Cape Town has almost exclusively “third wave” coffee, which is the barista art as well as the art of micro-roasting. What makes Cape Town different is that all the main roasters also have coffee shops. So each place has its own character, identity, and coffee. The three big ones in Cape Town are Origin Roasters;…
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Have Your Cape, and Eat it Too!
Cape Town–all of South Africa, really–is filled with fresh food. You won’t find much in the way of imported produce or processed foods because the country is too far removed from the rest of the world, and too well-endowed with yielding lands to bother messing with what already works. One of the highlights of Cape…
Beyond the Big Five
Leo Oliphant Until just a few months ago, a safari seemed like a dream deferred. It was the thing to do when I turned 60. jackal When we happened upon the inexpensive Emirates flight to South Africa, suddenly a safari seemed immanent–and it was affordable, too. I would soon find out that one does not…
A Kitchen Nightmare in Cape Town
It has taken us weeks to digest a bad experience we had in a restaurant. And I don’t mean the food. It was good. Or the service. It was pretty good too. This is one of those experiences that is so surreal, we still scratch our heads and wonder, “Did that really happen? Surely, someone…
Spring back. Fall ahead.
It’s springtime here in the deep southern hemisphere. Josh was the first to feel it. His clogged nose and watery eyes came and went with the bloom of the acacia trees. I see spring everywhere. People and mannequins donning yellow, green, and Robin’s egg blue. Sandals on and bare feet out. It’s easy to think it’s…
Baboons Like Flowers
At the Cape of Good Hope, we passed by a troop of baboons gorging on flowers. They’re not gentle about it. The road was strewn with mutilated stems and half-eaten buds. Destructive mischievous creatures. this photo was taken with the Sony NEX-F3.
Some Cape Town Observations
Cape Town is gorgeous and could easily beat the likes of Vancouver, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Rio, Miami, and San Francisco for scenery. The array of stunning natural beauty within close range of a vibrant urban core is simply staggering. The people are friendly too. But here are some other observations. 1. There is a noticeable…
*SCAM ALERT* Be smart.
Today I found this Web site. On the surface, it looks like a legitimate booking agent for flats in Europe. Having seen many Web sites similar to this one, I took it at face value. The prices are excellent. So, I sent an inquiry regarding an apartment in Dublin and another in Berlin. The response…
Farewell, Sun
This might be the last day we see the sun in quite some time. Certainly the last day we wear sandals. No more laksa. No more wantan mee. My parting words are this: We have been in Malaysia for 4.5 months and have barely scratched the surface of what there is to see, experience, and…
You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello
Argh. Today we found out that the apartment we wanted to rent in Bamberg fell through. It was the only one with enough space and amenities for our needs. Bambergians–and Franconians in general–defy the German stereotype. They can be woefully backwards and out of touch with technology. The apartments there have doilies and floral wallpaper…
Leaving KL
Leaving KL was actually a very difficult process for us. We had settled into routines that made us very comfortable. We had even adapted to the miniscule supply and exhorbitant price of serious beer. We have our lunch hawkers Salwah and En Sham, with whom we became friends after eating at their stall five times…
Cat City, Borneo
The Kuching experience began with one of the most fantastic sunsets I’ve seen in a long time. The town, one of the largest on Borneo at nearly 1 million people, actually feels quite small in the core area. It was not a long walk from our hotel at the edge of downtown to the riverfront…
Love and Barley 