The foreboding sky and rain put an end to our hopes for paragliding off Table Mountain. After another great Commodore breakfast, we caught a cab to the District Six Museum, located in a converted Methodist Church in the famed District Six that in 1966, under the Group Area Act of 1950, was declared a White Group Only Area. By 1982, the life of a vibrant mixed community of 60,000 people were forcibly removed to a barren outlying area known as Cape Flats, their houses flattened by bulldozers . The Museum opened in 1994 to work with the memories of those affected by forced removals. We were moved by the story of a former resident and docent who was telling of his devasting life altering experience to a group of uniformed schoolboys.
Several blocks away was the Green Market Square, a vibrant native market of African art and crafts, where we spent a full two hours haggling over prices. We came away with many new African treasures...masks, ebony animal carvings, batik pillow covers, hand-painted bowls, jewelry and trinkets...after spirited negotiations that generally resulted in 40-60% reductions off original asking prices!
Then we were off to Monkeybiz in the Malay District. Monkeybiz, a non-profit micro industry established in a desire to create employment for 450 disadvantaged women in Cape Town, has facilitated a revival of the ancient African tradition of beadwork. Monkeybiz which has been featured on Oprah, supplies richly colored beads to women in the townships. Each woman is paid for every item produced and since they work from home, can look after their children and families and avoid transportation costs. Every two weeks the leaders of each area bring the completed beaded works of animal and people art to the Monkeybiz store in the city centre. Every beadwork produced is a one-of-a-kind piece. We came away with several purchases - giraffe, penguin, christmas ornaments - and gratified knowing the proceeds were benefitting disadvantaged women, many with HIV. Monkeybiz also runs the Wellness Center which provides skills training and HIV/AIDS support for low income HIV positive women.
A fabulous lunch was enjoyed in the courtyard of a local South African deli and followed by more shopping at Tribal Traders where we purchased a Mali sculpture entitled Spiritual Journey. Hilary returned to Green Market Square to negotiate for a beautiful wooden tray and mask. Then it was time for High Tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel - "The Pink Nelly" - as this grand dame hotel is affectionally known to the locals. We returned to the Commodore (a perfect hotel for a Vandy girl) after a day of intermittent rain and sun and were mighty glad that Andrew gave us the opportunity to experience Table Mountain the previous glorious afternoon.
We capped the day at one of Cape Town's top restaurants - 95 Keerom Street - where the chef was recently recognized as one of the world's best in Eat Out Magazine. The restaurant is also listed among the world's top 900. Charlie enjoyed Ostrich Marsella while Hilary devoured her Springbok -guess we were getting our tastebuds gamey for the upcoming safari!
Several blocks away was the Green Market Square, a vibrant native market of African art and crafts, where we spent a full two hours haggling over prices. We came away with many new African treasures...masks, ebony animal carvings, batik pillow covers, hand-painted bowls, jewelry and trinkets...after spirited negotiations that generally resulted in 40-60% reductions off original asking prices!
Then we were off to Monkeybiz in the Malay District. Monkeybiz, a non-profit micro industry established in a desire to create employment for 450 disadvantaged women in Cape Town, has facilitated a revival of the ancient African tradition of beadwork. Monkeybiz which has been featured on Oprah, supplies richly colored beads to women in the townships. Each woman is paid for every item produced and since they work from home, can look after their children and families and avoid transportation costs. Every two weeks the leaders of each area bring the completed beaded works of animal and people art to the Monkeybiz store in the city centre. Every beadwork produced is a one-of-a-kind piece. We came away with several purchases - giraffe, penguin, christmas ornaments - and gratified knowing the proceeds were benefitting disadvantaged women, many with HIV. Monkeybiz also runs the Wellness Center which provides skills training and HIV/AIDS support for low income HIV positive women.
A fabulous lunch was enjoyed in the courtyard of a local South African deli and followed by more shopping at Tribal Traders where we purchased a Mali sculpture entitled Spiritual Journey. Hilary returned to Green Market Square to negotiate for a beautiful wooden tray and mask. Then it was time for High Tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel - "The Pink Nelly" - as this grand dame hotel is affectionally known to the locals. We returned to the Commodore (a perfect hotel for a Vandy girl) after a day of intermittent rain and sun and were mighty glad that Andrew gave us the opportunity to experience Table Mountain the previous glorious afternoon.
We capped the day at one of Cape Town's top restaurants - 95 Keerom Street - where the chef was recently recognized as one of the world's best in Eat Out Magazine. The restaurant is also listed among the world's top 900. Charlie enjoyed Ostrich Marsella while Hilary devoured her Springbok -guess we were getting our tastebuds gamey for the upcoming safari!
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