Glenfiddich spoils us with a yacht trip & some Jazz Fest celebrations

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Karisa

Glenfiddich kicks things off with a 12 year old, all the way up to a 50 year old and some other rare vintages in the mix too.

This past weekend I hopped on a yacht… just like you do on an average day here in the Mother City hey…

This total treat was thanks to Glenfiddich, the guys who have been distilling premium single malt whisky for just over 125 years now.

It all started back in 1887 with a man named William Grant who had a dream of producing the “best dram in the valley”. He called his whiskey Glenfiddich which means “Valley of the deer” in Gaelic and the rest as they say is history. Today the business is still entirely family owned and has serious bragging rights as being the world’s most awarded single malt Scotch whisky with more awards received since 2000 than any other brand in the same category. Sjoe, that’s very impressive, I have to say.

No surprise then that they have their own yacht which they decided to take out this past weekend for us to enjoy as part of the Cape Town Jazz Festival 2013 pre-party celebrations. (and I certainly wasn’t complaining)

We were welcomed at the V&A Waterfront North Wharf with some soft jazzy tunes…

Our DJ lookin’ smooth…

Followed by a really tasty lunch from Ardi’s:

Those calamari cups at the top were amazing (had a few too many of those) and then you could build your own sandwich/roll/shawarma. I absolutely love build-your-own food.

This was my sandwich-o-awesomeness creation:

You got some rocket, tomato, sweet chilli chicken, spicy mayo… topped with some crispy onion rings. Oh and a jalapeño on the side for extra spice. That’s just how I roll … Hehe, excuse the pun.

Then it was “all aboard!” time. I was joined by Clouds, Thandie Kupe & photographer Denzil Jacobs, along with a host of other fabulous looking folks who were clearly all very excited to get their yacht time on.

I also spotted and said hello to singer, Lindiwe Suttle. She’s an absolute sweetheart and she told us to keep an eye out in June for the launch of her very first album titled KAMIKAZE ART. Will certainly be doing that. I’ve seen her perform a few times at events and she’s incredible.

This is definitely what you call yacht chic…

And then we reached the point where I can stop talking and just let my photos tell the story… So here goes:

Cape Town you absolute beauty you. Loved every minute. A huge thanks to Glenfiddich as well as Leandi & Marisa from Butter Knife PR for the fabulous invite. This was definitely a great example of how to do your weekend in true style.

Me with the Glenfiddich Cape Town brand ambassador, Jazz. I was lusting after his Tom Ford shades… and his awesome job…

xxx

Friends of De Waal Park – secret superheroes of the CBD

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Karisa

This past Sun I was at De Waal Park for a FREE concert by SA band, Hot Water. It was the last concert in their 2012/2013 summer series of bi-weekly concerts which kicked off back in Nov last year.

I could kick myself for only managing to make it over there on the last bloody one, because it was really great. But jab, such is life, I have to face the fact that I can be a total dumb ass sometimes (but just sometimes).

With Table Mountain watching over you, De Waal Park is an awesome green sanctuary, right in the heart of the city. It’s also kid and dog friendly, so it’s fun for the whole family…

Like I said, there was a free concert by Hot Water happening on the day. They’ve got a great upbeat African sound and they certainly had folks movin’ and shakin’. Their vibe reminded me of a young Johnny Clegg actually. Very cool indeed.

It was the perfect day to chill on the grass with some picnic snacks and hang with friends…

Areas like these are truly special. Especially in the city where you’re usually just surrounded by concrete. This particular park also has a great play area for the little ones (and old ones who are still young at heart I guess) and the pond is enjoyed by all the doggies on those hot summer days. Doggies like this cute little guy:

How awesome is he? I was super tempted to sneak him out in my bag…

But all this awesomeness does come with a lot of hard work & a lot of the time the maintenance of parks aren’t really that high on a city’s agenda due to other issues that need attention. Therefore in 2008 the Friends of De Waal Park was formed to assist the council with the maintenance of the park and ensure that this remains a safe & beautiful space for everyone to enjoy.

So far they’ve upgraded the children’s play area, they make sure the pond is cleaned regularly, they arranged more benches & tables, service of the toilets and currently they’re repairing the fountain. These awesome folks are also the people who secure sponsorship for these free concerts in the summer, and they have lots of other big plans for the park still to come.

