The Rest of Barcelona and all of Cape Town

Ok so I’ve slacked off big time over the past 8 days but it’s been a bit of a whirlwind and does not seem to be slowing down any time soon (though we do return in 3 weeks).

So a team consisting of me, Nadine, and two other Canadians ended up winning quiz night and in the process winning 125 Euros to be split between the 4 of us. Not bad considering most teams had 8-10 people (it helped that there were three questions concerning Canada including “In which country can you find the township of Dildo”…answer, Newfoundland, Canada)

Nadine and I took our share (which were really 5 Euro tickets to be used at designated areas) and spent the next day doing a bike tour around Barcelona with the guy who ran quiz night (an Australian guy who was supposed to come to Barcelona for 10 days and stayed 9 ½ years). The bike tour was great and I got to ride what looked like a chopper bike in the sense that I was sitting like I was on a Harley. Stopped for some 1 Euro wine and tapas during the tour which wasn’t too bad either. We did the Picasso museum as well which was a little better than the one in Paris that I did the last time I was in France. At night we went for a Spanish cooking lesson and made Sangrias and Pailella.

Friday we went up to one of the hillside areas of Barcelona mainly so I could see the Olympic stadium and everything that was built around it to spruce Barcelona up in 1992. Most locals will tell you that the place had not been restored since Franco destroyed in during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, and the Olympics was the catalyst for it. The National Palace and other monuments surrounds the stadium and the swimming pool and it sits in a great setting on top of the hillside.

Saturday our day was basically dedicated to Antoni Gaudi the famous Spanish architect as we first went to his unbelievable park that sits on the other mountain-side area of Barcelona. We then went to two of his buildings in the city which stand out immensely and we went in one of them. The architecture is very unique and is heavily influenced by his absinthe drinking. We topped it off with the Sagrada Familia church which we had seen the outside during the bike tour but did not go inside the first time. We went in this time and unfortunately they still have not completed it even though Gaudi died in 1926. It will be massive but is strange in the sense that the new architects have made their own redesigns so it looks a little funny from the outside.

We left Barcelona Sunday evening and flew back to London only to fly 11.5 hours down to Cape Town. We arrived back in the “developing” world Monday morning (developing is in quotations because Cape Town hardly looks developing). We checked out the Waterfront once we had set our bags at Duncan’s place. We then decided on basically no rest to climb Lion’s Head mountain which is part of the Table Mountain National Park chain of mountains. Duncan and his two female roommates were on full rest as opposed to Nadine and I who were slightly exhausted. None the less it was one of the greatest scenery shots I have ever seen as Cape Town is surrounded by unbelievable oceans and mountains which might make it the prettiest city I have ever been to.

Tuesday Nadine and I took the hop on hop off tour bus and checked out the South Africa Museum, Jewish Museum, District 6 museum (which the movie District 9 is apparently loosely based on), and rode the bus the rest of the circuit seeing some of the other scenes in Cape Town.

Wednesday, after Duncan and I stayed up to watch Canada wallop Germany until 5am, him, me, Nadine, and his roommates hit the road to drive to Simon’s Town and Cape Point. Simon’s Town is the scene of penguins walking around and you can basically get up right beside them but do not touch them as they bite. The drive from Simon’s Town to Cape Point is the most spectacular drive I have ever taken and the scene at Cape Point might beat the one from Lion’s Head, though it is very close.

This morning, again after Duncan and I watched Canada hammer Russia until 5am, Nadine and I took the incredibly sea-sick inducing ferry ride to Robben Island which is the prison where Mandela and other political prisoners, along with common law prisoners, resided until the early eighties. It is quite the scene and 120 people actually still live there despite the fact that the prison has not been a prison since 1996. Mandela’s cell is the only one with stuff still in it as it is obviously a huge tourist attraction.

That is all for now as Nadine and I are headed to Zambia for Victoria Falls in the morning.