Portals and KM

Painting of Prawns and Chips at a Cafe in Cape Town South Africa

Here is a 20" x 24" acrylic painting of a prawns and chips (fries) at an outdoor cafe based on a trip I took to Cape Town in 2010. I now an artist with the Arts Council of New Orleans and particpate in their monthy art market. These markets occur generally on the last Saturday at Palmer Park in New Orleans, at the corner of S. Carrolton and S. Claiborne. Saturday May 25 is the next market and I will have a booth and offer paintings for sale. Since I arrived back in my hometown, I have been painting a variety of themes related to the city but sometimes do other themes like this one.  

Images of Groceries in Hemanus South Africa

Here is part two of my grocery pictures in the Cape Town South Africa area. I always check out the local stores when I go to a new place. This is in Hermanus on the south coast near Cape Town. 

Images of Groceries in Cape Town South Africa

I recently ran a long series of images form my trip to Cape Town South Africa in early December 2010. This weekend I will offer two more posts. I always enjoy going to grocery stores whenever I travel. Here are some shelf shots from two Cape Town grocery stores in adjacent neighborhoods. 

From the predominately Muslim, Bo Kaap neighborhood.

Here are more from the trendy Waterkant area. 

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Dogs and Cats

This is the twenty second and last in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Dogs appear very popular here. Having two dogs and a cat I am always interested in how these animals are doing where I travel. Here are a few examples. 

                  

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Western Cape Interiors

This is the twenty first in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. The environment in the Western Cape area around Cape Town is very different from the rest of South Africa. It is generally dry and the summer is their dry season while it is the rainy season for much of the rest of the country.  

                          

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Wupperthal

This is the twentieth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Wupperthal has been a Moravian mission station since 1965. It is located near Clanwillima several hours north of Cape Town. The name derives from the Wupper River in Germany. Two German missionaries arrived in 1829 and started a settlement. The populated grew after slaves were freed in 1838.  Rooibos tea is now one of the main products. The village is reached through a dirt road over a series of hills.

      

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Sevilla Rock Art

This is the nineteenth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. The Sevilla Rock Art area is accessed through the Traveller’s rest 34 km from Clanwilliam 240 km north of Cape Town. The art was created by the San several centuries ago. It is in the Cedarberg Mountains region. You can also see a giant termite hill below. 

      
  

Cape Town South Africa Area: Lambert’s Bay

This is the eighteenth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Lamberts Bay is known for its long stretches of uninterrupted white beaches and abundant marine life which gathers in the cool blue waters. It began as a fishing village and this is still a major factor. Lamberts Bay is named after Admiral Lambert of the British Navy who did a marine survey of the bay between 1826 and 1840.  In 1887 Mr Stephan bought the commercial buildings and built the hotel in 1888

    

 

 

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Clanwilliam

This is the seventeenth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Clanwilliam is located 240 km north of Cape Town. It is a center of the rooibos tea industry. First stetted in 1725, the town was first known as Jan Disselsvalleij but was changed to Clanwilliam in 1814 by Sir John Cradock who named the town after his father-in-law, the Earl of Clanwilliam. Clanwilliam is one of the then oldest towns in South Africa. The Old Gaol seen below in the first picture is now used as a Museum. It was also used occasionally as a garrison during the Anglo Boer War. The nearby Cederberg Mountains are a major climbing area. 

                  





 

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Hermanus

This is the sixteenth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Hermanus is south of Franschhoek and is famous for whale watching. The Southern Right whale spends a number of months in the area and you can easily see them from shore. They were mostly gone when we got there but a few remained and we could easily see them.  We also went sea kayaking with some seals. 

             

                       




 

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Franschhoek Wine Region: Part Three – More Wineries

This is the fifteenth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. The Franschhoek wine region is east of Cape Town and was settled by French Huguenots over 300 years ago and retains a French influence. I covered some wineries in my last post. Here are more and another lunch. 

                           

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Franschhoek Wine Region: Part Two – Wineries

This is the fourteenth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. The Franschhoek wine region is east of Cape Town and was settled by French Huguenots over 300 years ago and retains a French influence. I covered the town and the surrounding hills in my last post. In this one we look at some wineries. A few are from nearby Stellenbsoch. Many wineries have tours with free tasting and many offer lunch.  You can see some of our lunches below. 

       
                
              

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Franschhoek Wine Region: Part One – Town and Hills

This is the thirteenth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. The Franschhoek wine region was settled by French Huguenots over 300 years ago and retains a French influence. It considers itself the culinary capital of South Africa and the food is very good and reasonable. There are a couple of breakfasts at the end of the series. You can hike up above the town in the surrounding hills. 

          

Photos of Cape Town South Africa Area: Simon’s Town and Fish Hoek

This is the twelfth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Simon’s Town is on the same peninsula as the Cape of Good Hope. Boulder’s Beach in Simon’s Town is an excellent spot to see the African Penguin. Fisk Hoek has colorful beach huts and another good beach.

