Cape Town: Perfect place for a weekend, or longer

It really was an impulse decision. Three days after the announcement, tickets were 90% sold out – which was cause for sudden reflection, questions of an existential nature and the opportunity to be young again.

Click click. Computicket. Credit card. Done. U2 in Cape Town, February 2011.

Incidentally, we were always going to head for Cape Town. Ten years ago I decided that I am going to live there – and so in the interim, any excuse to visit the Mother City is as good as a U2 gig!

Joburg would have been a more viable financial option. But alas, there’s no Table Mountain, no beach, no cool south-easter and more importantly, no grandparents.

And so Tam and I arrived at King Shaka, along with babies, pram, toys and various domestic bits and bobs, shuttled along and dropped off courtesy of our bro G, who at this stage is legendary in his chauffeur role (don’t believe me? Read it here.)

There were a couple of epic moments on the flight with a two-year-old and four-month-old, but we made it. Suffice to say, I have new-found respect for single moms and dads, their kids and to some extent, the Jolie-Pitts as well.

Our stand-in chauffeur for this occasion was my mother, a.k.a. Grammy (as she is affectionately known by Rachel). Any fractiousness was quickly mended on the way to our suite at chatteu le Calder, as we caught up with Grammy and soaked up the full view of the glorious Table Mountain. No wonder Capetonians are so “lank shwaaaar bruuu”… it’s near impossible to be stressed down there with all those blissful surroundings.

Friday arrived all too soon. Tam and I drove into Sea Point as the base for our adventure. Pre-show drinks with our entourage and more yacking as the sun went down over the sea, before our taxi arrived to take us into the 70000-strong mob. The use of public transport was strongly encouraged, what with just about every road in the Western Cape sectioned off. Only the Irish could cause such mayhem.

This got me thinking, as we joined in the Fan Walk (famed for its World Cup popularity), that all these people – all 71092 of them – were essentially here to support four Irish guys. Only in Africa are these things not scrutinised more closely. Any excuse for something crazy and memorable.

It just so happened that we landed ourselves, courtesy of Alex, a range of Round Room tickets. Word was, if the band was going to go anywhere before the show, they were going to go here – the VVVIP place. We got into the stadium and followed the directions, down to the lower floor, at which point security started getting more frequent.

The Round Room was in fact rectangular (huh?) and we stood yacking some more, munching on biltong, popcorn and peanuts and enjoying free drinks. While hanging about in the outside foyer, it was Tammy who recognised Larry Mullen on his way out first. Not surprising, for those who know our story, as Tam always had an eye for drummer boys.

While the gang deliberated as to where next we should position ourselves as celebrity stalkers, Edge casually strolled out and down the steps, followed closely by Ryan Reynolds, who avoided waving for the camera. Apparently he’s filming a new flick with Denzel Washington in Cape Town.

With that, the show began. Read the full review here. Needless to say, it is going to take a lot to top that concert experience.

The following day, we met up with my old mate and groomsman Dean and his wife Carol, to reminisce on the night before. Dean is the most seasoned, hardcore U2 fan I know. (At one point he had posters of Bono in his lounge. True story.) It was awesome to catch up and do some more yacking with the hooligan friend of ours again.

Saturday afternoon was a time to hang out with the grandparents and take a stroll along with beachfront – once again at Seapoint – and soak up the sea breeze and scenery, while the evening was time to solve the world’s problems over dinner in true Cape-style over a glass or two of wine. Truly a special time to be with family.

Sunday’s lunch-time affair was a festive braai at Rob and Alex’s place in Sea Point – the perfect way to round off an epic weekend. Beautiful place, they’ve got there – almost ideal for an acoustic-style house concert…?

Aah… Cape Town. Just so intoxicating. Monday morning’s 4am start came all too quickly after relishing the beauty that only belongs to the south-west part of our country. How do they get any work done down there?

[rps]