I wanted to give Friends of De Waal Park a mention because I think what they’re doing for the inner city is absolutely incredible. I want everyone to please check out their website link above and read up on all the great things they’ve done and still plan to do. And if you are able to sponsor or help with anything in any way, do give them a shout.

Happy park life Cape Town!

xxx

Galileo Open Air Cinema fun

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Karisa

Last Wed eve I finally got around to checking out the Galileo Open Air Cinema at Kirstenbosch Gardens. I don’t know about you guys, but I just love the idea of watching movies out in the open with the starry night sky above you. In my book it’s romantic, special, magical and all that good stuff.

The Galileo Cinema shows movies on a weekly basis (usually Wed evenings) at the Marquee Lawn in the gardens. They run on a 4 week cycle as follows:

1st week of the month: Documentaries
2nd week of the month: Best Foreign
3rd week of the month: Adventure Sports
4th week of the month: All-Time Classics

Before the movie starts you can grab a bite to eat (there are choices like sandwiches, paella, salads, pies and more), get a nice cup of artisan coffee or just a classic popcorn & Coke combo. Then pull up a spot on the grass, sit back & reeeeeelaaaaax…

You can also pack your own picnic basket which is what quite a few folks do. That way you can also bring your favourite bottle of vino along.

I got a tip off before hand that going for the option of renting a chair is a goodie. So that’s what I did. It’s not really a full size chair, it’s more like a soft backrest, but it certainly does make things comfier:

So I’d also say, bring your own blankie because it can get a bit chilly, and then go for the chair rental.

The show starts with some previews of movies to come and then you’re off. We watched the original Frankenstein which was quite a lot of fun. Movies & acting were just so different back then and therefore we enjoyed quite a few giggles.

The rest of the programme looks like this:

6 Feb: Food, Inc.
13 Feb: La Vita e Bella
♥♥♥ 14 Feb special Valentine’s screening ♥♥♥: Love Actually (Take note boys!)
21 Feb: Step Into Liquid
27 Feb: E.T
6 Mar: One Day on Earth
13 Mar: City of God
20 Mar: TBC
27 Mar: Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels
3 Apr: The Cove
10 Apr: The Motorcycle Diaries
17 Apr: TBC
24 Apr: Pulp Fiction

And some important things you need to know:

Tickets:
- Available 2 weeks before a movie shows (so get in there early people, numbers are limited) If a show is sold out, you won’t be able to get tickets at the door.
- If you buy online, you will save R10 on your ticket.
- Online prices: R60 for entry only. R69 for entry + blanket. R78 for entry + chair. R85 for entry + blanket + chair.
- Prices at the door: R70 for entry, then add R10 for a blanket and R20 for a chair (but this is subject to availability)
- Get your tickets via Webtickets over here.
Weather on the night:
- Light drizzle does not mean the movie is cancelled, so bring some raincoats if that’s the case.
- Rain will mean the movie will be moved to the following day. So always keep that in mind. You’ll have to be available the following day cause they won’t give you a refund if you can’t.
- If it rains the following day as well, they’ll refund you in full.
Show times:
- Doors open at 6pm so you can get in early and secure your spot on the lawn.
- Movies start between 7pm and 8:15pm, depending on when the sun sets. But just check your ticket for confirmation of the starting time of your particular movie
Where do I go?
- Marquee Lawn, just to the left as you enter Gate 2.
- There’s plenty secure parking just outside the Marquee Lawn, so you don’t have to find street parking outside the gardens.

I’m really looking forward to ET on the 27th of Feb. That’s one of my favourite movies of all time. (I’m such a typical 80s child ) Pulp Fiction will be another must see for me and then whatever I can get to in between. Really love this concept, and because it’s only a summer thing, I want to try soak up as much of it as possible.

