All The Places I Have Lived: Part One - Cape Town, South Africa.

This is home. The place I flock to when I need grounding; it represents family and good memories and sunshine. With some of the best cuisine and wines in the world, accompanied by scenery to rival any other major tourist hub, Cape Town has it all. My biased opinion of my birth town isn't misplaced though, and Cape Town has hit numerous destination hot-spot lists over the years, breezily taking it all in with the cool Cape vibe this city oozes in buckets.

The Western Cape is expansive and one of the things you will find living in the city and it's surrounding suburbs is that having a car to get around is a necessity. Nothing is really close together, and it can take an hour to get from the centre of town to a neighbouring suburb if you don't time the traffic right. My husband started his banking career at Absa Bank in Heerengracht (Cape Town CBD) and I was the lift home. Trust me, traffic and erratic drivers on the roads can bring you to your knees! I wont mention the lawless taxis, as that could be an entire post, but let's just say that traffic in the Cape is not always awesome and in the holiday season it can become unbearable. Crime is always a factor in South Africa and this isn't place specific. Always be vigilant and precautious about the areas you are visiting, and if you haven't been to this city before and want to get the most from your trip in the safest possible way, I advocate strongly for our local tour guides who are so knowledgeable and savvy, that having an amazing trip would go without saying. Always go on word of mouth and ask for recommendations if you aren't sure where to start looking. Google is great, but first hand experience is always better.

With the 'worts' out the way, time for the 'all'...

Cape Town is one of those places that you could experience such a vast array of highlights all in one day. My personal favourite is the bus tour from the Waterfront as it crams in all of my favourite Town Centre spots and a few of the best places to eat all in one go. It's bang for your buck with a bit of history and an opportunity to explore thrown in, and if you start early, you could fit in a small chunk of time meandering the luscious Kirstenbosch Gardens that nestle at the foot of Table Mountain. Naturally the Mountain itself is a huge attraction, but you can see it from everywhere and admire it's beauty from all of the suburbs. Anytime you travel away from it, you really get the best view so make sure you branch out and explore much further!

One of the most famous spots to go and have your phone taken with a backdrop of our famous mountain is in Blouberg Beach area. This was my local 'spot' to party and anyone who lived there when I did knows all about the Beachfront and Gino's on a Thirsty Thursday. Sadly Gino's is no more, and I have no idea if the beachfront scene is still alive, but sundowners at Blue Peter's is still a thing, and one of the best places to catch the last rays of the day surrounded by friends and a beer. The west coast of Cape Town runs from the harbour in Town through Paarden Eiland and into Table View. From here you hit Blouberg, then Melkbos and then on to the smaller villages that line the R27, better know as the West Coast road. Follow the road all the way up to Namibia if you love a long drive, or enjoy the quiet fishing villages that dot the veld that runs along this natural belt.

Yzerfontein is a favourite of mine and close enough to do a day trip, being only an hour by car from Cape Town. There is also local game to see at Buffelsfontein, the Nature Reserve and Churchaven, as well as the !Khwa tthu Village. Here you can learn all about the local San people who lived there before colonialism and the tribe wars wiped them out. Hikes, beaches, surfing and seafood is really how the locals roll this side of the coast. It is very relaxed here and my base when I return. There is just something about those crushed seashells that fill the gardens, driveways and beaches alike, spilling into the road and inevitably into every crevice of your home. It is glorious. Everyone says hello and if you live there all year round like my Dad, you know almost everyone else in the village too. I highly recommend anywhere in this area, up to Langebaan, to really see the beauty and nature the West Coast of South Africa has to offer. September is known locally as the 'West Coast Flower Show' and the ground comes alive in Spring showcasing a spectacular array of colour for miles and miles around.

No trip to the fair Cape of Good Hope would be complete without a visit to the winelands. The sheer variety and craftsmanship that goes into South African wines is beyond what most can comprehend. It is more than just a bottle of wine here, and you can get very good wine at some of the best prices around. What supermarket's in the UK import is utter rubbish compared to what you could source from a local vineyard this side of the pond. Wine here is a culture, it's an understanding of how nature works with nurture and art to create some of the most rivalled bottles of perfectly fermented grapes. Stellenbosch and Franschoek boast majestic scenery to enjoy a tasting, and you are completely spoilt for choice with the amount of vineyards on offer. There is a lot of information I could share, and the winelands alone could be it's own post (just like the taxis!), but just know that from Durbanville to Darling and every other vineyard inbetween, they all offer more than just your average bottle of Tesco's plonk.

I could ramble on and on about my 'Mother City' and the culture, diversity, adventure and amazing landscape many get to call home. Living away from there is heartache at times, and triumph at times too. It's a bittersweet relationship of push and pull where my heart says stay, but my head says explore, much more is out there. So for now I will appreciate and share the very best of this country with my friends I get to bring back and introduce to South Africa, or write about it to you so that YOU know it's majesty and can sit in awe with me from afar. Either way Cape Town and it's famous mountain aren't known as one of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World' for nothing, and it isn't all mountain and winelands either. This place is magic and music and storm clouds and sunshine; it has a real-live heart beat that thrives on the arrival of a new faces to take it all in for the first time and join in on the dance and the rhythms of this incomparable city.

(Join me for Part Two of 'All The Places I Have Lived' where I will talk about moving to Thailand, and what it was like to live there as a foreign local/farang! - coming soon)