CAPE TOWN

By the water and skimmed by a scorching sun, the ‘Mother City’ gives off an air of African-chic Riviera. Its heart beats in the shade of the Table Mountain, a very urban mount that can be reached in a cable car. Cape Town knows how to live. You will love to drink from the surrounding vineyards, a legacy of the Huguenots, and taste the products of nearby farms. With nature so very close by, you may be reminded of another southern city, Sydney, Australia. Both share the barbecue culture though things cook on the braai here in Cape Town, as they do on the barbie in Oz. The comparison is by no means trivial, since to heal its wounds in the post-Apartheid years, Cap Town resolved to make its cosmopolitanism a strength. You will be amazed by what you will find here in this churning cauldron of creativity. The city continues its momentum after 2014, when it was crowned World Design Capital. Since then, designers, creative types of all genres, and contemporary art galleries have been flourishing, especially in the emerging area of Woodstock. A new wind is blowing along the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, as well, where the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art opened. Here, Rastafarians run into suits, and models are on the arms of hipsters. From a forgotten time, the downtown, with its eclectic mix of Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco styles, is also being reborn, primarily through the many gourmet addresses around Bree Street. The culinary revolution is well and truly on. To see up close the sumptuous surrounding areas, you may take the Garden Route, with its magnificent views out over the waves along the way. Indeed, Cape Town bewitches. Is it the way the light strikes the town? The sea air? The aftertaste of an excellent Rooibos tea, unique in the world? Or the call of nature that you can sense just behind Table Mountain? No doubt it's a unique combination of all of the above. More than just interesting, Cape Town is an engaging place. It's a Mother City worth the trip.