Travel Tales - Day 5

Day 5 - We had no real obligations for today aside from lunch and dinner reservations; however, we somehow managed to stay up until 3am the night before, and proceeded to damn near sleep through our spa appointments. A real African problem, I know.... We did manage to pull it together and get the day going as planned.

We regrouped back in the room and headed out to the first stop on Claire & Jason's day of anniversary celebrations. Or what the four of us will forever refer to as "Our Anniversary." We had lunch at the most amazing small plate restaurant, The PotLuck Club. Located at the very top of The Old Biscuit Mill with 360*, panoramic views, we definitely indulged in way more than we needed to.

From there, we enjoyed this small little village-like set up in the area of Cape Town called Woodstock. It was very small, filled with plenty of different types of shops to hold our interest for a few hours before we all realized we were in desperate need of a mid-day pick me up. Fortunately, we stumbled across this quaint coffee shop known as the Espresso Lab. Think: Walter White meets coffee beans. I secretly want to steal this concept and bring it back to the States with me. Who knows?! This could be my way of fulfilling my life long dream of becoming a barista!

Earlier in the day we made friends with our cab driver. He coordinated a pick-up for us from The Old Biscuit Mill and took us into the heart of the city, where the Greenmarket Square resides. We arranged for him to pick us up in an hour, once we got our fill of the chaos we were about to experience.

Not 5 seconds after I closed the door to the cab, I was grabbed by a young kid who was begging for money. He wrapped his arms around me and I quite literally had to push him off of me. He came at me again and B intervened. It was a completely harmless situation, and I had the presence of mind to have my belongings secured where there is no way he could have taken anything from me, but a little crazy nonetheless! As this was happening to me, Jason was simultaneously harassed by a woman begging for money as well. These are the kinds of things you are always warned about as a traveler, but rarely actually see first hand. Or it least in my own experiences, I had not....

Shortly thereafter, we decided we had enough (but not before I heckled an African bracelet vendor and B the gentleman selling the thumb pianos...). We found refuge in a nearby hotel, where we killed time over some beverages as we waited for our cab driver to return. Much to our surprise, we showed up to our designated meeting place 15 minutes late and our guy was right there waiting for us. That would never happen in Chicago!

The big 2 year anniversary dinner took place at Reuben's Restaurant at One & Only. It was a romantic experience for Jason and Claire, I am sure. Filled with completely inappropriate table talk involving bodily fluids - my favorite moment of the evening came when Jason released a never before told story. This one was for the ages... He was living with Claire at the time, in their first place, and found himself startled in the middle of the night. What was about to come, he was certainly not prepared for. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say it ended with Jason "missing the toilet," on his hands and knees with a sponge and some 409. I believe "peanut butter-like texture" was the phrase used....

We also stumbled upon a rancid bottle of wine, something Jason will never live down! But despite the few setbacks, this was truly a memorable evening and the celebrated couple was pleased.

Travel Tales - Day 4

Day 4 - Today saw a very early start to the day. We had a 6:45am wake up call, as we planned to grab a very quick breakfast before departing at 7:30 to hike Table Mountain.

We learned yesterday from the concierge that this is not something they encourage tourists to do alone. The unfamiliarity with the trails and somewhat unknown levels of experience are apparently a cause for concern for South African locals. Whatever.... We followed their guidance and booked a tour guide the night prior. He picked us up at 7:30am on the nose, and off we went.

Boy was he a talker... I don't think any of us got a single word in (aside from introductions) the entire drive to the mountain. Very nice guy, but man....that's a lot to deal with so early in the day! Once parked, our fearless leader forced all sorts of snacks, bottled waters and bananas on us before we set off towards the base of the trail. Lucky for me, Brandon had already chosen to wear the backpack; however, he would later regret that decision when those 5-10 tiny extra pounds felt more like a ton of bricks once we were about half way up the mountain! He was a champ about it though, he's only complaining about it now and the weight tends to grow a bit with every telling of the story....