                

 

Cape Town South Africa Area: Cape of Good Hope Region

This is the eleventh in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. South of the city lies the Cape of Good Hope region. It is the most southwest part of Africa. There are many wild baboons and ostriches, as well as great beaches for surfing. 

   
     


  

Cape Town South Africa Area: Constantia Wine Region

This is the tenth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Located not far from the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is the Constantia wine region. It is the closet wine country to Cape Town. I will cover the more well known Stellenbosch and Franschhoek area later. Constantia is the oldest wine region and was established in 1685. The Klien Constantia winery is famous for its sweet wine favored by Napoleon, Jane Austin and others of their day. Many of these wineries serve lunch. The last row shows part of our lunch and the view from our table. 

                    

 

Cape Town South Africa: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

This is the ninth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. The Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are located south of the city on the inland side. The gardens were established in 1657 by the Dutch. There are many garden walks and examples of plants from all over the country. They have music concerts and we were treated to the sounds of one as we walked around. 

     

Cape Town South Africa: Camps Bay

This is the eighth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Camps Bay is located south of the central city on the Atlantic side. There is a wide beach and views up to the mountain range known as the Twelve Apostles that runs off Table Mountain. Many restaurants line the beach. We had an excellent dinner at one. The first picture shows the area from the top of Table Mountain. 

            

 

Cape Town South Africa: Table Mountain

This is the seventh in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. Here we move away form the urban to the beautiful mountain hovering over the city. It has appeared in many of the posts I have done prior to this one. Now you get the reverse view. You can quickly get isolated on the top.  There are often clouds that quickly move in and cover the top.  You can either hike up or take the cable car that you can see in the first picture. You can see the mountain from a long way off in many directions. There are two ground shots toward the end of this series. 

        
      

Cape Town South Africa: Waterfront

This is the sixth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. This post covers the Victoria and Albert Waterfront area. It was redeveloped not long along into shops and restaurants and is a mostly tourist area adjunct to the working port.  There are street musicians and great views back to the city and Table Mountain. 

                             

              

 

 

Cape Town South Africa: Robben Island

This is the fifth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. The Waterfront, covered tomorrow, also where you get the ferry to Robben Island where political prisoners such as Nelson Mandela were held during Apartheid. It is now a museum. Tours are conducted by former prisoners and you can learn of the difficulties of the time.  It is quite a contrast to the Waterfront but South Africa is a country of many contrasts.  The cell with mat and other things was where Mandela was held. The cemetery served a former leper colony on the island. The boat is the one that takes you there from the waterfront area. 

                                         

 

Cape Town South Africa: Waterkant

This is the fourth in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. I present images from the Waterkant. It is adjacent to Bo-Kaap but the original inhabitants, mostly descendents of freed slaves, where not as fortunate as those in Bo-Kaap and were removed in the 1950s. It has now become a very trendy area in the past 15 years given the central location and beautiful older homes. There are many small hotels and homes for travelers to rent.

                                  

Cape Town South Africa: Bo-Kaap

This is the third in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region. I present images from the Bo-Kapp district which centrally located between the central business district and the lower slopes of Signal Hill It is a predominantly Muslim district with many mosques, originally settled by freed slaves who had been brought to Cape Town from the Dutch East Indies. The district population was spared being removed during Apartheid. I took a cooking class in one of the homes and learned a bit of what is called Cape Malay cooking. We made roti bread, samoses, chicken curry, chili bites and other good things.  I highly recommend the experience see the Andulela site for details, I also did their jazz tour which was equally great.  

            

                       













 

Cape Town South Africa: City Bowl Part Two – Gardens and Museums

Cape Town South Africa has one of the most beautiful settings of any city in the world. This is the second in along series covering the city and surrounding area. Below is Old Townhouse, restored building from the 1755 with a garden in the back. It had an exhibit of art against Apartheid.

                           
Here are scenes from the Company Gardens first started as a vegetable patch for the Dutch settlement. There are also some adjacent buildings.

                  

Here is the main art museum, adjacent to the Company Gardens.

         

The next two posts will look at the Waterkant, one of the older parts of the city. 

 

 

Cape Town South Africa: City Bowl Part One

Cape Town South Africa has one of the most beautiful settings of any city in the world. To the left you can see the city outline and Table Mountain above it from Robben Island. I had the pleasure of spending time there in November and December 2010. This is the first in a series of posts covering Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape region.  Below are scenes form the central business district. There is a long pedestrian space with trees and food stands. This is the oldest part in terms of European settlement as the Dutch first settled here in the 1650s. This first picture shows the City Bowl from the shore. You can click on any image to enlarge it.

                      

This is Long Street which is one of the major night life areas.

            

The next post will cover several museums and gardens in the City Bowl.