{Love for Cape Town}
I can hardly believe that I'll be leaving Cape Town today.
When we first moved here I didn't want to stay. The adjustment to the new city, the new culture and the new routines (including security worries) was difficult; I wanted to turn right around and fly back to London.
But now that I've spent 3 years here, I've come to love the city like a second home. I love the warm, generous people; I love the vibrant mish-mash of cultures; I love the mountains and the sea.
I'm so excited to be heading back to London; the timing is right in so many ways. And I can't wait to share the next chapter of this adventure with all you lovely readers!
But, even with all this new excitement, it doesn't mean I won't be thinking longingly of Cape Town from time to time.
What I will miss:
-- Our gorgeous courtyard garden, filled with lavender, frangipani, bougainvillea, mint, rosemary, wisteria, and the world's largest grape vine.
-- Walking down the hill to ballet classes at the
, and all my wonderful ballet friends.
-- The noon gun, which has been marking midday since 1806. The cannon blast reverberates around the city and lets me know when it's time to eat lunch.
-- The view of the sheer face of Table Mountain every time I step out of our front gate. So impressive.
-- The wind. I have a love/hate relationship with the Cape Town wind. Sometimes it's so extreme that I'm convinced our stone house will be picked up like a feather and blown down the hill into the harbour.
-- Driving around the hills and mountains and staring at the sparkling sea.
-- My small studio in our house with a view of our courtyard and a glimpse of Devil's Peak above the roof.
-- Coffee and long chats about art and "making things" with
.
-- Sundowners: the ritual of drinking a glass of something exquisite and watching the sun slip below the waves.
-- Burritos at
. Nothing can beat them! There are burritos, and then there are Tortilla burritos. Nothing I've had in the States even comes close to the explosion of flavours in each bite.
-- A leisurely braai (BBQ) in my in-laws' garden, playing with their dogs and chatting aimlessly about what's been happening in our lives.
-- Our house. It's a 150 year old (or more) cottage built with stone quarried from Table Mountain. It gives off an amazing, deep, spiritual energy the minute you walk in the door. I wonder who has lived here before us and what stories the old stones could tell. We've been part of that long story, and soon new people will be adding their chapters.
What I won't miss:
-- The wind. (See above)
-- The extreme heat in summer. My father-in-law always teases me that I spend the summer with my head stuck in the freezer.
-- Constantly fighting the populations of cockroaches and other prehistoric looking insects (trilobites anyone?) that invade our house from time to time.
-- The homeless people who sleep outside our garage door every winter. I feel deeply sorry for them, but they're a nuisance all the same.
-- Hadedahs. These birds commute from the mountain into town every day, flying right over our house, and then back again in the evening. They're big, ugly and sound like dogs with chest colds laughing when they "honk."
-- The huge, high garden walls, burglar bars, security systems, and barbed wire that turn every house into a fortress.
What are your favourite things about your home town or city? Why not share a few in the comments?