It became very clear early on that this hike was no fucking joke. Tons of giant boulders, no real clear path, lots of zigzagging our way through super steep inclines - this was supposed to be the "easy" trail?! I would hate to see the hard one! The four of us are in pretty good shape, all runners and we workout, but the level of difficulty combined with the whole elevation factor made this one tough workout for every single one of us. When we made it to the top in just under two hours, we felt pretty proud of ourselves as the average hike time is 2.5 hrs. Still, we were winded and this was definitely the most challenging hike any of us had ever done.

Once at the top, we hiked across the plateau from one end to the other and hopped in a giant cable car to get down from the mountain top. That was really wild! This thing holds more than 50 people and the bottom spins, giving everyone a panoramic view as we descend. At first it was super disorienting, but it was really breathtaking once you got a feel for it.

We found our way back to the car, and our guide dropped us off back at the hotel. We were so exhausted, so rested a bit before grabbing a really quick bite for lunch. Dinner was early at 6:30, so we didn't want to over do it. We walked off our lunch and then got ready to head out to our traditional African drumming session and family style dinner at 6:30.

This was another one of my "unique finds," and the interactive nature of the experience definitely had me worried a bit. While I'm not generally overly thrilled about interactive meals, this concept seemed way too culturally interesting to pass up - I only hoped the group shared my same sentiments!

The experience started out simple enough, a drumming session taken VERY seriously by our drumming master. Brandon opted to freestyle, often times disrupting the entire group of people and causing us to start over. Jason and I took things seriously, in fear of what might happen if we disobey, or God forbid we fall off beat... And Claire connected with her inner Ansel Adams - capturing the entire activity through imagery, and managing to go undetected in the process.

Everything was great - traditional African fare that we would have otherwise never tried on our own. It was everything we could have hoped for from a true African culinary experience. And then things got real... So real that Jason was summoned by the African Gods, rising from the table and engaging in an authentic African dance! I shouldn't poke fun though, I was shortly enlisted in a similar activity of my own later on in the evening...

All in all, a pretty amazing second official night in Cape Town. Tomorrow, we expect to be oh so sore, and have all committed to some spa services in preparation. A little pampering for us all!

Travel Tales - Day 3

Day 3 - After some much needed rest, we woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed. We indulged in the complimentary breakfast, which was surprisingly very good. Free and enjoyable? Win!

After we finished up our coffee, we set off on a walk to find our bearings. We walked to a less commercial area and took in the incredible views of the coast. Once we had taken the road as far it would take us, we turned around and made our way back to the hotel. Jason and Claire were scheduled to be arriving shortly thereafter, so we needed to get checked into our room. We stayed in a single room the first night, but we were set to stay in a two bedroom suite with them upon their arrival. Easily one of the best decisions we've made thus far - this room has an insane balcony and view of the ocean. Very conducive to excessive wine drinking, which suits this crew quite well.

Knowing they were expected any minute, we hit play on the iPad, repeating Toto's "Africa" until they walked through the door. We ordered a fresh bottle of wine prior to their arrival, and greeted them with a glass as they came in. It was necessary to celebrate the fact that we were all finally in Africa!

The next few hours saw much of the same - drinking, discussing the trip ahead, recapping our traveling war stories, etc. But then it was time to get down to business - the choosing of the rooms. Arguably one of the most important elements of any trip, we always decide who gets what room in the only fair way we know how.... Through your standard best out of three paper, rock, scissors battle. Brandon "The Undefeated" Gayler came up big, after splitting the first two rounds. After the dust settled, we all unpacked quickly while getting ready for dinner.

For our first night, it only seemed right that we dine at a restaurant known for its local game. I personally spent a lot of time researching and planning for the food on our trip as a whole, so I was feeling some added pressure to deliver on night one. Carne SA is where we ate, and it absolutely did not disappoint. The ladies played it safe, ordering filet medallions, but that did not stop us from sampling from the men's more adventurous plates. They both got what was coined "The Safari." Made up of Ostrich, Kudu, Wildebeest, Impala and Blesbok, we all tried everything and loved it all!

After dinner wrapped, we decided to call it a night early. The Hylands were exhausted from all of the travel, and we decided we would wake up really early the next morning to hike Table Mountain. We are all in agreement that some physical activity is necessary after all of the sitting we had been doing on planes. We are so giddy that the trip we have been planning for so long has officially begun, we cannot wait to experience each day and watch each of our adventures unfold!

