I Simply Decided

Friday was the beginning of my one week university holiday and someone super special flew down from Durban to come spend the first weekend with me. To make the most of our time, we jam packed our Saturday with activities. We first started off with a coffee date but it was also an important meeting that Matty needed to attend. I decided to treat myself to a hazelnut latte from Mug and Bean while waiting for him to finish. I also browsed around the shops in Constantia Village until it was time to start our little adventure. After picking up his two close friends we started our way to the Spice Route. To be honest I had never heard of the Spice Route before until my one friend recently filled me in. But OH BOY was I delighted! 

The Spice Route is a cluster of white buildings, on one plot of land, situated on the outskirts of Paarl. The Spice Route included an incredible array of options such as The Cape Brewery Company beer tasting, De Villiers Chocolate tasting, wine and biltong tasting. This place is certainly pandoras treasure box. At Barley and Biltong I decided to have the special pulled pork burger, which was the best decision I had the whole day. Now upon experiencing the Spice Route I shall definitely recommend it to tourists who want a relaxing South African experience.

After the Spice Route we took a trip to Stellenbosch where Matty and I decided to visit Peter Velke again. Last year we had decided to go there for wine tasting for a special date. Revisiting Peter Velke brought back many happy memories for us. Peter Velke wine tasting is definitely underrated. The wine is incredible and the ambiance created is refreshing. The view isn't bad either, considering we arrived just in time to watch the beautiful sunset (warning: I did not have my camera on me and my iPhone was used as a substitute).

I honestly had one of the best weekends of this year and having to share it with friends and my special someone made it even better. Hopefully we shall have many more of these adventures to come.

University has got me stuck in a rut. The routine continues... Wake up, university, work, eat, sleep, repeat. I often feel my life is so set and organised by the hour that I often do not get time to relax and smell the roses. Every semester I vow to myself that I am going to "turn over a new leaf" by getting fit and socialising more. And so far no luck... One gym session in four weeks. I shall get there, right? 

Anyway, I feel as writing a blog lets my creativity flow. Even reading my favourite bloggers on a daily basis puts me in a better mood. Often I feel the most inspired (to write a blog post) after spending the day at a market. Cape Town is full of rich and vibrant markets that are filled with a diversity of cultures and people. One of the most famous markets is The Old Biscuit Mill. Every time I go there my creative juices start flowing.

My family and I, the other weekend, went there on an outing. The smell of the food was mouth watering. I instantly started to become hunger and looked for my meal. This was probably one of my favourite family outings we have been on. All four of us were beaming with smiles as we explored the stores to find our perfect meal. The range of delicacies is so vast that an indecisive person, like myself, often takes a very long time to decide what to eat. 

I find that days like these I often treasure because it reminds me of all the happy memories that my family and I share together. Hopefully because I am writing a blogpost about it, I shall never forget it. A blog is like a diary? Just public... 

I spent majority of my university holiday in Durban. For some of you who did not figure out from my previous post, I am in a long distance relationship. My boyfriend has an incredible job opportunity in Durban so these university holidays I decided to visit him for almost three weeks. Now I am going to be honest. Durban is definitely not my "go to holiday destination". There are a few things you can do in Durban itself and then you have nothing else to do. Apart from the weather being incredible during the winter, I still struggled to figure out what to do during my weekdays when my boyfriend was at work. Lets just say I caught up on a lot of series and re-watched old movies for majority of the days.

I arrived on a Saturday morning and we made our first adventure to Mtunzini. Although we only had one night there, we did quiet a bit. From taking walks in the mangroves, having sundowners and watching the sunset to taking a day trip to Eshowe. Our weekend was definitely well spent. 

The weekdays went by like a blur... With a few beach missions and visiting friends from university. 

The second weekend we decided to stay in Durban. Went for a lovely breakfast at Vovo Tello (incredible hot chocolate). Went to a market, watched the rugby and went to a birthday celebration. Sunday we explored the midlands meander, saw the Nelson Mandela memorial, toured Michael house, drove through Nottinghill road, ate incredible chocolate, had lunch at a german restaurant and relaxed in the evening. 

The last weekend was very special! My boyfriend took me on an amazing adventure to Ballito for the weekend. We drank cocktails, swam in the ocean, watched the Ballito Pro surf competition. The weather was incredible and the vacation was definitely needed. As always in a long distance relationship you really treasure the time you have together and make the most of it. I hold these memories close to my heart and rely on the happy moments when the distance sometimes becomes hard. Hopefully it won't be this way for too long!

The past month has been an exciting and stressful period in my life. I got through three projects, three essays and four tests. On top of that I managed to keep my love and social life on top form when my boyfriend came down, from Durban, to visit twice in one month. From pulling out my hair to tasting wine at Groot Constantia, I think I did a pretty good job. These Instagram posts resemble the few incredible days that I got to share with my boyfriend and my friends throughout the past month. Follow me on Instagram for more regular updates. My Instagram account is: chelseamoore2 . Hope you all are having an incredible week and would love to read your blogs, so link them in the comments down below.

This post is extremely over due but I decided to write it anyway. Last November/December I joined my boyfriend and his friends at the restaurant, Da Vincis, in Town. Da Vincis is situated on Kloof Street and has a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere. Upon arrival I could already see the promising potential it held. Good food, good cocktails and good company resulted in the perfect summers day. 

The menu had a variety of options to choose from that my boyfriend and I couldn't decide on one meal each but rather we spilt our two meals in half. This gave us the pleasant opportunity to taste the delicious options in front of us. I am normally not a "salad person" but the Stick Sesame Chicken which consisted of chicken breast strips with sesame seed, greens, peppadews, cherry tomatoes and avocado was the best salad I have ever tasted. The pizza as well was cooked to perfection. The thin based pizza cooked in a wood-fire oven totally blew away my expectations since I like to find myself the professional "taster" of the avo, bacon and feta pizza combo. 

Cape Town has many hidden treasures and I am still on the mission to find and conquer them. Hopefully I get back into my blog because I have been very slack since university started. Trust me to find the sudden burst of inspiration a week before I write my first exam. Please feel free to comment your opinions of Da Vincis or recommend new places for me to try out this upcoming vacation.