Hello, friends. Thanks to everyone at home for all the love and prayers and support that’s gotten me here… and extra bonus points for y’all who are taking the time to read my weekly thoughts….
Last week, I went with Suzanne to run an errand down to the Waterfront of Cape Town. I’d heard a lot about this touristy area and had seen some of it from the Red Bus Cityseeing tour we went on on my birthday weekend. On this errand, I got to see more of the Waterfront up close: the big harbor, the oceanside hotels, the fancy shops. I don’t know how old the buildings were or weren’t, but they all looked shiny and glamorous and new. Typical wealthy beach vacation area. From where I was standing, it looked very Western; it reminded me of Rehoboth, Delaware or the casino strip in Gulfport, Mississippi… but wait, this is Cape Town.
Suzanne and I stopped in at the Cape Grace, one of many hotels of its kind in the area, and walked into the lobby. It was gorgeous – beating out the glitzy Gulf Coast casino in its beauty and décor (American friends, please do not underestimate the glamour of the shiny new post-Katrina casinos). Also, while it was decorated with a mural of an old map of Cape Town, the décor also seemed Western to me, reminding of the homes my aunt would decorate in South Mississippi. Anyway, Suzanne stopped at the desk to take care of what she needed to take care of and I got a glimpse at the guestbook – the latest twenty-or-so visitors to leave their names and addresses. On the two visible pages, I saw a listing from Germany, one from France, a couple from the UK, and then a whole bunch from all over the United States. Not one person in that book was from South Africa.
You know that expression “how the other half lives?” Well, I know someone here who phrases it much more honestly; “how the other one-percent lives.”
Music: Darius Rucker - Charlestons, SC 1966 & Sugarland - The Incredible Machine
Currently reading: The Mind of South Africa by Allister Sparks
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I did some research into "The Mind of South Africa" and it sounds like it would be a very interesting book. Here in the US most of the coverage of the events detailed in that book was extremely superficial with very few, if any, details. As a result, most Americans, probably don't know a lot about the sequence of events leading to the end of Apartheid and the rebirth of the "new" South Africa.
ReplyDeleteNot that it's particularly relevant to this post, but I'm curious as to what extent, when and how Halloween is celebrated in South Africa. It would be interesting to see the types of costumes they (and you) wear, if any. I know that some religious groups frown on that particular "holiday", but it seems to be very popular in some European countries including The Netherlands where they celebrate it in November, I think.
It's nice to hear that you're continuing to explore that beautiful city on a regular basis. You'll need the whole year, I think, to see all it has to offer.
You must be having fun, because the past 9 weeks have gone by very quickly for me, LOL.
Love and xoxox,
Dad
How the other one percent lives! That is very well said. The problem is that when we see it, we would all like to be part of that "other one percent."
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I checked out the Waterfront of Cape Town and especially Cape Grace on the web, and they are beautiful.