Travel Tales - Day 2

Day 2 - More travel... I realize this was my own genius idea to travel to the damn near most southern tip of Africa, but man.... It was so completely exhausting! Despite the various direction received from both United and Turkish Air, we ultimately ended up stuck with our coach tickets. 10+ hours in elf-size accommodations, coupled with what can only be referred to as a bodily functions battle of epic proportions, this was simply the Longest. Flight. Ever.

A bold statement, I know. On one hand, Brandon traded in his open mouth snoring for uncontrollable farting. And on the other, the woman occupying seat 24K (directly behind me) deserves a crown for seemingly never having used a stick of deodorant in her life. Seriously though, we could at least laugh at B's farts, which lingered only the appropriate amount of time - long enough to get a whiff, wonder who it came from, and then fade away.

A little shorter of an update today as there were no major items to report. After what seemed like a week, we finally made it to Cape Town in one piece and do not seem to be too poorly rested!  Once we got checked into the hotel and settled, we showered, grabbed dinner on the back patio and got in bed early. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm sitting in bed before 8:30pm right now, fighting my hardest to stay awake just to write more in this piece!

Jason and Claire arrive tomorrow afternoon, around 2pm. We are looking forward to waking up early and getting an official start to our trip, finally, on Day 3!

PS - Happy Birthday, Dan!

Friday Favorites

Fantasy Football - As if this week were not crazy enough, our Fantasy Draft took place on Tuesday night. While I did not prepare in the manner in which I like to, I am feeling pretty confident about this little squad I have put together for the 2014-15 season. At least for the time being...

Peyton Manning - Not only did I scoop him for my fantasy squad, but I am really loving his latest and greatest in commercial work. This time for Gatorade - check it out:

Birthdays Galore! - So many birthday celebrations to take place while we are gone! We are so sorry to miss them, but are sending our love from afar to: Dan on August 22nd, Dad on August 25th, Michelle on August 27th, Bailey Boo on August 28th and Sundi on August 31st.

Africa by Toto - I have every intention of playing this on repeat as I make my final decent into Cape Town. If it weren't frowned upon to disturb the entire plane, I would play it for all to hear...

Hiatus - As much as I would love to continue the upkeep of this little space of mine while I am gone, I am looking forward to the 16-day hiatus. Without further adieu, we bid you farewell. Until September 8th, anyway... Cheers!

Travel Tales - Day 1

Day 1 - if we can call it that? We departed Chicago late - around 10:30pm - on Wednesday night and enjoyed a life of luxury, flying Business Class on Turkish Airlines. Brandon open-mouth snored a solid 5 hours of the journey, so I imagine we are safe in assuming he enjoyed the accommodations as much as I did. We both dabbled in the fine wine offerings (B later crossing over into the world of Turkish beers), and the Turkish delights were a plenty. We arrived to Istanbul as well rested as we could possibly be after coming off an overnight, 12 hour jaunt....

A word to the wise when using reward miles - when you book Business Class on your own carrier, it apparently does not apply to all legs of the trip if operated by an affiliate airline. As you can imagine, this was a pretty big blow to our egos when we were refused entry to the extravagant Turkish Airlines lounge that occupies Istanbul's airport. Needless to say, after our minor cultural/customer service-related dispute with the desk attendants, we found solace elsewhere.

40 EUR a pop later, we are in the poor man's lounge enjoying beverages, clean bathrooms, food and Wi-Fi. This will likely be the most significant purchase of the entire trip - I'm not sure if we would have lasted 7 hours in the food court with such Turkish delicacies as Popeye's, Burger King and Sbarro....

So now we wait! We have about 2 more hours until we board for the final portion of our journey to Africa. We take off around 1am local time and are hopeful we can sleep through most of the flight.  Though I must admit, sleep pales in comparison to my dream of Brandon's sales skills being pushed to the extreme and scoring us two seats in Biz Class... Here's hoping!

We are scheduled to land around 1:40pm in Cape Town, after stopping briefly in Johannesburg. We couldn't be more excited to finally arrive - 2 continents later!

Until Day 2......