There is a scenic suburb right along the beach in Cape Town that is literally within walking distance of my hostel (okay, it’s a few miles, but for me that’s walking distance). It’s called Camps Bay and I’ve heard it compared to Santa Barbara — and as someone who has now visited both places, I’d say that’s fair.

This part of town is nestled below the Twelve Apostles, which are partially covered in misty clouds today.

Expensive homes overlook the water. This is a ritzy area of Cape Town and during my walk I spot dozens of day laborers carpool over the hill in the back of pick-up trucks en route to construction jobs.

The beach is lovely but, if I’m being honest, also somewhat sketchy with people begging for money.

After walking one loop up and down the beach it begins to rain, so I take refuge in a fancy seafood restaurant highly recommended by the guide of our wine tour — it’s called Blues, and in addition to great food, their tables overlook the beach.

I start with mussels and then order their linefish of the day for my main meal. I give it an A+.

So I have a few odds and ends from my time in Cape Town to tell you about, and I’m going to wrap them up here.

These next meals aren’t particularly memorable, but I want to tell you about the place on the left below — it’s called Kauai and it’s fast food that is super healthy. They have bowls and salads (and more) to pick from, featuring a healthy selection of ingredients. The muffin and latte below right is from a place called Brew Artisian Coffee, a place in Green Point I frequented two days in a row when I first arrived in Cape Town (before discovering my favorite coffee shop).

I shared my favorite hostel in Cape Town (nay, the world) but I didn’t tell you about two other hostels I stayed at briefly before finding that one. It’s called Ashanti Lodge with locations in both Green Point and Gardens. I stayed at the one in Green Point first simply because it’s where the Acacia Africa overland truck dropped us off after the tour and I hadn’t made other arrangements so it was easiest to stay there. Then I found the excellent Amber Tree Lodge in the Gardens area of Cape Town, but they were fully booked for two nights in the middle of my stay so I had to leave and come back. I picked the other Ashanti Lodge location just because it was down the street from Amber Tree Lodge. However, I didn’t do my homework and this place is a total party hostel (much more so that the Green Point counterpart). It was loud at night with a bar upstairs blasting music and lots of drunk people wandering around. But I was most disgusted by the dorm room I was assigned — there were only four beds, but two of the girls had lived there for months. So it felt like I was crashing in their (very dirty) bedroom. Here is a glance at the shelves and sink area, which were completely taken over by the long-term guests:

UGH, right?! I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Oh, and one night I went to a movie at the Labia Theatre. Yup, you read that right.

Why on earth is this place called Labia Theater? I have no idea. I saw Boyhood, a film that would go on to earn Oscar nominations and rack up awards. It’s an independent movie theater but there’s nothing to warrant its sexually suggestive name. It’s just a chill place to see a non-mainstream movie.

And they have fresh, cheap popcorn with fun flavors you can sprinkle on top! I’m normally a snob when it comes to snacks at the movies — I’d rather pay 100% attention to the film and skip any distracting food options — but this was part of the Labia experience. (That came out wrong.)

Ooo, and while we’re talking about theaters, let me tell you about my visit to the Fugard Theater in Cape Town. It’s named after Athol Fugard, the most prominent playwright to come out of South Africa and author of shows like Master Harold and the Boys and Blood Knot. At the time of my visit last September, they had a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show… which was perfect timing because I’d never seen a stage production of that show. It was selling out so I bought a ticket a few days in advance and couldn’t wait for showtime.

I got there early and grabbed dinner at the theater (they have a nice selection of bar snacks and cheap wine). I splurged on the ‘Partici…nation Pack’ which contained props for the audience to use at specific points during the show — i.e. a newspaper, glow stick, and playing card. The only other time I’ve seen something like that is at the Sound of Music Sing-a-long at the Hollywood Bowl each year (fun times).

And just like that, my time in Cape Town comes to an end.

Next up… my road trip down to Cape Point and along the Garden Route! I can’t wait for the adventures ahead. I picked up my rental car at the Cape Town airport and diligently comb over every inch of the car to make sure I won’t be incorrectly charged for any dings when I return it. (I’m thorough to the point of paranoia when I rent a car — I always take photos before I get behind the wheel. Nothing’s ever gone wrong to justify this, but I do it just the same.)

The next stretch of blog posts will be about this Garden Route road trip… can’t wait to show you more!