From pristine white beaches and alien-like landscape, to little fishing villages and houses painted in the all the colours of a rainbow, Cape town is by far one of the most beautiful and diverse cities in the world.

I decided to take a short trip this weekend, to visit some friends I had not seen in years. So needless to say, there was copious amounts of drinking and late nights as the weekend turned out to be a two day pub crawl, hectic! One of the places that stood out for me was Observatory or “Obs”, as it is affectionately known, it’s Cape Town’s bohemian suburb.

Under apartheid, Observatory enjoyed “grey area” status, meaning that people of all races lived together, and its spirit has persisted into the new South Africa. Its numerous clubs and restaurants, along with book and curio shops that stay open until late, make Obs, the ideal night-time spot. Visiting at night also means you see Obs at its best – when the shabby chic of its slightly dilapidated buildings is less obvious.

We ended up having supper in a lovely Victorian style restaurant, called ‘A Touch of Madness‘, the food as it normally is in Cape Town, was divine, the ambiance cosy, with lots of nooks and crannies, photo’s and weathered odds and ends scattered hap-hazardly around the rooms, once or twice I got the krills, when my imagination started going into over-drive thinking about the possibility that there could be resident ghost in the house.

We eventually stumbled out of Obs, early hours of the morning after getting side-tracked by Poncho’s mexican restaurant and their famous Lemon and Strawberry Margaritas and Chilly poppers!

So with a short sleep and ‘Oh my head, I’m never going to drink again’ mantra, I was back on the plane heading home. I love Cape Town and I love its diversity, but hell, it was cold!

By: Kerry

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