africa part 4: true life: i want to be a cape town-ie

introduction + africa part 1
africa part 2
africa part 3
africa part 4

hiya, friends! can you believe how fast this month is going? it reminds me how behind i am in getting our last trip photos up from our trip to south africa in november. i promise i won't let this much time go by to get future posts up!

however, there is some truth to the phrase 'saving the best for last' because cape town was fun and GORGEOUS.

this stunning view brought to you by camps bay, the first place we went after landing. i think i'll just buy a tent and live on this grassy knoll here. after a quick lunch, we made our way to probably the most well-known attraction in cape town - table mountain!

table mountain is a mountain overlooking the bay that, well, looks like a table. imagine that, right? but aside from it slightly resembling kitchen furniture, the views off the top are absolutely breathtaking!

i never thought i was afraid of heights before, but whew! looking down while in the cable car made my palms a little sweaty!

that little white donut-looking thing right on the edge of town was the stadium they built for the world cup in 2010!

a kind soul offered to take this group photo and saved me the embarrassment of trying to wrangle my selfie stick in the wind. so thankful for her. also, hi from the top!

after a long day of riding/climbing/walking around the top, we went to get ready for a night on the town! our friend mark was so excited about snagging a reservation at the potluck club, a restaurant built in an old factory in a trendy new part of cape town. and ohhhhh my goodness, it did not disappoint. sadly, the below is the only photo i got there that wasn't food (yikes) or a dark menu, but this place was incredible! the menu is sorted by common tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, savory, etc. and has tapas-style dishes to appease any appetite. our favorites were the fish tacos, beef fillet, peri peri chicken and a unique, bitter orange negroni sorbet to cleanse the palate. holy YUM. seriously, do not miss this place if you're in the area. i hope KC does something like this in the future. such a fun, cozy, delicious dining experience i won't soon forget!

the next day of our cape town excursion brought some new friends - sharks! this was one thing we neglected to tell our mothers prior to going, which was probably for the best. these things were no joke! while i didn't get many photos of the sharks themselves since we were on the water, i did get a few that help show our adventure in gansbaai (a fishing/shark-loving town about an hour from cape town). dun dun...dun dun...dun dun dun dun dun (jaws music for those following at home).

this was the size of the actual cage they have floating in the bay. doesn't seem very big once it's out of water! i'm glad i saw this after we went!

this was the cage in the water! weeeeee. shark week IRL.

andrew and i were the third group in the water and we saw two eight-foot female sharks, including one that came from below the surface upward and swam *right* by me on the very end of the cage. i was within an inch or so from the shark's fin and could have easily reached out and touched her! it could have been the seemingly sub-zero water temperatures, but the whole experience just took my breath away. such a rush!

with all limbs intact, we took the scenic route along the coast and up an extremely windy chapman's peak. there's no way we were napping on this drive!

i forgot to mention this whole time that shark diving day happened to be our anniversary! can't think of a better way to spend it than in an amazing city with this guy. cheers to one year down and many, many more to go! love you, AJM.

after all the excitement and craziness of the past few days, i was so glad to have some free time on our last full day in the city. i had seen an article, '36 hours in cape town,' on the new york times website and the locals recommended checking out V&A watershed near the marina. this. place. was. awesome! there were hundreds of vendors selling all different things: hand-carved figurines, leather goods, beaded trinkets, local clothing boutiques. i could have spent HOURS in here shopping for everyone i know. there was truly something for everyone.

shopping really got the best of these guys! how else to spend the last few hours in cape town?

like i said...i'm considering putting up a tent on the beach. while we only scratched the surface of what cape town offers, i am so grateful we got to go. gorgeous, beachy and vibrant. put this one on your list.