See you guys on the lawn…

xxx

Life’s not too hard when…

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Karisa

Yeah, I know it’s Monday.. and everybody hates Mondays…

Photo credit: http://www.someecards.com

But you know what, I’m still on a high from my Sunday because of the most beautiful day I got to enjoy. I mean come now, life can’t be all that hard when your view is this:

Right? We’re a damn lucky bunch Cape Town. That’s Clifton 1st beach taken from a friend’s place who was having a little poolside soiree yesterday… And to get through my Monday, I’ve decided that I’m going to keep these images in my head as a form of meditation. Breathe in… breathe out…

I then figured maybe I should share the love too, just in case it could help you through your Monday as well. So here’s hoping. And remember, forge ahead folks! Next weekend is only 5 days away.

xxx

Kirstenbosch summer concerts, still a Sunday eve staple

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Karisa

Last Sun I headed through to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden for a friend’s birthday party…

A friend who I clearly love A HELLUVA LOT cause I went even though The Parlotones was playing. I hate The Parlotones, most of my other friends hate them too, and therefore I’ve had to endure a world of hurt for committing to going to this. For example one friend asked me whether I got my tickets to Justin Bieber. I was like, um hell no, and he said well if you love The Parlotones, it just makes sense that you’d be a Belieber too… aarggh… then my friend Darryn even went through the trouble of doing some careful photo editing and tweeting this:

Oh… I see what you did there Darryn… Clever, very clever.

But whatevs OK, I’m a good friend. And when my friend wants to watch the gawd damn Parlotones on her birthday, I suck it up and I go.

Luckily for me Kirstenbosch also happens to be one of the most beautiful places to chill in the city. And manned with some awesome picnic snacks and great company, it really didn’t matter all that much what the background music was.

Couldn’t believe how many people there were… hectic…

Plus, I also had these:

Aaaah… cupcakes make the world a better place…

So I still had a great time. But it got me thinking, I wonder what the rest of the summer concert schedule looks like. Turns out, there’s some pretty amazing acts still on the lineup, just check this out:

20 Jan 2013 - Jimmy Dludlu (2)
27 Jan 2013 - Toya Delazy and Lindiwe Suttle (2)
3 Feb 2013 - Freshlyground (2)
10 Feb 2013 - Cape Town Folk n Acoustic Music Festival (1)
17 Feb 2013 - Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse (2)
24 Feb 2013 - The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra (2)
3 March 2013 - Goldfish (2)
10 March 2013 - Jeremy Loops and Holiday Murray (1)
17 March 2013 - Ringo Madlingozi (2)
24 March 2013 - Shadowclub and Gangs of Ballet (1)
31 March 2013 - Mi Casa and Natasha Meister (2)
7 April 2013 - Johnny Clegg (2)

The (1) and (2)’s behind each artist’s name indicates the ticket rates:

(1) adults R85, youth (6 – 21yrs with ID) R60, Bot Soc members (with card) R75
(2) adults R110, youth (6 – 21yrs with ID) R80, Bot Soc members (with card) R100

Some really good ones there right? I’ve got my eye on a few, so the gardens will definitely be seeing me again.

Also keen? Then get your tickets from Webtickets over here.

xxx

Congrats Cape Town! You beauty…

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Karisa

If you haven’t already heard, Cape Town has just won the title of Africa’s Leading Beach Destination in the 2012 World Travel Awards. Woohoo!

Now I know some of you might not think that this award is all that impressive seeing as it’s only for Africa and not the whole world. BUT please don’t forget that we still kicked the ass of incredibly beautiful places like Mozambique, Kenya & Zanzibar to name a few – even though we have that little issue with our freakin’ freazing water. Brrrrrr. So ja, in my book, that’s pretty damn impressive and I’m very very proud…

To celebrate I decided to pull out two of my favourite beach pics from my personal stash. Two photo’s which I feel show exactly why we came out tops:

Taken at this year’s Caprice Volleyball tournament

Pink sunset over Camps Bay… just doesn’t get better than that.

Again, congrats Cape Town! Keep up the good work.

xxx

If the weather outside is awesome, maybe consider an alternative option to just hitting the beach…

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Karisa

First off, happy Heritage Day & National Braai day to everyone! Hope you guys enjoy the day off and have something amazing planned. To me the perfect day would involve killing a boerie roll or three.

Right, now onto what I wanted to blab about today… About 2 weeks ago we had this freak summer’s day – 30 degrees, no wind, no cloud cover, just absolute perfection. I had big plans to spend the day at the beach, but thing is, if you want to hit the beach, you’ve gotta try get there early. Otherwise finding parking ends up being a painful and traumatic experience. It just so happened that I had a crazy few days before and my body just really needed a good lie-in that morning. When I finally surfaced, I figured, why mission all the way to the beach now and fight my way through the crowds when I’m a 5min walk away from The Company’s Garden, one of the most beautiful places in the city and a perfect spot to chill and soak up some sun.

