It was very tempting to not leave the apartment at all today!
We had a big sleep in, 6.30am was when we woke up but we remained in bed reading till 9ish. Tom then got up & went to the grocery store while I was showering.
It's a weird thing to try & explain how excited we were to buy groceries & cook our own meals.
Tom cooked a really nice breakfast while I continued blogging!
We then did some washing & organised our plans for the next few days.
At midday we decided to go for a walk & check out the local suburbs. The streets of Kloof & Long are known for their eateries & shops. I was on a hunt for woven baskets, I have a real infatuation with them, as well as the other gorgeous art, craft & homewares that is produced in Africa.
Tom will have to keep a tight leash on me or we will take half of Africa home with us.
We spend a few hours walking mostly down Long street keeping an eye on our pockets. In our readings, Long street is mentioned a few times as a common place where people are assaulted or robbed. We duck in & out of shops & market areas.
We stop in one place for a beer & receive some pretty rude service.
Tom buys an ostrich leather wallet, very similar to one that he has at home which was a gift from his grandfather. I find some telephone wire woven baskets in black & white with slightly different designs & very different sizes. I think they will contrast very well with the natural fibre ones I already have & help create the display I want to mount on a wall.
After buying the baskets, We're feeling a bit depressed, angry at the system & the injustices of life . Perhaps it's cause it's the weekend, but a lot of homeless people are out walking the streets. They seem harmless enough & our pockets are safe, but we are approached repeatedly. No joke about 20 times we are asked to give money & are given really sad stories. It's like India all over again only it feels worse.
We've read about the homeless crisis in Cape Town & the unemployment rates. Unfortunately there is also a big problem with drugs.
Everything we have read says don't give them money cause you are influencing & progressing the problem instead of helping.
We've read about a lot of local businesses and charities that help them & any money we give out freely, undermines their work. Nona Lisa is one of those restaurants & gives 5% of your bill to a homeless charity.
All the reasons make sense, of course. It's just hard to look them in the face & continually say no.
We can't wait to retreat to our accommodation, which is a horrible thought. They are people & shouldn't feel isolated. It's a really helpless situation.
Once we get back to our accommodation, we watch some TV before retreating outside to the balcony to watch the sunlight & the cloud cover dance along table mountain.
Tom brings out a bottle of Chenin Blanc, a complimentary bottle that came with the booking & some cheese. It's really good & I ask what it's called, Tom replies gouda.
My following question to Tom "Is Gouda in Australia" causes him to laugh a lot.
I have a feeling he won't let me forget this one.
At 7pm we walk back to Ashanti for 1 more beer & to say goodbye to Jill & Julian.
We've met some incredible people on our worldly adventures so far & these guys are among the best of them. We sincerely hope one day to have them come stay in our house so we can show them Australia & see them again. Who knows, we may also see them in Germany!
It's sad to give them the last hug & watch the taxi drive away.
We walk back to our hotel & feel the finality of the end of the Africa tour.
It's definitely left a parting impression & there's things we will always remember.
We've even found ourselves adopting other people's slang.
For example Noria's use of her middle finger when she dislikes something, accompanied with the word "finger", normally shouted a few decibels higher than her normal talking voice & accompanied with her cheeky Spanish accent.
We've been saying it a lot & laughing every time!
What an amazing trip & amazing bunch of people.
- Alli
We had a big sleep in, 6.30am was when we woke up but we remained in bed reading till 9ish. Tom then got up & went to the grocery store while I was showering.
It's a weird thing to try & explain how excited we were to buy groceries & cook our own meals.
Tom cooked a really nice breakfast while I continued blogging!
We then did some washing & organised our plans for the next few days.
At midday we decided to go for a walk & check out the local suburbs. The streets of Kloof & Long are known for their eateries & shops. I was on a hunt for woven baskets, I have a real infatuation with them, as well as the other gorgeous art, craft & homewares that is produced in Africa.
Tom will have to keep a tight leash on me or we will take half of Africa home with us.
We spend a few hours walking mostly down Long street keeping an eye on our pockets. In our readings, Long street is mentioned a few times as a common place where people are assaulted or robbed. We duck in & out of shops & market areas.
We stop in one place for a beer & receive some pretty rude service.
Tom buys an ostrich leather wallet, very similar to one that he has at home which was a gift from his grandfather. I find some telephone wire woven baskets in black & white with slightly different designs & very different sizes. I think they will contrast very well with the natural fibre ones I already have & help create the display I want to mount on a wall.
After buying the baskets, We're feeling a bit depressed, angry at the system & the injustices of life . Perhaps it's cause it's the weekend, but a lot of homeless people are out walking the streets. They seem harmless enough & our pockets are safe, but we are approached repeatedly. No joke about 20 times we are asked to give money & are given really sad stories. It's like India all over again only it feels worse.
We've read about the homeless crisis in Cape Town & the unemployment rates. Unfortunately there is also a big problem with drugs.
Everything we have read says don't give them money cause you are influencing & progressing the problem instead of helping.
We've read about a lot of local businesses and charities that help them & any money we give out freely, undermines their work. Nona Lisa is one of those restaurants & gives 5% of your bill to a homeless charity.
All the reasons make sense, of course. It's just hard to look them in the face & continually say no.
We can't wait to retreat to our accommodation, which is a horrible thought. They are people & shouldn't feel isolated. It's a really helpless situation.
Once we get back to our accommodation, we watch some TV before retreating outside to the balcony to watch the sunlight & the cloud cover dance along table mountain.
Tom brings out a bottle of Chenin Blanc, a complimentary bottle that came with the booking & some cheese. It's really good & I ask what it's called, Tom replies gouda.
My following question to Tom "Is Gouda in Australia" causes him to laugh a lot.
I have a feeling he won't let me forget this one.
At 7pm we walk back to Ashanti for 1 more beer & to say goodbye to Jill & Julian.
We've met some incredible people on our worldly adventures so far & these guys are among the best of them. We sincerely hope one day to have them come stay in our house so we can show them Australia & see them again. Who knows, we may also see them in Germany!
It's sad to give them the last hug & watch the taxi drive away.
We walk back to our hotel & feel the finality of the end of the Africa tour.
It's definitely left a parting impression & there's things we will always remember.
We've even found ourselves adopting other people's slang.
For example Noria's use of her middle finger when she dislikes something, accompanied with the word "finger", normally shouted a few decibels higher than her normal talking voice & accompanied with her cheeky Spanish accent.
We've been saying it a lot & laughing every time!
What an amazing trip & amazing bunch of people.
- Alli
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