Robben Island

Today we booked a tour of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was locked up as a political prisoner for years and years. It was a beautiful day despite the fact it was supposed to be miserable so we were thrilled. Not sure our stomachs could have taken a half hour ferry ride on stormy seas.

The ferry departs about a 5 minutes walk away from the hotel which we were also thrilled about. We were up at about 3:30 a.m., had breakfast when it opened (6:30 a.m.) and tried desperately to have a snooze until we had to leave. Ryan was successful, I was not. Had I managed to fall asleep before the hydraulic lift/buzz saw (Ryan fell asleep before me), I might have had a chance.

We boarded the ferry with about 200 other people and we suddenly realized that we were in for 3 hours of 'tourist' time. People pushing, having to line up like cattle, and being packed onto busses that were cramped. Not our style at all. Not to say we need to have a private tour every time (which isn't even an option there) but I honestly think that I'd rather read a book about it than brave that again.

Given that we were packed into a bus, there wasn't a whole lot of photo opportunities. The guide (who was quite good, actually) would tell us about something on the opposite side from where we were sitting and we'd just take his word for it because there were a bunch of people standing up and blocking our view. We did get a few chances to hop off for photos, though, and this is about as scenic as it got.

Ryan got a cool shot as we were driving - a 'Penguin Crossing' sign. There are about 40,000 African Penguins on the island that nest in all of the bushes near the roads. They literally choose specific spots on the road that they are willing to cross together and then shit their own paint stripes across it so the cars know where to watch out for them. Amazing.

There is also a beautiful view of Cape Town from the island. While taking a picture of Ryan, I was fortunate enough to capture the rare South African Purple Hippo in her natural habitat (bitch was told by the tour guide to not go off of the pavement because there is an endangered bird species that have their nests in the grass beside the road and you wouldn't be able to tell if you stepped on one if you did). Like I said... 3 hours of 'tourist time.'

The tour guide we had for the island was not the same guide we had for the actual prison. Once we left the bus to tour the prison grounds, they had former prisoners taking us through and showing where they stayed, what it was like, etc. We thought this was brilliant. It was also nice to hear about some of the other prisoners (apart from Nelson Mandela) that South Africans think of as heroes.

That said, it is pretty much all about Nelson Mandela. Here is a picture of the outside of his cell (first window on the left... I think) and a picture of where he stayed for 12 years. Unbelievable that the man and everyone else that had to stay in the single room cells didn't go insane.

After what seemed like forever on the ferry, we got back to our natural habitat.

We had planned on going up to the top of Table Mountain after lunch but because it has been so windy the past few days (they won't operate the tram if the wind is over 40 km/hour), the concierge told us that once we shuttled there, it would be more than an hour wait to get to the top. We couldn't deal with that today so we are chilling in the room (and by chilling, I mean that the hydraulic lift/buzz saw is running in full force... (Ryan sleeping)... again...) and keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Cape Peninsula

Ryan and I woke up this morning (Ryan at 3:45 a.m. and me at 5:00 a.m.) to gale force winds which apparently are quite common here given that the city is right in-between the mountains and the ocean. It wasn't looking great for a tour around the Cape Peninsula. By the time breakfast was over, though, it seemed to have cleared up. Our tour guide, Mark September, picked us up at our hotel and we were off.

We drove down the west coast, stopping along the way for a few photo ops. Turns out the wind really hand't died down at all. We were nearly getting blown off our feet and when were we close to sand, we had a mandatory exfoliation.

We snaked down the coast and eventually found ourselves at Cape Point. It is nearly the most south-western part of Africa and has spectacular views from the lighthouse at the top. They have a funicular (cable) car that takes you to the top but it wasn't working and lord knows we weren't going to hike up so we took a little shuttle. We got there just in time. LOADS of busses with gaggles of Japanese and German (a popular time for their countries to come) tourists showed up just as we were leaving.

We then took a quick drive down to the Cape of Good Hope. This is the the most south-western point in Africa. Thankfully our tour guide was well prepared for this part of the tour. All of those tourists were on our heels to get a picture exactly like the one below. People basically lose their shit when it comes to snapping this shot because everyone wants it and there is absolutely no order. Our guide schooled a bunch of girls that tried to run in front of us and we were thankful. We're Canadian, after all. What is it with our culture? We probably would have apologized to those girls for trying to take our rightful turn when they didn't want to wait.

As we were driving back from Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, we spotted a few baboons lurking about. From what we were told they are a huge problem in the area. They have been fed by humans in the past so they are very aggressive when it comes to food, especially since the area does not have an abundance of things they can eat with a high calorie content. We were instructed to close the window immediately if they started coming towards us because they would come into the vehicle. Throughout the day, we also saw penguins, whales, ostrich, mongoose, elands, and a bunch of other furry things I'd never heard of before. Pretty cool seeing these things in the wild.