Also, I knew there’s a little restaurant in the gardens which I hadn’t tried out yet, so I could also grab a quick bite under the trees. Brilliant. So off I went, boyfriend in tow, he didn’t really have an option as I had no food in the house (as usual). hehe.

The gardens are beautiful at the moment. Lush, green, flowers blooming, birds & squirrels out and about. It definitely has a strong calming effect on you. People were chilling on the lawns, some reading, some chatting, others working on their tan. It’s also “kid friendly”, so there were lots of mini-me types running around like they’ve just escaped captivity. To sum it up: the best alternative to the beach really.

We grabbed a table at The Gardens Restaurant. The place kinda has a bit of an outdoors Wimpy feel to it. Definitely a bit old school. The menu covers basic items like toasted sandwiches, salads, burgers & omelettes. Then they also had a Sun lunch special that day which was roast beef or lam with hot veg for R85. They do a few meat, chicken & seafood dishes as well. Like calamari, grilled hake, roast chicken & lamb chops & filltet steak (R89) as examples. Then for dessert you can get some ice cream and pancakes. They have waitresses, but the service is veeeeeerrrry slow. It took forever just to get our table cleaned (from the people before us) and get some menus.

While we were waiting I noticed the table next to ours was packed with pigeons, all fighting over left over pieces of bread and such. It reminded me of this old Animaniacs cartoon I used to love called the Goodfeathers. The cartoon was about these 3 pigeons who were part of the pigeon mafia and trying to make it on the tough streets of the city (basically they made fun of movies like The Godfather). Then sometimes they would be visited by their boss, The Godpigeon, who was this fat pigeon who used to just mumble stuff at them in an non-apprehendable, funny manner. It was very cool. I see you can still check out a few clips on Youtube…

I’m guessing the big guy perched on the back of the chair is the boss. He looks like he’s handing out the commands…

Anyways, we decided to keep things simple. I opted for a toasted tuna mayo sandwich with chips (R40) and Bjorn opted for an egg burger with chips (R48). All I’m gonna say is – at least the chips were kinda good. They were the chunky, beachfront take-away type which tastes awesome when drenched with white wine vinegar. Lemme show you:

As for the rest. I’d rather not comment. This is certainly not a dining destination… It’s a little sad though, because there’s so much potential for this little garden restaurant to be totally awesome. I mean, don’t they always say “location, location, location”? This spot certainly has that angle covered. The place is just in desperate need of a Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares style revamp. Until then I’d say just stick to some drinks maybe. You can at least have a cheap & cheerful glass of wine or a coffee or something.

But you know what, the best way to enjoy the gardens is to just pack your own picnic basket in any case. That’s what I’m planning on doing next time. The little restaurant hiccup is really a minor because there’s still sooooo much to enjoy. If town is a little out of your way, just check if there’s a public garden in your area. Cape Town’s great that way. You can hop on over here for a few more options.

Just a tip to the ladies though – dont’ be walking through the gardens on your own at night. This is still town and there are still dodgy characters around. Be smart & alert at all times.

xxx

Limoncello en route

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Karisa

This past Sun, en route back into town from Hout Bay via the M6, as we went past the Oudekraal Market area, we were intrigued by a very cool retro food truck next to the road called Limoncello. We decided to stop off and investigate…

Named after that famous Italian lemon liquer… Limoncello is brought to you by the folks of Cape Town Food Trucks who’s goal is “bringing good food to the best spots in Cape Town”. This they certainly did, because a better backdrop & view you really couldn’t ask for. Check it out:

Their menu has some Italian flavour with options like calzones, paninis and pasta and you can also grab a quick cappuccino or espresso:

We tried the veg calzone, which is big enough for two people to share if you’re not too hungry:

And it went down like a treat… very cheesy & totally yum.

The food was great, but the best part for me was that this was the perfect chill en kak praat spot. It was cold, so we got back into the car. But it was kinda like sitting at the drive-thru, checking out the best movie ever (featuring our beautiful Cape Town scenery of course) and just talking shit for a while with no obligations to be anywhere at any time, just letting time pass by slowly and enjoying the moment… #bliss.

