We Made It...

Second Leg: Amsterdam to Cape Town. 

Have you ever slept for three straight hours on an airplane and woken up only to realize that you had seven more ahead of you? It's...well...a special kind of feeling. 

To be in any one confined space for that long is challenging - both physically and mentally - and takes a different kind patience. And then - you know - there is also that realization that there's not a damn thing you can do about it. It's not like you can "hop out" if you get bored, so you just assign a different kind of mindset to it. Hunker down. Settle in. Enjoy the ride. Especially when you know all of the exciting adventures that lie ahead. 

We arrived in Cape Town late tonight. From the moment we landed and walked off the plane, there was this incredibly positive and almost joyful vibe in the terminal. It felt like a different kind of speed here all together. People were smiling and saying "hello" to each other as they walked through the airport terminal. Music was playing. People actually looked genuinely happy to be coming or going. Most noticeably, almost nobody had their cell phone in hand. Nobody looked distracted or disconnected. I'm really not trying to sensationalize the experience....it just truly was that way. It was incredibly refreshing.  

After a short and very pleasant 20 minute ride from the airport to downtown Cape Town, we checked into our "home base" for the next three nights: an artsy, industrial and architecturally stunning new boutique hotel called The Silo. 

The Silo was built in a grain elevator portion of the historic Grain Silo Complex occupying six floors above Zeitz MOCAA (Museum of Contemporary Art Africa). Zeitz MOCAA houses Africa’s largest collection of contemporary African art, and just celebrated its Grand Opening last week. 

The exterior of the building was designed by Thomas Heatherwick, Founder and Principal of the London-based Heatherwick Studio. From the outside, the greatest visible change to the building’s original structure is the addition of the ingenious glass windows inserted into the geometry of the hotel floors. These multi-faceted windows bulge outward as if gently inflated. By night, this transforms the building into a glowing beacon in the Table Bay harbour. I'm not totally sure what it look like from the outside in...but from the inside out...it is one of the most stunningly beautiful hotel room views I have ever experienced. 

It is, quite honestly, the coolest and hippest Hotel we have ever walked into. The vibe is chic, yet relaxed. Cool, yet unpretentious. The staff is second to none and the whole vibe is totally chill.  It makes you really not want to be anywhere else. Like there is no cooler place than where you are so why even bother?  

Except that - we're in Cape Town. A beautifully charming seaside mecca that has so much beauty and so much to offer that you would never find enough time to do it all in one visit.

So - since my Dad and I have only two full days here to take it all in before we board the train....we better get moving....