We went for lunch at Seaforth Restaurant afterward and learned a few things about our tour guide. Mark's last name, September, comes from his ancestors who were sold as slaves in the month of September. Apparently, you can look in the phone book here and find every month of the year. The guy is an encyclopedia on everything from history, to plant species, to the size of whale testicles. Seriously... did you know they weighed 500 kg. EACH? Geez, and I thought mine were big... Anyway, he's a great guy and his tour is a great orientation to the city if you ever find yourself here.

Right next door to the restaurant were a colony of penguins. They usually live on islands but their habitats are being overfished, if I remember correctly. This colony has also started disappearing as well but they're not sure why. They're moulting right now which means they can't eat for an entire month because they're not waterproof. Makes for some bitchy penguins.

We were given the choice of doing a wine tasting next or going to a little town that had a bunch of kitschy shops to look through. Duh! No brainer. We drove to the Steenberg Winery for a wine tasting and picked up a couple bottles to bring to back to the hotel room. Food and drink in this country is really quite inexpensive which is a nice surprise considering how much hotels and safari costs.

Finally, we went Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Like the animals, there were so many plants we'd never seen before, many of them not even looking real. 3000 year old trees, prehistoric plants, and neon flowers everywhere.

It was a spectacular day. We ended it by going to dinner at Reuben's in a hotel called One and Only and managed to stay up until 9:00 p.m. Woo hoo! Now, for whatever reason, I'm the one that's up at 3:30 a.m. I am not a fan of jet lag.

Cape Town

I'm not sure of the time, date, or day of the week, but we're here! We've never been further from home - 16,000 k.m./10,000 miles. We are incredibly bleary but couldn't be happier.

Our flight from London to Cape Town was fantastic. The plane we were in had one of the upgraded cabins we were wanting. We were excited about it but to be honest, we like the older cabins just as much although it was nice to have a collapsable partition between us so we could talk throughout the flight. We slept most of the way, anyway, and stole another two sets of pyjamas.

We woke up as we were flying over Windhoek, Namibia. We had breakfast because, again, we had worked up a real appetite after sitting on our ass for 11 hours. As we descended, we got little glimpses of where we were about to land. This would have been a great flight to have a window seat on. Oh well. What I saw was good enough for me.

Cape Town's airport is quite small and we made it through fairly quickly. I wouldn't normally post about the airport but this time, I can't help it. As we stood there waiting for our suitcases, three security guards came out of an office - all with BEAGLES - sniffing for bombs and drugs, I suppose. Obviously none of them were as cute as Walter but thankfully they were just as dumb. Not one found the brick of heroin in our carry-on.

A driver from our hotel met us at the airport at about 8:00 a.m. local time and we drove straight to the hotel. Our room wasn't ready until noon so they gave us access to a 'day-use' room so we could shower. We cleaned up, stowed our bags at the hotel, and went wandering around the waterfront. Table Mountain is and was especially beautiful today. I'm sure it happens often enough but a thick blanket of clouds spilled off the top, rolling down the sides and disappeared before they hit the ground. It was a sight to be seen. Our driver said it was called 'The Table Cloth' that was coming down. Fitting. It made a spectacular backdrop to our hotel.

We had about 4 hours to kill before our room was ready so we wandered around the waterfront and window-shopped. After about an hour, we stumbled on the Two Oceans Aquarium. We figured, what the hell? Probably not our best idea given that we were jet lagged and bitchy. SWARMS of children. Kind of cool even still but not our best decision.

We were very thankful once we got the keys to our room. We were walking around like zombies for a good portion of the time we were out and about... but we snapped out of it once we were led to our suite. Woot! This is the way to start of a trip!

The room is amazing but there was just one thing missing... (don't judge us!... we miss our little nugget).

We're currently doing our best to stay awake until 6:00 p.m. to try and reset our internal clocks. I'm not sure we're going to be successful (as I watch Ryan nod off while looking at his iPad) but we'd better try because we've got a full day booked tomorrow - a tour of the Cape Peninsula. Can't wait!

Half Way... ish

Bad news. Our plane's first class hadn't been upgraded yet. We had to slum it the entire way here on seats that were at LEAST three years old. Truly devastating. Once we had gotten over our shock and horror, we slipped into our complimentary pyjamas and socks, and nestled in. We slept most of the way and managed to wake ourselves up for breakfast which came at about 4:00 a.m. Vancouver time. We were a little bleary but happy to be arriving in London so we could head straight for the Concorde Lounge.

One of the perks of flying first class was getting ushered straight past the snarling line of bitchy travellers waiting to go through security. SO fantastic. Even more fantastic was taking a shower once we got here. The lounge has pretty much everything you would want and everything is complimentary... showers, beds to take a nap in, wine, and fine dining.

Once we were cleaned up a bit, we decided to have a meal in the dining room (I was trying to figure out if it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner but I really couldn't tell you), you know, because we were starving... or something.