The truck hits various spots in Cape Town, so to keep up with their movements, best you follow them on Twitter: @CTFoodTrucks – I see they’ll be at the Oudekraal market again today from 12 – 6pm and then Harrington St tomorrow from 11am.

Tasty food on the move, love it!

xxx

Meanwhile… over in Mouille Point…

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Karisa

Some stormy weather still manages to leave incredible beauty behind…

Just needed to share. Hope everyone’s having an amazing weekend so far.

xxx

Sun, sand & some serious competition

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Karisa

This past Sat, 24 teams battled it out for the prestigious annual Café Caprice Volleyball tournament trophy.

Prizes included Sunglass Hut sunglasses, Havaianas vouchers and Havana Club beach kits. But the true prize of course is the bragging rights.

The lovely people from Caprice made sure people were refreshed, well fed and sun protected with yummy Red Bull mocktails being served at the beach bar, tasty mini burgers (which I missed sadly cause I only got there too late) and lovely ladies walking the beach handing out free sunscreen.

Weather wise it was the perfect day - slightly overcast which gave you some relief from the sun every now and again, but still nice and hot. The following 2 pics set the scene quite well:

Stunning right? The beauty of our beaches continues to blow me away. They are truly world class and in my personal opinion (and experience) totally trumps even those of Brazil and Thailand.

Anyhoo, the tournament consisted of 5 a side games, scheduled for 2 sets of 7min each (with the teams swapping sides after the 1st set). My boy Bjorn and his friends, known as the Virgin daiquiris started out very strong, cruising through the early rounds without really breaking a sweat.

In between games Bjorn even made some time to do some Sunglass Hut marketing. (I think we was trying to ensure free sunnies whether they won or not. That’s good planning. )

The sunscreen is supposed to say “SGH” for Sunglass Hut of course

Team spirits remained high as they blew the competition out of the water and made it to the quarter finals with ease…

It was easy to see why though. Just check out that defense! Nothing was gonna get past this team:

The Virgin daiquiris was the only team who had as many as 3 ladies in the team. Some might say that was a risk, but I say that’s what gave them the edge. Just look at Karin’s impressive smashing skills for example:

You might be thinking “Hey K, why weren’t you in the team? You seem fit and amazing and gorgeous and stuff…” Well you see, I have a “volleyball disability” – from a very young age I was the ball-smashed-in-the-face girl. And no, I’m not talking about those kind of balls. Get your minds out of the gutter. I’m obviously referring to balls used in sports. For example, I could be in a crowd of like a thousand people. There would be no ball in sight. I’d turn around and then – WHAM – right in the face. My mom’s dreams of me becoming a SA netball champion were crushed. Due to this problem, I now flinch just at the mention of the word “volleyball”. This clearly equates to pretty crappy playing skills. So there you go… my truly sad back story… sob sob…

Back to the tournament, there was also a prize for the best dressed team. Some folks went all out, like these dudes who looked like they were wearing pajamas:

They must have been bloody boiling! Bjorn’s friend, Nick, noted that it would be pretty damn embarrassing to loose against a team wearing PJ “onesies”. I thought he made a very good point…

The guys who took the prize in the end were these brave, leopard print legging clad gentlemen:

Like totes hot right now…

The daiquiris didn’t have time to play dress up – they were there for one thing and one thing only… winning! They smashed through the quarter finals and then the semi-finals and winning scores like this one just became the norm really:

My pic of the day has to be this one. Love how the clouds in the sky was doing this awesome striped effect:

Love how Jared also looks like he’s about to do a very intricate dive maneuver. Score? Perfect 10!

Throughout the tournament, Bjorn certainly proved that white men can in fact jump… even when you’re not totally blessed in the “beanpole” arena.

Some seriously slick moves there…

In the end, not even the finals was a threat for the Virgin daiquiris’ kick-ass skills. They came out on top, smiling all the way.

Let’s take a closer look at that beaut of a trophy:

Oooooh aaaaaah

Well done guys! Obviously you couldn’t have done it without my support though. So if anyone wants to gift one of those free pairs of sunnies, please feel free.

Who knows, maybe I’ll get over my ball-in-the-face fear and give this a bash next year. Then again… that would require a lot of practice… hmmm… I’m more of a chillin’ with cocktail in hand girl… nah, rather just play to my strengths.

xxx

My Love Affair with Cape Town…

Just random fun in my mother city

Category Archives: Chill spots