On Sunday, Michael and I started the morning with a lovely church service at a Methodist church that we found near our hotel. Although it was different, it always strikes us how we can go to a random church in a new country and still feel familiar and among family. What a blessing!

Happy Sunday!

After church we headed up to Table Mountain, another major Cape Town landmark. Apparently it is possible to hike Table Mountain, but we chose the more popular route of taking the cable cars to the top. It was quick, easy and we were lucky to have PERFECT, clear weather giving us great views of the city.

Heading up!

Wearing my fun new necklace that I had purchased at the market the day prior.

Beautiful!

Taking in the views!

Living on the edge.

Perfect day!

Fun!

After grabbing a quick lunch at the top of the mountain, we drove over to Signal Hill to go PARAGLIDING! When you’re in a city this beautiful, you want to do everything you can to see it all. Our hotel room actually had a gorgeous view of the hill and we had seen people paragliding and we thought it could be a fun way to see the city and try something new. And since the weather was just so perfect on Sunday, we decided to go for it. When we got there we had to fill out a little paperwork and sign our lives away, then we got suited up.

Getting all suited up by my guide, Constantine!

We each went up with a guide so it was VERY easy – all we had to do was sit back and relax. Michael actually flew with our camera so he was able to take some shots of me flying and of his view.

About to take off.

Just after take-off.

Table Mountain in the background.

Flying high!

Hello Lion’s Head!

Michael lost a shoe during take-off (but he easily got it back when we were finished).

GoPro pic with Constantine!

Over the city.

Heading to the water.

When we were over the water, our guides took us on “the roller coaster” where we spun down super fast. It was definitely a rush but soon we evened out and landed in the pretty, grassy field in the photo. Overall I think I was in the air about 20 minutes and I have to say that paragliding was super awesome. It was such a fun way to see the city and was very easy, smooth and not scary at all. I think it’s another MUST!!! Actually, truth be told we had been planning on doing a helicopter tour and I’m SO glad that we opted to paraglide it instead. Way cooler and made more sense for this city/environment I think.

That evening it was beautiful out so we decided to walk to dinner. The walk was about a mile and a half, mostly along the water, and gorgeous. There were lots of families, kids, people exercising, food trucks… such a fun city! People have often compared it to Rio which I do understand in terms of the beautiful landscape and dramatic geography, but it reminded Michael and I of San Francisco even more. Coming from Brazil it felt much cleaner, better laid out, easier to navigate and generally more beautiful – even than Rio, simply because the city itself is so well-kept.

Back at that field on our walk to dinner.

Walking places always helps me to get to know a city better.

Michael and I wanted to do sushi that night and originally we had planned on going to another spot for dinner, but our hotel really recommended that we do Koi at sunset so they made us a 6pm reservation and I have to say, it was PERFECT.

Sunset dinner over the water at Koi.

We watched the most gorgeous sunset over the water and had the most incredible, special 4 hour dinner. It was just one of those days and nights that you don’t want to end.

Other posts in this series: Day 1, Day 2.

On Saturday morning, we headed out to the market at The Old Biscuit Mill. The website describes the Mill as a vibrant, warm-hearted little village where talented people come together to share, collaborate and show off their heart-felt passion. The Mill is home to day and night markets, dynamic office space, a range of workshops and designer stores, delicious farm stalls, decadent restaurants as well as an inspiring line-up of festivals and productions.

All that’s to say, the market was AMAZING. Out hotel had warned us to eat a light breakfast that morning because the food there is plentiful and awesome. The shops were so cool – tons of gorgeous textiles, wood, leather, clothing, toys… everything! There was a band playing live music. It was so fun and is an absolute MUST DO. If you’re thinking of coming to Cape Town, you HAVE to be sure to be there on a Saturday for the market. Michael and I stayed for hours and although my pictures don’t do it justice, here is a little glimpse of it.

Fun furniture and design.

Toys and textiles.

Adorb outfits.

Flowers.

Food Market!

Amazingness all around!

Noodles and dim sum.

Pizzas.

Paella.

Rooibos Ice Tea.

Argentine steak and empanadas.

Oysters.

Sandwiches and wraps.

Chocolate.

Mushrooms and truffle oil.

Cheese.

Chilli poppers.

So FUN!

