I lived in Cape Town for 4 years as I studied, and you would think that I got the opportunities to do all the tourist and Cape Tonian activities that the Mother City has to offer. And yet, after having a summer experience with vida e caffe, I realised that I still have quite a bit more exploring to do.
I had no idea that my Instagram snapshot of the cold brew coffee drink at the V&A Waterfront would ultimately win me a summer experience in Cape Town with 3 of my girls. But this very snapshot led to having an amazing all expenses paid weekend away in the Mother City, filled with food, fun and living la vida e caffe!
LUNCHTIME LAYOVER
Landing in Cape Town, with my sister, just before noon on Saturday 2 March 2019, our first stop was at the vida e caffe in Camps Bay to meet up with the rest of my girls before riding the infamous vida Jeep to Chapman’s Peak. I follow vida e caffe on Instagram, so I’ve seen this Jeep floating about on their feed. Naturally, my excitement in getting the chance to ride that same Jeep had me bursting at the seams! Surely having a drop-top car is what makes a summer experience extra special, and so I basked in having the wind whip my hair as the sounds of MiCasa played in the background on our coastal cruise to Chapman’s Peak for lunch.
The view was utterly breath-taking, and of course, I snapped my favourite cold brew Vanilla coffee drink in my weekend mission to see how many places I could snap this drink at. Our picnic-style lunch was the perfect combo of sweet and savoury food, a view to behold and a moment for us girls to get excited for the experience we were all about to have.
Speaking of the food, a special mention to the Caprese Pasta Salad that vida e caffe makes. I’ve only ever had their delicious range of toasties and baguettes, but it was my first time having this salad and wow! I’ll definitely be back for more! That’s one thing I love about vida – beyond the coffee that I’ve come to know and love, their deli-style food has always been a pleasurable and tasty experience for me, and I’m often left so satisfied with whatever I order. Our picnic-style lunch was no different, and after taking some Instagram-worthy pictures (with the vida Jeep even), our tasty picnic helped set the tone for our incredible weekend.
AIRBNB STYLE
Lo and behold, I’d actually never stayed in an AirBnb up until my weekend away in Cape Town. I’ve only known some hotels and guest houses whenever I’m travelling so this was yet another new experience for me. I wish I had captured my face on camera the moment I saw our accommodation because my eyes must have popped out as my jaw dropped. Located in Fresnaye, our 2 bedroom AirBnB was the perfect base to call home for the weekend. Sea Point was roughly 5min drive away with the V&A Waterfront being around 10min away so it was pretty easy to get around using Uber.
Apart from the open space and stylish décor of our little home, vida e caffe went the extra mile and not only stocked up our fridge with more food and cold brew coffee but even gave each of us vida-style red beach towels to keep and take home! Best believe you’ll be seeing this towel on my Instagram feed every summer season from now on.
LIVIN’ LA VIDA E CAFFE
Before ending our Cape Town Summer Experience, vida e caffe managed to score my girls and I a personal pamper session with the Sorbet team from Camps Bay on Sunday morning. What a treat, to have our nails done right before the start off the new week. I’m so lousy when it comes to spoiling myself with a manicure but it was fabulous to sit back, hang out as ‘gals’ and have my nails look 100 times better than the usual work I do on them.
To end off the summer experience, my girls and I enjoyed a Summer Concert at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, with Amanda Black as the headliner. Although there were a little technical hiccups, the concert had the whole crowd roaring to some of Amanda’s classic hits. The sun was out, vida came through with more delicious food for our picnic and the echoes of the crowd long after Amanda had left the stage showed just how unifying music can be. The Summer Concerts at Kirstenbosch are always a vibe but that particular Sunday was beyond electrifying and a real reason to make attending these concerts an annual affair.
As I boarded my early Monday morning flight back to PE, I couldn’t but be utterly grateful to vida e caffe for an exceptional weekend away. I experienced Cape Town in a different way than what I’m used to, and being surrounded by my girl squad for an amazing trip was nothing short of spectacular. This is the start of many more travel posts I wish to write about but until my next flight, a big thank you to vida e caffe for such an amazing summer experience that I will never forget!
Khalipha Ntloko 
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