I promised to recap some of our wedding tales, so here we go. I'll start with the week before our wedding, also known as Our Time in Cape Town.
When planning our wedding, we knew that we were going to leave for our honeymoon within a couple days of our wedding. We also knew that every single guest would be travelling from overseas (with the exception of two beloved friends who travelled from Johannesburg). In order to maximize our visiting time with everybody, we decided to spend the week before our wedding in Cape Town. We opened this up to our friends and family, inviting them to join us.
And most did! We had a small wedding - just 28 guests - and 20 of those guests joined us in Cape Town! Most of us stayed in the same hotel, and those who didn't stayed in walking distance.
It was crazy and chaotic and some of the most fun I've ever had in my life.
Top Ten Cape Town Week Experiences:
1. Friends and family from England, Canada and Australia got to mingle and get to know each other all week. Because our loved ones came from all over, most of them didn't know each other. This week made our wedding more intimate and relaxed and fun because by the time our wedding came around, everybody knew each other and had a week of crazy experiences together. The absolute most beautiful thing about it was that these friendships between our loved ones have continued beyond the South African adventure, and I adored having been able to introduce the people I love most in this world to each other.
2. Our hotel: The Grand Daddy Hotel. I know, I know, it sounds like it should be one of those pay-by-the-hour hotels, but it's not. It is a really swanky boutique hotel in the heart of Cape Town with an outdoor movie theatre, a rooftop bar, a rooftop trailer park (yep, you read that right - and you can actually stay in the trailers! We stayed in the Gold Rush one for one night) and the friendliest and most helpful staff ever.
3. The food. Oh the food. Cape Town is definitely a city for those of us who like to eat!
4. Touring Robben Island. This is where Mr. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. Touring this island prison was a powerful and moving experience made even more so by the fact that tour guides are former prisoners.
5. Looking at Table Mountain. This iconic landmark is simply beautiful, and can be seen from most everywhere.
6. Hiking up Table Mountain. This took us the better part of three hours, and was harder than it looked. But the views were worth it. So were the dassies - these funny little creatures that look like a cross between a beaver and a guinea pig.
7. Our day spent on a Uthando Cultural Tour. This is a non profit an fair trade tourism company that raises funds and other forms of assistance for community development projects in South Africa. We visited four Township projects including a day care centre for children with HIV positive parents, a women's co-op initiative and my favourite, the 'daycare for oldies'. This was such a special day full of memories we'll treasure forever. We also bought some of our wedding favours from the women's co-op.
8. Wandering the coastline with my best friends and their daughter (our flower girl).
9. Penguins! We saw penguins, up close!!
10. Cage diving with the great white sharks. This was definitely an unforgettable experience - and not as terrifying as I thought it would be.
When planning our wedding, we knew that we were going to leave for our honeymoon within a couple days of our wedding. We also knew that every single guest would be travelling from overseas (with the exception of two beloved friends who travelled from Johannesburg). In order to maximize our visiting time with everybody, we decided to spend the week before our wedding in Cape Town. We opened this up to our friends and family, inviting them to join us.
And most did! We had a small wedding - just 28 guests - and 20 of those guests joined us in Cape Town! Most of us stayed in the same hotel, and those who didn't stayed in walking distance.
It was crazy and chaotic and some of the most fun I've ever had in my life.
Top Ten Cape Town Week Experiences:
1. Friends and family from England, Canada and Australia got to mingle and get to know each other all week. Because our loved ones came from all over, most of them didn't know each other. This week made our wedding more intimate and relaxed and fun because by the time our wedding came around, everybody knew each other and had a week of crazy experiences together. The absolute most beautiful thing about it was that these friendships between our loved ones have continued beyond the South African adventure, and I adored having been able to introduce the people I love most in this world to each other.
2. Our hotel: The Grand Daddy Hotel. I know, I know, it sounds like it should be one of those pay-by-the-hour hotels, but it's not. It is a really swanky boutique hotel in the heart of Cape Town with an outdoor movie theatre, a rooftop bar, a rooftop trailer park (yep, you read that right - and you can actually stay in the trailers! We stayed in the Gold Rush one for one night) and the friendliest and most helpful staff ever.
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| {Image taken from here} |
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| {Image taken from here} |
4. Touring Robben Island. This is where Mr. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. Touring this island prison was a powerful and moving experience made even more so by the fact that tour guides are former prisoners.
5. Looking at Table Mountain. This iconic landmark is simply beautiful, and can be seen from most everywhere.
6. Hiking up Table Mountain. This took us the better part of three hours, and was harder than it looked. But the views were worth it. So were the dassies - these funny little creatures that look like a cross between a beaver and a guinea pig.
7. Our day spent on a Uthando Cultural Tour. This is a non profit an fair trade tourism company that raises funds and other forms of assistance for community development projects in South Africa. We visited four Township projects including a day care centre for children with HIV positive parents, a women's co-op initiative and my favourite, the 'daycare for oldies'. This was such a special day full of memories we'll treasure forever. We also bought some of our wedding favours from the women's co-op.
8. Wandering the coastline with my best friends and their daughter (our flower girl).
9. Penguins! We saw penguins, up close!!
10. Cage diving with the great white sharks. This was definitely an unforgettable experience - and not as terrifying as I thought it would be.
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