We figured we might see some stars in the lounge considering we're in London. So far, no luck. Only Kirsten Dunst. A couple more hours and we're off to Cape Town. Can't wait!

Up, Up, and Away!

Woot! The day has finally come for us to leave! Ryan took all the luggage with him this morning in a cab to his office (which is just around the corner from the airport) and I met him there at about 2:30 p.m. this afternoon. We were packed but we weren't totally prepared to leave... especially my forehead. Momma needed a little 'touch up,' if you know what I mean. Hey, I've got to start practicing for my up coming 'trophy wife' role.

Once I was finished being juiced up with Botulinum Toxin, we were off to the airport via Tammy (One of Ry's assistants/our friend) and her newly acquired BEAST. Turns out when you drive one of these, you don't have to signal. Learn something new every day.

Once we got here we checked in and headed straight for the British Airways lounge in the International Terminal at YVR. Yes, I had to get a picture of the 'First' screen with Ry standing in front of it. We're milking every drop out of this flight.

Man, it feels SO good to be here. It's not just the free champagne and whiskey, either. The bliss of turning off the email and calendar functions on my iPhone was a treat in itself. The free champagne and whiskey doesn't hurt, either. More in London.

Getting Ready

It has been around 15 (LONG) months since our last vacation and we can't WAIT to leave for South Africa. Well, if we're being honest, we did escape to Bordessono in Yountville, CA (Napa Valley) for a weekend in Spring but I'm not counting that trip because I (Jess) had just finished cancer treatments. A really shitty couple of months balanced with a really great couple of days restores some sanity but doesn't constitute a vacation. Even though it's been such a wait, the trip kind of snuck up on us. We've been spending most of our time renovating the townhouse we bought in Whistler and slowly sorting wedding 'business' out. Things were kind of ho-hum until we got this email from British Airways... go ahead... click on it.

Wheeeee! You sure don't get reminders like this when you're flying coach! We saved our BA points for about 6 years and are flying all the way to Cape Town and back First Class. Not Business Class... FIRST. Just for fun, we went online to buy the tickets to see what they would cost. For the two round-trip tickets we would have had to shell out $47,000 (well, there would be no 'shelling' because there isn't $47K to spend). Can you believe that?! Seriously, what the hell? The best part is, BA has been in the process of renovating all of their First Class cabins. We found a blog that did a review of the new seats. Amazing. I'm sure we won't get the upgraded cabins on all of the legs but even one would be great.

We spent this past weekend at Walter's babysitter's house (Ryan's mom). We felt extremely guilty leaving him there but he's in the best of hands. In fact, Ry's mom sent a picture of him looking through her living room window to reassure us he's in heaven. Here's a picture of Walter 'hunting' through the window. Just to be clear, I promise this will be the last picture we post of him. Ryan has ordered his mother to send a new picture of Walter every day we're away. Yes, we're THOSE people.

The next few days will be spent buying last minute items like malaria pills, new underwear, and currency converters. We've been packing for awhile but so far we've just focused on the essentials... you know, like wedding socks and a bottle of 2001 Chateau Rauzan-Segla that we bought in Bordeaux, France which we plan on drinking the day of our wedding; we bought it there, where we were engaged there two years ago.

We are, however, making progress in the packing department. Our second bedroom has turned into 'The Packing Room' which is a good sign.

I also picked up our South African Rand (ZAR) this afternoon, too. I'm not sure if they gave me small bills but I feel like we're dealing with Monopoly money if they haven't. That, or we bought WAY too much. Can't say I've ever been handed banded wads of cash before.

Now all we need to do is get through 3 more days of work. Damn near impossible if you ask me.

Dear Mother Nature...

Kiss our ASS! Ryan and I were supposed to be flying into LaGuardia Airport yesterday but as fate would have it, our flight coincided with the biggest snowstorm New York has seen in recent history. We arrived at Vancouver airport at 5:00 a.m. and were home by 6:30 a.m. with packed bags and frowns on our faces. We spent about an hour trying to figure out where else we could fly to for a couple days but ended up asking for our airline points back and heading back to Ry's mom's house to pick up our dog.

The next few hours were spent canceling our meal reservations at Jean Georges, Scarpetta, Bar Boulud, Balthazar, and Maialino and convincing The London not to charge us a fee for ditching the hotel last minute. We tried desperately to get some of the $1200 back we had spent on theatre tickets but it just wasn't happening. There will be empty seats at La Cage Aux Folles, Promises Promises, Spiderman, and the Trockadero Ballet.

I didn't really believe it was as bad as the news was reporting it was out East. I mean, when it snows in Vancouver - and we're talking a light dusting - people freak out and forget how to drive. Then I watched a video via Towelroad and it all sunk in:

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

So, we're having a stay-cation. I'm not sure what entails but I'm guessing it means that EVERYTHING can be justified whether it be food, beverages (which I've had a head start on), or shopping. Happy Holidays everyone. Ours might be expensive!