"I like Cape Town because we can chill with the rich people"

ED NOTE: This was written by Diana, before joint blog was started.

so said Steph, my traveling companion for my time in South Africa, after our $25 dinner at a fancy Waterfront restaurant (reminiscent of a classy restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf but cheaper). While she actually does research, I figured I'd blog about the journey thus far.

Flight from O'Hare-->Heathrow= miserable. Worst flight attendants EVER. They wouldn't give me a bottle of water even though I was dehydrated. Plus the flight was rocky.

London- We had 8 hours, so decided to be quick tourists in Piccadilly Circus, where a St. Patrick's Day parade was going on. This was my first time EVER in Europe, and maybe not the greatest experience, since I was quite tired/jet-lagged. It was...nice? My quick jaunt reminded me of New York + San Francisco architecture + British accents and a few stores I've never seen. I guess a tad anticlimatic, though I'm excited to get a few days there on my way back. Heathrow was the nicest airport ever though.

Flight from Heathrow--> Cape Town= AMAZING. The flight was underbooked, so we each got our own row of seats and I slept (soundly) 8 out of the 11 hour flight.

Cape Town is BEAUTIFUL. We're staying on Long Street, the central street where all the hostels aret. Steph keeps comparing everything we see to something she's seen, so I'd say Cape Town is like a more beautiful San Francisco, and Long Street is like Jamaica, with white tourists and black service people. Table Mountain is beautiful as is the water, and it's just so spectacular. Long Street is super-touristy and kitschy, but it's fun and vacation-like. Plus, the weather's amaing.

While there has been absolutely no reason to use the mase I invested in, just before I was sitting outside Mr. Pickwicks Deli, this cute deli where I got a mint milkshake, and this man sat at my table and started talking to me. I wanted him to leave because he was sketching me out, but I didn't want to say anything since, who am I to claim a table?, so I just let him sit there and even gave him a piece of paper when he asked for it. But then he started asking for money and I'm like, sorry, no. I felt bad, since I'm a rich American, but I can't just hand out rands to everyone who asks, you know?

Other sketchiness: Yesterday Steph and I got smoothies at a restaurant. Our nice waiter told us a beach to go to. Said waiter then saw us again while we were sitting at this park near all these museums. Coincidence, we thought, until this guy showed up AGAIN this morning and started flirting. He asked for our numbers so he could take us out. Kind of maybe-sketchy. We want friends in Cape Town, so we took his number. But THEN he leaves and brings back his sketchier friend who was WAITING ACROSS THE STREET. hmm, we think he might have been following us. What are the chances of running into him (or rather him running into us) three times?

And my research is, ehh. I should have, I don't know, "researched" more before, but I'm trying to just enjoy Cape Town and not stress about that. And unfortunately for my internet addiction, there's a cafe right under my hostel.

Oh, and I told this German man in my hostel that I'm from America, and he's like "America? You mean the U.S. There are a lot of other countries in America." umm, ok, so I'm ethnocentric.