After an amazing few hours of shopping, eating and drinking, we headed off to hike Lion’s Head. Lion’s Head is a major landmark in Cape Town and is a very popular hike but we were lucky to have gone on a foggy day which, I guess is why we didn’t see many other hikers out. Additionally, since we didn’t exactly know where we were going, we ended up taking a different trail up the mountain which is a little longer and harder than the most common trail so we actually didn’t see anyone until we were near the top (when our trail merged with the other). It was fun to hike in the fog because at points you could hardly see more than a few feet in front of you, but then the fog would break and you would get incredible views of the city. Plus, the weather was a little cooler and perfect for the hike. At any rate, the hike is not hard, provides gorgeous views of the city and is another MUST DO!

At the start of the Lion’s Head hiking trail.

Beautiful day.

Beautiful views.

Beautiful city.

Fogged in on the trail.

Loving it.

Lions head.

Stopping for a photo as the fog broke.

Cape Town.

Supporting the SF Giants and the Clemson Tigers on the hike.

Such a great hike!

Michael doing the chains.

Fun fog.

Almost to the top.

The views were the best!

That evening we explored and walked around the famous Waterfront area and had a great dinner at Sevruga.

Ostrich and Kingklip & langoustine – yum!

Other posts in this series: Day 1.

Directly following our wedding, Michael and I honeymooned in Napa where we instantly fell in love with wine country and everything that comes with it. While living in San Francisco, we went back as often as we could, and somewhere along the way we decided that seeing wine country across the world would be a pretty nice way to see places. Early on, South African wine country was high on our list, so when we moved to Brazil, we decided we had to do it since São Paulo is obviously much closer.

Taking a big trip like this when you have a little one running around can be difficult, but thankfully we have amazing families — both of whom volunteered to watch Colt for us so we could get away. Up until that point I had never been away from him for more than a few hours and never overnight, but as I described in my last post, my mom ended up watching him and having her here made it so much easier to be away. I was honestly so excited for both of them to get that special time with each other that I was much less concerned about me missing the time with Colt. Plus, my mom is just so awesome that I knew everything would be great. Saying goodbye was a little tough but I didn’t even shed a tear!

Saying goodbye! No tears!

When we got to the airport Michael and I kept asking each other if we had everything because when you travel without a baby you have SO much less stuff!

Yay for leg room and lay-flat beds!

Cheers! We are on off!

We flew from São Paulo to Johannesburg to Cape Town. Upon arriving in Cape Town on Friday afternoon, the first thing we did was rent a car. Normally this is no big deal, but in South Africa they drive on the other side of the car, on the other side of the street! AND we rented a stick shift which is fine because Michael can drive them, but he has really only done it a handful of times – always when we rent cars on trips. Anyway, it was just SO BIZARRE to have the stick on the left hand side, to have the blinker and the wipers switched, to take wide right turns and tight left turns… We never really got used to it but Michael was awesome and chauffeured us all over with no problem.

In Cape Town we stayed at a little boutique hotel, The Blackheath Lodge. We would totally recommend the place: great and unique hotel/rooms, awesome personal service – the staff provided lots of good recommendations for us and constantly booked things for us – and we adored the neighborhood – it was close to everything and accessible but still a little less touristy than staying right on the waterfront or something.

Blackheath Lodge front lobby.

Room.

More of the hotel.

Yummy breakfast set-up!

Eating breakfast, overlooking the pool area.

Cute little pool.

After getting to the hotel, we unpacked rested, then got cleaned up and ready for dinner. We had reservations that night for dinner at The Test Kitchen (rated the best restaurant in Africa!) and the hotel staff recommended that we stop first for a drink at The Potluck Club just next door. If you are going to Cape Town this is a MUST-DO combo, (and if you can’t get a reservation at the Test Kitchen, definitely go for dinner at the Potluck Club). The Potluck Club was in a really cool venue, had great vibe and big windows overlooking the city lights.

Beers at the Potluck Club!

After a quick drink, we headed over to the Test Kitchen. As I said, it’s rated as the best restaurant in Africa, top 50 in the world. And it was AMAZING. I cannot say enough about how tasty and fun and cool the whole experience was. We were there from about 7-11 and had a BLAST. Both Michael and I did the full 9 course tasting menu with wine pairings which was a total no-brainer. The food is obviously delicious, beautiful and interesting. The atmosphere is laid back and fun. The service was awesome. It was SUCH a fun welcome to South Africa.

The masters at work.

Happy customers at The Test Kitchen!