How To Have The Most Fun in Johannesburg
Y’all - I made it back to Africa.
Rose up from my sick bed when some of y’all doubted me (@misvannanes). Long ass flight to Cape Town through Heathrow, and I landed just in time to make our way to the Cape Town for the @franschhoek_SA #FHKbubbly Champagne Festival.
The Champagne festival was a beautiful sight and I cannot wait to go back. I didn’t know it until I got to Cape Town, but the dress code for the event was black and white. Fortunately, I happened to have a black and white striped dress in my suitcase, so this worked out perfectly for me. So the festival ended up being hundreds of black and white South Africans dressed in black and white. Everyone was drinking and eating, and everyone was full of love. People flew in from all over - I met people from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and the US, and we all sat around enjoying the beautiful afternoon in the South African wine country.
The next morning we hopped on a another plane and headed across the country to Johannesburg. Once there, we dropped our bags where we were staying, changed quickly and headed to the Global Citizen Festival. The line up was amazeballs, and it ended with Beyonce and Jay-Z performing On The Run II. It was such a beautiful day of celebration and love.
On my own, I wouldn't have even considered going to those two festivals back to back, but I am so glad I have friends who plan adventures like this. Inter-country flights are cheap in South Africa, so moving around that quickly wasn’t a big deal.
I would love the opportunity to attend these events again, and if you can go, you should to. This was my first time to South African wine country, and I really can’t describe how beautiful the scenery was. The champagne was inexpensive, delicious and some of the best I ever had. In my next trip back to Cape Town I hope to spend more time in Franschoek enjoying the South African bounty.
I stayed another weeks in Johannesburg, but unfortunately, all that running around landed me straight in a sick bed again. I caught a bad case of the flu, that kept me confined to bed Monday - Friday. Fortunately for me, when I was able to get out of bed I met up with some wonderful people from the US.
On the weekend I went to two of Johannesburg’s most popular markets, on Saturday I went to Neighborgoods Market in Braamfontein. Lots of stalls supplying food and drinks, a DJ, stalls with clothes and crafts. It’s a great place to spend a Saturday afternoon. There are usually a lot of day parties in the area, but since December is a slow month, we couldn’t find anything much going on.
The next day I went to Market on Main, in Maboneng. Another great market, but this one had more going on in the neighborhood. Lots of vendors in the market, but also on the streets, and many open stores located close by. Again, there are usually popular day parties in the neighborhood, but we couldn’t find any as we walked around.
I stayed in an AirBnB in Melville on this trip, and I have to say, I absolutely loved it. Melville is full of large houses, that have guest house in their backyards. For Johannesburg, Melville is very white, but that it to be expected as it is clearly an affluent neighborhood. There is a popular street (7th Street) that is full of restaurants, shops, and bars. My AirBnB was one and a half blocks from it, and it was an easy, safe walk both day and night. The neighborhood is central to Johannesburg, quiet, and out of the way enough to have empty streets.
Quiet Melville Streets
I would definitely stay in Melville again, and I cannot wait to be back in Johannesburg. Even with the flu taking me out of commission for a few days, this was one of my favorite cities.
I ordered some custom made clothes from a tailor in Jozi. I can’t want to see the finished product.
XOXO,
Shida D