The Dubliner, Old Biscuit Mills, and the World's Biggest Food Coma

As Friday night rolled around, we were all very excited to explore the night life of the city. For our first official Friday night, my housemates and I chose to check out the Dubliner, which is an Irish pub located on Long street. Needless to say, when we went there we didn't feel like we were in South Africa at all. We met a lot of University of Cape Town students and some older Cape Town residents. The best part about the night was the live band, which consisted of an older couple playing all old American classics. They were really good and it was nice to have a little taste of home!

Saturday morning arrived quickly and all the roommates and I were up early filled with much excitement! The reason being.....we were headed to Old Biscuit Mills for the morning! Since I arrived on Tuesday, I have heard everyone raving about HOW GOOD old Biscuit Mills was and how you absolutely have to go there at least once while being in Cape Town. The reason being...they offer nothing but delicious, organic, farm fresh prepared food! Imagine the biggest farmers market that you've ever been to and multiply it be ten. Then maybe, just maybe, you'll have an idea of how great Old Biscuit Mills is. The market is open every Saturday all year round. Vendors sign up to set up there stations there. Once I arrived, I knew immediately why my friends said that you must go there with an empty stomach because by the time you leave, you will be so full but VERY satisfied. And boy were they right! I had to take a full 40 minutes to walk around the entire market just to get my bearings and witness everything that Old Biscuit Mills had to offer. I discovered not only wine tasting stations and cider distributors, but fresh fish vendors, baguette and cheese stations, oven fired pizza, an omelet bar, crepe stations, a Belgium waffle vendor, fresh fish sellers, organic vegetable retailers, smoothie companies, tons of delicious pastries from tens of different bakeries, bagels, Greek affair, shwarmas, sandwich stations, cheese samplers, etc. It was overwhelming but in such a good way! After taking in all that the place had to offer and tasting many delicious samples, I settled on the omelet bar and had a delicious egg white omelet with Norwegian salmon and sauteed coriander. Needless to say, it was delicious! It was so fun to be in such a great local environment. I felt like I was back at home at my own farmers market. The square was crawling with University of Cape Town students, tourists, and visitors from near and far. There were not many locals here which was a bit surprisingly but I get the feeling it is much more of a tourist destination that a regularly visited affair. Mini-taxis lined the streets ready to drop off and pick up all that needed transportation. Although it was a bit chilly in the morning and only a high in the 50s, it felt like a wonderful fall morning. My roommates and I gather together after each person had their hour and a half full of delicious food. It's not hard to believe that we couldn't stop talking about how great this place was and that without a doubt, we'd be back next Saturday!

The fun didn't end here though. Since we had been dropped of by the last year interns who took the car for the day, we were left to ourselves to discover the world of South African public transportation....called Mini-taxis. Taxis in South Africa are not quite like those in the United States. This is mostly because any New York Cab would feel like a five-star limousine in comparison. However, they are the most common mode of transportation all around South Africa and also very cheap. Any ride is only 5 rand, wherever you are going throughout the city (about 85 cents). Not a bad price! The Mini-taxis, shown to the left, are white vans that pack as many people as possible inside. When we flagged down our mini-taxi headed to Cape Town, I didn't actually think they would stop because the car was definitely beyond full. BUT, these drivers are like magicians and can make seats out of anything, including a black plastic crate which I sat on! haha. There must have been at least 15 people in the van. Once we arrived at our final destination about ten minutes away, my toosch was definitely sore from the plastic crate. But, it had only cost me 5 rand and so I was very satisfied! Plus, it's a great way to actually feel like you are part of the city because every single local uses these mini-taxis. The highways are filled with the white vans dodging in and out of lanes. It's quite an adventurous and exciting ride. 

Once we were back home around mid-afternoon on Saturday, my roommates and I all fell under the spell of a food-coma and slept for a glorious two hours. With a full stomach and the cheerful memories of fun morning, I had a wonderful sleep and woke up ready to embrace our first Saturday night on the town!