Eventful start to
our Cape Town Trip
JANUARY 2008
We have booked a flat for 7 – 12 January 2008
in Century City - late December. Hein was going to have loads of business
meetings and it was a convenient spot.
I struggled a bit to find a place, because they’re
all quite pricey. From R700 per night
(for both) and upwards. When I phoned a
place, called Century City Apartments, their flat was R900/night. I told her it’s too high and mentioned that
the other places are R700 – she said I can rent it for R700. So that was good – right?
Hein had a meeting in Grabouw the Tuesday
morning. And was booked at a Vodacom
workshop the whole of Wednesday.
We were meant to fly on Monday, 7/1/2008, at
14:30. An urgent meeting cropped up in Johannesburg for 11:00, Hein
postponed our flight to 18:40. Then
another urgent meeting popped up on the Friday, 11/1/2008, in Johannesburg, so he changed our flights from
the Saturday morning to Thursday night, 10/1/2008.
On the Friday before our flight, the Wednesday
Vodacom workshop was cancelled. By the
Monday morning, the Friday meeting in Johannesburg
was cancelled. And by Monday lunch-time
the Tuesday Grabouw meeting was cancelled.
And the Monday 11:00 meeting was only 5 minutes…
We decided we’ll go to Cape Town anyway – and just play it by ear.
Monday 7 January 2008
Every time Hein orders a car from Avis, he asks
for a Toyota Corolla. He hasn’t driven
the new model yet. But every single time
Avis is very ‘self-satisfied’ and upgrades him to a Mercedes or Mitsubishi
4x4. Even on Monday night, they wanted
to upgrade him to a Mercedes A-class. He
declined – said it’s a ‘dinky toy’.
When we collected our Nissan Tiida from Avis at
around 9pm, we were ready to just crash.
But the car made a funny clacking sound, so we turned around and asked
for another car. Got a VW Polo.
Reached the security of Century City Apartments
– the guy was totally ‘clueless’ but we managed to fetch our flat keys from the
‘inside security’. The guy gave us
directions to the flat 202 in the West Side. We
reached the door, tried the key, it didn’t work. The next moment the door was flung wide open
and a shortish middle-aged man stood there – eyes and hair wild. We realized we were at 202 East Side. We apologized profusely and walked to the
other side. I was giggling hysterically
– the look on that guy’s face was priceless!
West Side 202 was very nice. Leather bucket chairs, fancy cupboards,
etc. View of the lake, although not a
balcony. We were hungry, so drove out to
a garage for a pie. Got back, I quickly
unpacked our bags. Luckily we only had
2.
Now this is already after 11pm. Then Hein asked me – ‘Do you see any
towels?’ I couldn’t see any, so I phoned
the agent, Zeena. From a previous
conversation, I knew they were staying quite close.
She was probably half-asleep and asked if it
could wait for the morning. Hesitantly I
agreed. Then Hein asked the next
question:
‘DO YOU SEE ANY TOILET PAPER?’
I was livid!
I phoned Zeena again. She
disconnected me. I phoned again. And demanded that she bring the towels and
toilet paper to the flat – IMMEDIATELY!
We waited for about 15 minutes. And what did she give us? Honestly – you will not believe this. White towels with – WAIT FOR THIS – half a
roll toilet paper – WET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We told her it’s unacceptable. ‘It is self-catering’, she quipped. When I asked her if they informed us that we
should bring towels, she chirped: ‘Did you ask me for towels?’
WELL, we just had enough. We told her we’ll leave now. While I pack the bags again, Hein quickly
looked on the Internet. Right next to
this apartment building, is a Protea Hotel ‘The Island Club’. A bit more expensive.
By 12pm, we were in this suite. And what a view .. and what a balcony .. and
what luxury! We ordered a beer and a
G&T for me – and at midnight sat on the balcony overlooking the lake,
calming our nerves.
There is a separate shower and toilet. And the toiletries are amazing! It’s called Eartherapy Africa. Must be made for Protea Hotels specifically.
And even if you have only used the shampoo
once, the next morning it’s replaced with a brand-new one.
Also, the Canal Walk shopping mall is directly
opposite The Island Club Protea Hotel.
It’s literally a walk over the bridge.
The breakfast room is filled with Readers’
Digest books and there were fresh flowers on all the tables.
Besides the usual cereals, yogurts, pastries,
breads, fruits, cheeses, cold meats and eggs on order – they had hot hash-browns,
sausages, bacon and every day a different dish – haddock or baked beans with
onions or savory mince.
And wonderful coffee.
Tuesday 8 January 2008
Tuesday morning Hein worked in the flat, I read
a book. By lunchtime, we walked to Canal
Walk and had some sushi and fish at the CTFM.
I did some shopping.
I suppose if you spend more time in the centre
it would make sense, but to me it’s a bit big and confusing. But with really lovely shops – different than
the normal. For example – they have a Mr
Price Kids Store – filled with everything – just for kids.
Tuesday evening, we went to Paarl for a snoek
braai at my parents. The weather was
nice and warm. When we left them, we
turned into one of the big streets to have a look at the Xmas lights. Very colourful.
Wednesday 9 January 2008
On Wednesday Hein went to some clients. I watched the movie ‘Bee Movie’. It was SO CUTE! I would love to see it again on video. Jerry Seinfeld is the main ‘bee’ and the
special effects are amazing.
We went to friends in Melkbos for a braai and
stayed quite late. Only got home after
12.
Thursday 10 January 2008
When we went for breakfast on Thursday morning,
we knew it was going to be a hot day! We
arranged to go to Wellington. One of my school friends, Lizle, was on
vacation from Sydney. By the time we reached Wellington, it was 35 oC.
After coffee and catching up with her Aussie
news, we left Wellington
in search of some early lunch at the Joostenberg Bistro.
JOOSTENBERG BISTRO
A deli, bistro, bakery, charcuterie and patisserie under one barn roof. Everything is handcrafted with Gaelic flair in chef Christoph Dehosse's kitchen. No short cuts here. You could be in Normandy. A rustic venue for robust flavours of country-style terrine, crusty breads, pork brawn, croques monsieur (and madame), free-range coq au vin and home-made pasta. Muldersvlei wines are available.
Off the R304, Muldersvlei, Stellenbosch
Just look
at this amazing patio! I want one!
Although it
was very hot, a little breeze now and then cooled us off.
Hein had
pork sausages and mash and I had cold pate's, cold meats and salad.
We drove to
the Waterfront – had some refreshing cold drinks, read a newspaper and checked
in at the airport.
It was
raining when we got home. We unpacked and went to bed. What an eventful Cape Town trip.
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