Not all those who wander are lost.

Christmas cheer in Frankfurt.

Jessica B — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

This last layover was in Frankfurt am Main, the same city I stayed in on my very first trip to South Africa. Life has a very strange way of coming full circle sometimes.

It was an early morning arrival, I was out of the airport by 6:30am and in the city by 7am. It didn’t feel like morning though as the entire city was still dark, the sun not rising until 8:30am. This made the city streets especially cold and stark. Still, the city was dressed for Christmas and that brightened my spirits.

I stopped at a Turkish cafe for some tea and before I knew it, the Christmas market was in full swing. It turns out that Frankfurt has a HUGE Christmas market (my pictures do NOT do it justice, better pictures here). There were brightly lit carousels full of kids and vendors selling all sorts of Christmas treats, some of which I recognized and some of which were completely new.

All good things must come to an end though and I had to leave the Christmas cheer while it was still early. The airport info guy told me to be back at 12noon for my flight that was boarding at 12:45pm. I was back a little after noon and made it to my gate by 12:30pm. Nice. Eight more hours and I would be home!

Tasting (sparkling) wine and brandy too.

Jessica B — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 01:00:00 +0000

My last day in Cape Town, I went with friends wine tasting in and around Stellenbosch. The day was a scorcher and Marieke and I both were badly sunburned from our weekend escapades. We jumped from shady spot to shady spot. I went so far as to wrap my sarong around my legs, they were burning every time the sun touched them.

The wine was delicious. The brandy tasting not so much, I put it to my lips but it tasted like gasoline! Though the brandy cocktail Marieke had was scrumptious. The recipe is below.

It was bittersweet. Cape Town is a horrible place to have to leave. I spent every morning I could on the beach, and every evening too. But all good things must come to an end. From Cape Town, I flew to Johannesburg for a short layover before continuing on a flight back to the Northern hemisphere.

Penguins, Capes, + Sunsets.

Jessica B — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 06:35:53 +0000

Cape Town, if you didn’t know it, means penguins, Cape Point, and beautiful sunsets. Sunday was a day to enjoy all three.

Top of the Table.

Jessica B — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:00:02 +0000

Visiting the top of Table Mountain was one of the last things on my bucket list during my semester abroad. And here it is again, one of my last sunsets in South Africa from the top.

Beach sun + MCQP fun.

Jessica B — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 05:24:38 +0000

Summer is in full swing in South Africa and you can’t miss this in Cape Town. There is a beautiful blue sky everyday and hot sun that absolutely bakes the city. Fortunately, there are beaches in just about every direction. So I headed to Clifton Beach for an afternoon chill and sundowners.

Then it was time for Mother City Queer Party at Cape Town Stadium. This is South Africa’s (and maybe all of Africa’s) largest queer party but it doesn’t happen without a bucket of money (which, again, means lots of white people). Only after getting there did I realize that I didn’t have my ticket like I thought I did (long story and major fail), but I made the best of it and romped around, meeting people, and taking pictures of the zany costumes.