Cullinan has lived in Johannesburg and London, but has spent most of her life in her birthplace, Cape Town, South Africa. Asked to write a Cape Town shopping column, she enjoyed the chance to be a tourist and explore her hometown in a different way.

Zeroing In

As soon as I got the assignment on Cape Town shopping, I phoned my best friend, Lindsay, to ask her to help with the research. There’s nothing better than exploring boutiques, trying on clothes and hanging out in coffee shops with a friend—and being able to call it work. My initial plan for the article was to focus on Kloof Street and Long Street, as they intersect and are both buzzing with activity. At the top of Kloof Street, Lindsay and I found Issey Miyake dresses for $142USD and Hogan handbags for $570USD at Stock Exchange, a small shop that sells designer imports no older than two seasons. Embroidered heart cushions ($40USD) and handbags made of license plates ($11USD) were for sale at the craft shop Heartworks, and Cape Town’s best-loved deli, Melissa’s, offered delicious fudge and pavlovas. By the end of the day we hadn’t even reached Long Street, and I realized that for the article, I’d need to pick either Kloof or Long—trying to cover both streets in an article would be too ambitious. Despite Kloof’s many attractions, I chose Long Street. After all, this shop-heavy strip has more than enough to keep a visitor happy for a day.

Minibus, Mini Ride

Many locals use minibus taxis to get around Cape Town, but I avoid them. They’re generally overcrowded, and the drivers tend to disregard the rules of the road: They stop in the middle of traffic to take on passengers, and they ignore the irate drivers behind them as their sidekick yells out the window to attract potential passengers. But after spending the day on Long Street, which slopes from Table Mountain to the ocean, I was hot, tired and daunted by the thought of walking back up the hill to my car while lugging my purchases (a Congo carved crocodile, a Tuareg leather box from Mali and a Victorian cup and saucer). I hailed a taxi and found that Lindsay and I were the only passengers. The ride cost us each only 57 cents USD. There’s a first for everything.

Lights Out

One evening, in the name of research, we headed to the Metropole Hotel’s Veranda Restaurant. Our table on the enclosed terrace gave us a great view of the bright lights of Long Street below. But suddenly, the whole city went dark—thanks to a power-outage. (South Africa is having intermittent problems with its electricity supply.) The only place with glittering chandeliers was the Veranda Restaurant, since the Metropole’s generator had kicked in. So there we were, enjoying our meal, while all around the city, restaurants were closing up shop. Even the rest of the hotel was dark, and when I went to the cloakroom, I found a tourist bashing the light switch, trying to get it to work—she hadn’t realized the blackout was citywide. A staffer eventually brought candles, so that night the cloakroom was naturally lit. And as we walked to our car, we looked up—without the usual glow of city lights, the African sky was dazzling.