardwalk and then down to the beach.

After the penguins, we headed to the Cape of Good Hope. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see as much of it as the rest of the crew, but it was still breathtaking. After the Cape, we went to Chapman's Point and had a little snack while watching the sunset.

The next day, we went up to Table Mountain. Phenomenally beautiful. We even saw a Kudurilla!

To tell you the truth, it's hard to encapsulate why Cape Town was so amazing. I feel like the 5 of us had an experience that is completely unique to us as a group and I'm not really willing to put it all into words. I came on this trip trying to figure out what my next steps in life are going to be and to sort through some of my own problems. I feel like this weekend has helped me decide what I want to be getting out of my life and what kind of people should be in it. So, thanks to the future Vespa Gang: The Clap, The Vice, Whiskers, and Bone. (I'm Nighthawk, FYI.)

Jdave and Mrob On Our Own Again

Sadly, HandJ and The Vice had to leave earlier than Jill and me. So, with our remaining time, Jill and I met back up with Roderick. I forgot to mention earlier that Roderick actually came to our house party, so it wasn't like Jill and I just decided to hang out with some complete stranger.

I lack the writing skills to describe why our night was so crazy, so here's a minimal recap:

Roderick took us to this club called Mercury to see some live bands playing. We ended up in the most bizarre goddamned social scenario of my life - and that is saying a lot. At first, the DJ started playing electronica. He slowly transitioned into Sum 41, System of a Down, AC/DC, Ram Jam and a whole slew of other weird stuff. The crowd was even weirder than the music. At one point, I left our little circle to go get some beers. That turned out to be a gigantic mistake. I had 3 different dudes touch my face, the first of which said, "You are so beautiful. I don't speak English," as he was sliding his thumb down from my ear to my mouth. NOT COOL.

Anyway, I kept thinking, "Wow, I totally misjudged Roderick if this is the kind of place he likes to hang out." As it turns out, he was just as creeped out as we were, so he dropped us off at our hostel and bid us adieu.

That, my friends, was Cape Town.