Markets in Cape Town, South Africa - Page 6
African art market, Cape Town
After a good night sleep I woke the following day much more refreshed than my previous days. As part of my tour Percy took me to a number of markets, the first being Green Market Square in the heart of Cape Town.
There is the usual art and craft on show, carvings of animals, masks, jewellery and CD's, more or less everything you would expect to find and the odd offering you wouldn't, including some imaginative Township art. If you are just browsing, Green Market Square is a pleasant way to spend an hour and if you are wanting to buy, the stall holders are ready, happy and eager to barter. It was still a little early for the Green Market Square stall holders, a lot of the stalls were still setting up so we made our way to the large Green Point market that was in full flow, a much bigger affair held outside the Green Point stadium next to a busy roundabout. Percy informs me that this is where the new 68,000 seater football stadium will be built for the 2010 World Cup. The Green Point market is more of a Township market place as its cobbled together stalls clad with generous quantities of black plastic sheeting and arranged in a higgledy-piggledy manner. As the same with markets of the world, the first few stalls are interesting and you begin to think that you are going to end up filling a container with what is on offer, but after a few stalls you begin to see a pattern and what looked like a unique piece of hand carving is repeated an infinite number of times, to the extent that even a Van Gogh masterpiece would have lost its charm. However, all was not lost because it then became a hunt to find the diamond in the rough, the unique piece that truly is unique and I discovered that they were there to be had. With a couple of items purchased, no doubt paying way over the odds but still feeling like I had a bargain, I headed back to the tour bus where Percy was busy doing his paperwork. Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa -
Nelson Mandela statue, Cape Town
The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, or the V & A as it is generally called, is said to be one of Cape Towns major tourist attractions. To be fair it is a shopping mall built around a working harbour. I am of the opinion that shopping malls are pretty much the same the world over and as shopping malls go it is two levels of shops that does an adequate job of covering the needs of the average consumer.
As you walk through the mall there is a promenade area that overlooks the harbour and this area has many restaurants and bars. If not fantastic it is at least interesting and there has been an attempt to instil a Covent Garden style carnival atmosphere with an amphitheatre where they have the occasional live performer gracing the stage. We take the opportunity to eat in one of the many restaurants with outside tables and enjoyed the good food and entertaining waiter as he waxed lyrically over the fish specials where prawns are found to be the size of lobsters. While we look up at the incredible natural back-drop of Table Mountain. Please click our Articles Main Menu Page to view our extensive library of South Africa tourism related Articles and Things to See and Do.
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