Art Scene

Open Art Studio

art1

We took a meander down Loop Street, anticipating a dreary lunch in some streetside shop, with a Coca-Cola sponsored sign. Luckily for us, good karma and the will of the gods places in front of Open Art. Nosey parkers as we are, we wandered up the stairs (and what may as well have been along the yellow-brick road) to have a peek. What a fantasmagorical place. Firstly, the gallery. It is so so rare that I like that much modern art in one place. In addition, my attending lunch-mate and I, NEVER agree on art. So that fact that we were both standing there smitten at the sight and smell of oils and enamels, is really quite something. The gallery has that "we tidied up the garage" feel to it. Nothing pretentious, nothing clinical.                  

Accommodation

SCHLAAPSTAD – in BED in Cape Town

sa-tamboerskloof

In bed in Cape Town – this is not a sleazy article – rather a sexy write up on the hottest spots to climb into bed in our seductive city. Although you may be a local, how often have you had a nap over in one of the awesome varieties of accommodation options we have on offer? According to safarinow.com we have 2838 establishments offering accommodation in the CBD and surrounds alone, including 5* Hotels, Guest Houses, Lodges and Youth Hostels. So why not give some of them a bash? Here’s our list of getaways you HAVE-TO-BE be caught in bed in. First off, is the most popular accommodation booking portal - booking.com. Check out what they have on offer here: Get hold of "de Waterkant Cottages" - which has a unique selection                  

Eating Out

Upper Eastside Hotel to host first MasterChef dinner

An evening out with MAsterChef South Africa

The Upper Eastside Hotel in Woodstock will be hosting a series of exclusive dinners prepared by some of South Africa’s very own MasterChef finalists. Kicking off on Thursday, October 18, diners at the hotel’s Liberty’s restaurant will be treated to the culinary magic of Sue-Ann Allen and Ilse Fourie, who achieved runner up and a top five position respectively in the inaugural local series of the global cooking phenomenon. Together with expert input from the hotel’s executive chef, Simon Kemp, the pair will be using the freshest seasonal ingredients including herbs from the hotel’s recently launched organic rooftop garden – the first of its kind at an urban hotel in South Africa. In addition to interaction with the                  

Music

Jack Parow

Dans Dans Dans music video out soon

Referred to as "Bob Dylan of the northern suburbs", "pirate of the caravan park" and "an Afrikaans Eminem", Zander Tyler is more popularly known for his on-stage persona as Jack Parow - one of South Africa's most prominent popular culture icons. As "Cooler as Ekke"has monopolized African airwaves, Afrikaans, Mothercity-made Jack Parow, has become one of South Africa's local loves. At the early end of the decade, musical movements that tore Afrikaans music apart from religious zeal, resulted in the Belville Rock city phenomena - and so spawned bands the likes of Fokofpolisiekar,aKing, and Van Coke Kartel. So while Afrikaans music was once ripe with religious evangelism, the noughties saw it slowly became synonymous with                  

Festivals

Bastille 10.0

Barrel Rolling at Bastille

Franschhoek is a bit of an "all or nothing" little town, and those of you who follow the blog will know my opinion of this French corner of the Cape - this slice of heaven town has a crème de la crème reputation for fine wine, dine... and apparently, swingers (an interesting little fact I picked up at last year's Bastille bash).  Celebrating French Huguenot heritage with admirable abandon this 17th - 18th of July, every shop front and five year-old painted face screams the red, blue and white colour scheme.  Being a valley of award-winning restaurants, Bastille day boasts first and foremost the marquee - housing the aromas and jollity of lavish cuisines and cellar-sellers. In                  

Night Life

Cape Town Pub-crawl

They call it the pub-crawl for two reasons. 1. There are pubs. 2. The involvement of such pubs occasionally results in the action of crawling. This fact leads us to conclude, that it is our own best interest to rouse bedlam in pubs conducive to crawling. What characteristics determine crawl-worthiness? CLEANLINESS. To pub-crawl is one thing, but to be in a pub already crawling with bugs and Dickensian dodge-cats is a deal breaker. Moreover, hoping optimistically that visible symptoms of Hepatitis F don’t materialize, as a result of braving bar snacks, can somewhat suck the fun. Hence requirement two: GOOD BAR SNACKS. In a less then solid state, culinary surprises (and I’m talking about the Halloween trick rather                  

Health & Fitness

The best massage in Cape Town – part 2

My favourite Deep Tissue and Lomi Lomi massage therapist, Jean-Pierre Hartmann, has just moved from his Sea Point studio to the Foreshore. Jean-Pierre Hartmann’s new venue is a room in the most beautiful yoga studio in Cape Town, jai yoga, which also offers various kinds of yoga classes, and if that doesn’t sound totally hot, you’ve got to try their hot yoga class! See http://www.jaiyoga.co.za Jean-Pierre’s speciality is Deep Tissue Massage, which is great for releasing deep seated tensions and inducing relaxation. (see blog) The Lomi Lomi style of Hawaiian massage which Jean-Pierre offers entails movements which mimic the ebb and flow of the ocean, using elbows, forearms and palms in dynamic movements to                  

Interesting People

DJ Rene the Frenchman

DJ-Rene-at-HQ

While us over at 17onLoader (De Waterkant's premium bed and breakfast) often review back alleys and bustling venues, we don't usually take a look at the lingerers in the limelight. But recently we found ourselves beers-ing with the Frenchman that keeps HQ frantic on Fridays... DJ Rene (the Frenchman - as he is referred to) is the towering, infectiously jovial energy of a man pleased with the way his life's turned out. His bombastically beautiful grey hair bounces as he animatedly gesticulates with a wide, trusty smile. Despite having lived in South Africa for seventeen years, Rene still has the two unmistakable traits of a Frenchman - the accent, and the kind of effortless charm that could hypnotize a girl right into                  

Art Scene

RUMPSTEAK serving its final helping in Cape Town

RumpsteaK-11-may 2010-to-19-may-2010

The mouthwatering latest show by Gaëtan Schmid sizzles one last time in Cape Town at The Intimate Theatre between the 11th and the 29th of May 2010, Tuesdays to Saturdays, before heading to the National Arts Festival to be part of the Cape Town Edge collaborative on the Fringe. Rumpsteak is an exhilarating ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at rush hour in the kitchen of a French restaurant. One man, on one square metre, playing thirteen characters, with eight hundred sound effects! A physical theatre spectacular, described as "a one-man explosion" by meganshead.co.za, is really a show for anyone. Entirely in French, the show crosses both spoken and physical language boundaries. And with a brand new introduction                  

Eating Out

The Waterfront Wine Affair

wine22

Cape Town's been very quiet this week - we've been nursing our once-flourishing social calendars and wishing for sunburn. But what we have fast forgotten is that winter brings wine, fireplaces and excuses for shared body-heat...  Until Friday, The V&A spends the week swaying with the inebriated influence of dozens of boutique and reserve wines. With curling leaves and early evenings comes the annual V&A Wine Affair. The backdrop of a Table Mountain-marked cityscape makes The Waterfront's look out a perfect rooftop for some indulgent-out-of-doorsness.    This well-loved tasting/sipping soiree is a palate party.  Think sushi, oysters, imported cheeses and charcuterie... the menu boasts the