Dolled up for the New Year! |
GABBY - Happy New Year’s Eve Day!
Yesterday, I packed some things to go home in two makeshift cardboard
boxes from the hotel bar. I wanted to
send them off to my house so we didn’t have to lug all that stuff around. We walked to the post office in the morning only
to discover that the boxes couldn’t have any writing on the side. We needed tape and paper to cover the
entirety of the boxes. Ben left in
search of tape, while I stayed with the packages and became increasingly
annoyed that the post office didn’t have packing tape that we could use. Eventually the post man took pity on me,
took the packages, combined them into one, wrapped it in brown paper and taped
it shut. Ben got back as they were
finishing up with it. I selected the
Land Mail shipping method, which should get the package to Barto in 2 months. After the post office,
Ben and I hailed a cab
and told them to drive to Woodstock. We
were in search of The Kitchen’s Love Sandwiches. We hit Main Road and focused our efforts on
the store signs to our left. It’s always
hard to find this place so I wasn’t too worried when we went passed the spot
where it was supposed to be and had to turn around. On our turn around we still didn’t see the
cream colored sign with brown writing. I
read out the address from the business card I kept in my wallet for 2
years. We zeroed in on its exact
address, but The Kitchen was nowhere to be found. Ben and I were confused because we had just
been there 2 months ago before we left for the Garden Route. They definitely weren’t there, though. We were both pretty bummed because we were
really looking forward to those incredibly, mouth-watering, Love
Sandwiches. We took the same cab all the
way to Camps Bay Beach. The wind was
whipping today, even away from the ocean, but we still wanted a little bit of a
beach day. When we stepped out of the
cab, the wind hit us hard. We walked
down towards the water and behind some boulders to try and find some protection
from the forceful wind. We sat there for
awhile reading and eating our brunch of Woolworth’s fruit, yogurt, and
donuts. The unrelenting waves were
crashing down with vigor. The white spray
was flying off the tips of the waves before tumbling down towards the sandy
shore. Ben and I were ready to find some
shelter and substantial food, so we packed up our stuff and walked down towards
the beach and off of the boulders. The
beach was completely deserted, the wind having kept people away. I still didn’t really understand it until a
big gust of wind occurred. The particles
of sand were carried by that gust and shot at incredible speeds into our
bodies. I can now say that I never want
to be in a sandstorm unless I am in some kind of sturdy shelter. We had to climb over big sandy hills to reach
the restaurants in Camps Bay. These
hills were the worst because the wind would come over top and make it
impossible to move up them without experiencing searing pain. I couldn’t believe how painful those tiny
particles of sand could be. We finally
made it to the main road of Camps Bay and were able to get off the beach. We settled on a place called The Grand Café
because it looked like they served light lunches. While we were waiting for the menus, I
attempted to rid my scalp of the thick layer of sand particles that had
accumulated after our run in with the sandstorm. I could have played the Basket Case from the
Breakfast Club perfectly. We ordered a
sandwich and a wrap with some French Fries. I had never been there before, but the food
was delicious and the place had a really cute, quaint feel. After we ate, we caught a cab and headed back
to Ashanti Lodge to pack up our bags. I
wasn’t in the mood to pack, so I wrote in my journal and took a short nap,
while Ben packed up his bag. We had
finally gotten in touch with Corinne and had a plan of attack for the
night. We were going to meet at Long and
Strand Street around 4:00 and grab half price sushi and cocktails at one of my
favorite Waterfront restaurants, Sevruga.
What a Crew |
Ben and I set off out of Ashanti around 3:30 and were the first ones
there waiting on the corner. We got
talking to two black guys. They were
trying to convince us that they could give me some security if I ever needed
it. Just as I was getting done and a
little uncomfortable with the situation, I spotted Corinne and her boyfriend
crossing the street towards us. We
hugged and Corinne introduced us to the mysterious Joost that we had heard so
much about for 3 weeks in Addo. He was
tall and broadly built and had long, stringy hair. He is a drummer in a heavy metal band. He tours all around the world, apparently,
but also has a desk job when he’s not touring.
It was really nice to see Corinne and to be in a group in Cape
Town. Before we started walking, she
told us that there was another couple coming to meet us. Apparently she had met the guy in Orange
Elephant and he was going to be in Cape Town the same time as all of us. We waited there for a couple of minutes until
we saw a younger guy walking towards us, covered in tattoos. There was a blonde girl next to him that sort
of looked like Tricia, from Bucknell. We
all shook hands and exchanged nationalities (2 Germans, 2 Dutch, 2 Americans)
and headed towards the Waterfront. Ben
and I walked with Corinne and got caught up on all of the drama in Addo. We talked about Hazel and Randy leaving and snuffing
Corinne towards the end, Sarel’s departure, the subsequent firing of the 2
German girls, the opening of Thirsty Herds, and Corinne’s eventual and
inevitable tearful goodbye. We told her
about Khotso and tried not to let on how much more comfortable we felt there
than at Orange Elephant, but it was sort of obvious. We finally reached Sevruga and found that it
was closed due to a private reservation.
I was so bummed! I specifically
didn’t get sushi for lunch so I could get sushi for dinner! The Kitchen was closed and now Sevruga, our
last chance for sushi before leaving South Africa. Bummer.
Joost and the other dude were totally fine with it since they were
apparently avid sushi haters. We decided
to have a seat at the outdoor patio of Mitchell’s Brewery (my parents’ favorite
place). We ordered some of Mitchell’s
own craft beer and started our night early.
We ended up ordering appetizers and 3 pizzas to split with the whole
table. The rest of the night was spent
ordering more beer, shooters, and shots until the entire table was silly and
raucous. We played a quiet drinking game
of fingers, which was fun. We also got
into a weird phase where we took ridiculous pictures of each other for
awhile. Around 11:00 Ben and I weaseled
our way out of going back to Joost and Corinne’s place with the rest of the
crew. They were pressuring us hard, but
my firm, rational side said, “no”. We
had to catch a 7:00 AM flight to Johannesburg and then to India the very next
day. We had already arranged a 4:00 AM
cab pick-up from our hostel to the airport.
I knew it wasn’t going to be fun, but staying out and drinking more
would make it even less so. We hugged,
said our goodbyes, and got a cab back to Ashanti Lodge for a short snooze
knowing that before long, the dreaded sound of Ben’s watch alarm would ring to
wake us.
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