So I've been procrastinating about posting this final blog entry about South Africa, probably because subconsciously I know once I hit "publish" I don't get to look back and reflect on what an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience this trip was anymore and it begins fading into my memories.
It really was though. Life-changing. And I only have Charlie and Caroline to thank, for all the effort they put into organizing everything. Never again will I have a journey with so many lovely people to a new and magical land mapped out completely for me without having to do an ounce of research into where to eat, what to see, what to do. (Actually this is a semi-lie. I'm going to Amsterdam and Barcelona next week and Teebags has done all the planning.)
But still. I NEVER thought I would go to South Africa. It's a place I was aware of...but it was never on my list... And now I realize...I AM SO STUPID. EVERYONE should go to South Africa at some point in their lives. Hopefully my pictures and posts have convinced you.
So......anyway...
On my second to last day in Camps Bay, everyone left. I was stupid when I booked my trip and booked it for one extra day than everyone else. Oops! Luckily fate and Facebook led me to discover that
Anne was living a few blocks from where I was staying. And she said I could totally crash at the amazing home she was borrowing.
After my housemates all left for the airport. Whitney and I sat by the hotel pool all day sipping Daiquiris and ogling the adorable poolboys while waiting for Anne to finish work and pick me up.
Whitney's flight left around 5pm. Which is around the time Anne (fresh off a modeling shoot) came by the hotel to pick me up. Now Anne lives LITERALLY around the corner from The Bay Hotel (where Charlie and Caro were staying, and where we'd lay by the pool during the day).
To get to her house you can walk up a very long staircase (the shortcut). Or you can drive about 1.5 miles or so as her home sits uphill and the roads in Camps Bay are silly.
I had all my luggage with me and we were just going to go to her house, drop it off, and then head to Bungalow for sundowners. So we went to the front desk to call a cab.
As Anne approached the concierge, the driver of the hotel's official Porsche happened to be walking by...saw Anne and her supermodel legs, did a double-take, and was like, "Do you want to take the Porsche?...Let's take the Porsche...make it special..." And we were like, "uhhh...how much is the Porsche?" And he was like, "to your house, and then to Bungalow...$12."
It was a no-brainer. A cab would have cost almost the exact same amount.
So we got driven up to Anne's house in the beautiful Bay Hotel Porsche Panamera to drop off my luggage. As we pulled up through the gate, her sexy roommate happened to be chilling outside in the infinity pool. His face as he stood up and was like, "Where...did you get a Porsche?!?!?"
And we were like "Get in! We're going to Bungalow!"
Oh it was sooo fabulous.
But even more fabulous was that during this adventure, we of course chatted up our driver, Ameen, and Anne asked, "So...we don't live at the hotel. But you saw where I live. It's like a 5-minute drive... If I needed to go somewhere, could I call you to pick me up and take me? For 12 dollars?" And he was like, "Sure. As long as my boss isn't around." And proceeded to give Anne his personal cellphone.
Yes, this lucky bitch now has a personal chauffeured Porsche at her disposal for the rest of her stay in Cape Town.
When we pulled up to the club, we tipped him an extra $12 just to seal the deal. (His measly South African salary is probably that much.)
Win-win-win for everyone.
Pulling up to a scene-y swanky beachclub in your personal chauffeured Porsche? Priceless.
The club was, of course, packed. And when we went up to the host to try to get a table he kind of laughed at us. And was like, "no chance". So we walked over to the bar to get drinks.
And the second we placed our drink order...who came up to us and tapped us on the shoulder having seen us roll into the club in our fancy Porsche? My fellow giants, the Stamp Brothers, who I met
in Thailand at Little Beast about a month or so prior!!!!
They happened to be in town for a wedding and invited us to come sit at the tables reserved for their group of 20 or so friends in the wedding group. Amazinggggg.
Of course the second Anne sat down she was hounded by douches.
INCLUDING the groom of the wedding, who was unabashedly hitting on her, INSISTING she come to the wedding (which happened to be taking place at the Bay Hotel, home of our Porsche).
It was amazing. And as I sat there watching the gorgeous sunset I couldn't help but think about how fateful the evening had been. (My Charlie-Caroline group had all come to Bungalow on the very first night as a big "Welcome to South Africa" Party and my plane didn't land until late so I had been upset to have missed it. SO happy to have gotten to see it because it is THE BEST.)
It's at times like this that I really marvel in how small the world is and how everything happens for a reason and tends to work out somehow.
Anne's roommate Bernard is such a cutie.
LOVE my fellow giants!!!!
And LOVES a South African sunset!
As we were preparing to leave I was like, "Anne. CALL AMEEN."
She did. And within 10 minutes, our chauffeured Porsche roared into the entracne of the club to pick us up.
AMAZING.
It was a Sunday night in Camps Bay...and the place was going off.
Just magical.
------------------------------------
The next morning we woke up bright and early to go to Anne's model casting and grab lunch.
WE LOOOOOVES a models casting.
Then we grabbed a cab (didn't want to abuse our Porsche privileges).
And headed to a lovely sushi restaurant for lunch with her model-friend Annelie and some hunky pro-Rugby player friend of theirs.
Only true supermodels would be down to take sexy swimsuit pics following a big lunch. Which is what we did!
If Sports Illustrated ever did a Swimsuit Issue Outtake edition, it'd be pretty hilarious.
This is one of my faves. Anne was trying to balance on the narrow edge of the infinity pool lying on her back...oops.
Goodbye South Africa!!!! It was amazing!!!!
