Last week my grandparents came to visit. They are on two-week tour that began in Cape Town. They flew in a few days early to see me. Their flight from JFK was delayed because the plane was so icy that it had to be defrosted twice. Once they finally arrived in this warmer weather zone, I went to meet them at their hotel: the Mount Nelson Hotel. We walked around some of the downtown area on Plein Street where Parliament is and then up Orange Street and down Long Street. We had dinner at Café Royale. It was great and I had a peanut butter and banana milkshake that could have fed five people, but I managed to eat it all myself.
On Thursday I took my grandparents to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. When we had visited Kirstenbosch during our orientation I knew that I would have to bring my grandmother because she is an avid gardener. While my grandfather is not a flower person, he hung in there. We went to the new restaurant called Mint in the Taj Hotel. I love everything green and the most of the decorations in the restaurant are green so I had to go. Mint is located on Saint George’s Mall (which is the name of a street in downtown Cape Town) which I have walked by several times and is about five minutes away from my internship. The food was really good and my grandmother was brave enough to try the ostrich fillet. Surprisingly it tasted very similar to steak, just a little tougher.
On Friday my grandparents began their tour and visited Robben Island and saw the downtown area. I met up with my grandparents to go to Mama Africa for dinner. Another couple from my grandparents’ tour joined us at this restaurant which is located on Long Street. They had a local band playing music. The best part of the night was when we piled into the taxi and my grandfather, thinking we were in America, got into the cab driver’s seat! As some of us have mentioned, South Africans drive on the other side of the road so my grandfather was not paying attention when he hopped in the front right side of the car. The cab driver jokingly asked my grandfather if he planned on driving.
On Saturday my grandparents and I went to the V & A Waterfront. I think it was the hottest day since I’ve been here. It was in the 90s with no breeze. Signal Hill even caught fire. It is common at this time of the year for the mountains to catch on fire because there is very little rain. That evening we dined at a restaurant on Keerom Street called 95. Ben, our R.A., had recommended it to me and I must say he knows where to go. My grandmother raved about it and I would definitely recommend it to any other parents or friends who are coming to visit one of my housemates.
Sunday was the last day I got to spend with my grandparents. I was lucky enough to tag along on their day trip to Cape Point and Boulders Beach. We even got to see a large male baboon rifling through a garbage bag heap on the way to Cape Point. While I had already seen both of these places during our two-week orientation, it was definitely fun to go back. After saying goodbye to my grandparents they were off to pack up for their two day train ride through Kimberley on toward Johannesburg.
It was nice to have family come to visit five weeks into my stay in Cape Town. I had been feeling a little homesick but seeing my grandparents made me feel better. I was surprised about how many questions they asked me about Cape Town specifics that I was able to answer. I have learned so much about the public transportation, education system, and location of downtown areas in the past few weeks. I will be even more informed and prepared for when my mom arrives in early April!
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