V&A Waterfront & Parker Cottage
Following on from “At Boulder Tintswalo” we had to do the “tourist thing” and visit the famous V&A Waterfront. What a vibe it has! We had a wonderful day out walking around the huge shopping malls and the harbours, with my favourite experience: getting to see the seals. I could have sat for a lot longer watching them play and swim and preen, but Woody’s tummy was growling so it was time for lunch at one of the many restaurants and gosh what a choice we had. We eventually settled on an eatery that had a live band playing and enjoyed a leisurely lunch.
After lunch we were off to check into our B&B for the night – the delightful Parker Cottage. The guest house is located in the Tamboerskloof suburb which is one of the oldest residential suburbs in Cape Town and boasts large, beautiful Victorian-style homes on the slopes of Lion’s Head and Signal Hill. We were checked in by Phaedra, who has been working at Parker Cottage for a number of years and is very welcoming and immediately showed us around the property.
There are a wide range of rooms available to choose from which are categorized according to three, four and five star standards with prices to match these options. We were in one of their “Beautiful Rooms” which really was beautiful and we had everything we needed. I especially loved the stained glass door on our en-suite bathroom, as well as various ones located around the property. The Koi fish pond was Woody’s favourite feature.
Phaedra is very knowledgeable and provided us with a map of the surrounding area so we had a wide variety of restaurants to choose from for dinner. We ended up walking the short distance to a Mexican restaurant called the Fat Cactus. As soon as we walked in we knew we’d chosen the right place to spend a Friday evening – there was upbeat music playing with a real atmosphere. We are not tequila drinkers – but when I saw the tequila menu I wished we were! The food was divine and we enjoyed a great evening out.
Fat Cactus was close and safe enough for us to walk back to the B&B that evening and we had a lovely view of Table Mountain on our way back. After a busy day of walking we were soon in bed and had a good night’s sleep. The next morning we had coffee in bed, courtesy of the complimentary tea and coffee station in our room, after which we wondered down for breakfast. Phaedra was off, but the owner of Parker Cottage, Pamela, was hosting guests for breakfast. Pamela prides herself on sourcing all ingredients locally and most are Fair Trade produced. For those wanting to get out and about early, they offer packed breakfasts and picnics.
Our breakfasts were very tasty and the weather was kind enough that we got to sit out on the verandah to enjoy our meal. If the weather is not pleasant there is a large dining room located in the centre of the cottage where meals can be taken. Pamela, Phaedra and all the staff at Parker Cottage are genuinely nice people who are passionate about their B&B, and we really had a very nice stay there and look forward to recommending it to friends and family wanting an intimate little place to stay when they next visit Cape Town.
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