Old Biscuit Mill - Show Up in a BMW, Walk Home
This weekend was the first without a planned iX excursion, so we were free to do whatever we wanted to do. I decided to hit up the Old Biscuit Mill on Saturday morning with a few friends to check out the food stands and shops at the tourist-attracting market in Woodstock. However, my roommate Henry invited me to a meet-up at the Ernst & Young office called "I am an Entrepreneur," where his boss at The Butcher Man, Arie Fabian, founder of Fabiani clothing, was giving the keynote address, so I started the day there at 9AM.
After a nice start with a good breakfast and free pair of socks with palm trees on them, the first 2 hours were horrible. There were presentations from the sponsors, and the lady from Renault gave literally the worst talk I have ever seen. The next presenter, a director at Ernst & Young talked about common financial pitfalls new business owners fall into, and he wasn't much better. Finally it was Arie Fabian's turn, and he was able to somewhat save the day. He walked through his journey founding Fabiani clothing and some lessons he learned along the way, and while it was nothing spectacular, it was so much better than the previous presenters. The rest of the crowd was blown away however, agreeing with "MhhHmms" like a Gospel choir after almost everything he said.
The program came to an end around 12:15, and we were about to call an Uber to the Old Biscuit Mill when Gary Palmer, one of Arie's business partners offered to give us a ride. It turns out the Gary is founder and CEO of Paragon Lending Solutions, a very successful and profitable company here in Cape Town, so it was no surprise when he clicked his keys and the lights on a sweet, black BMW sports car lit up. We got in,and drove down the street to Woodstock, talking about our time here so far and listening to Gary point out the businesses he's financed and the locations he owns as we passed them. It was awesome to ride along with Gary, and it was so nice of him to offer us a ride!
After a couple hour detour, I had made it to the Old Biscuit Mill. The patio area was teeming with people and you could hear the sounds of a live band performing nearby and smell the smells of seemingly unlimited cuisines. We went straight to the food tent, took a lap of the vendors to see what was available, I tried a free sample that ended up being a worm (it's as gross as you'd imagine), and settled on a chicken sandwich from a local restaurant with 2 kinds of pesto, onions, tomato, lettuce, avocado, and shaved parmesan cheese.
I walked for about 3 hours, covering 6 or 7 miles, and made it back just in time to see another incredible sunset from my balcony.
After a nice start with a good breakfast and free pair of socks with palm trees on them, the first 2 hours were horrible. There were presentations from the sponsors, and the lady from Renault gave literally the worst talk I have ever seen. The next presenter, a director at Ernst & Young talked about common financial pitfalls new business owners fall into, and he wasn't much better. Finally it was Arie Fabian's turn, and he was able to somewhat save the day. He walked through his journey founding Fabiani clothing and some lessons he learned along the way, and while it was nothing spectacular, it was so much better than the previous presenters. The rest of the crowd was blown away however, agreeing with "MhhHmms" like a Gospel choir after almost everything he said.
The program came to an end around 12:15, and we were about to call an Uber to the Old Biscuit Mill when Gary Palmer, one of Arie's business partners offered to give us a ride. It turns out the Gary is founder and CEO of Paragon Lending Solutions, a very successful and profitable company here in Cape Town, so it was no surprise when he clicked his keys and the lights on a sweet, black BMW sports car lit up. We got in,and drove down the street to Woodstock, talking about our time here so far and listening to Gary point out the businesses he's financed and the locations he owns as we passed them. It was awesome to ride along with Gary, and it was so nice of him to offer us a ride!
After a couple hour detour, I had made it to the Old Biscuit Mill. The patio area was teeming with people and you could hear the sounds of a live band performing nearby and smell the smells of seemingly unlimited cuisines. We went straight to the food tent, took a lap of the vendors to see what was available, I tried a free sample that ended up being a worm (it's as gross as you'd imagine), and settled on a chicken sandwich from a local restaurant with 2 kinds of pesto, onions, tomato, lettuce, avocado, and shaved parmesan cheese.
Next, I walked around the clothing retailers for a little bit, saw some other friends from iX, went back to the food court to get a piece of chocolate cheesecake, and before I knew it, it was 2 PM, closing time for the Old Biscuit Mill. I've been wanting to explore downtown Cape Town on a walking tour for a while now, and I figured this would be a perfect opportunity, so rather than calling an Uber, I just started walking. The area I was in was a little sketchy at first, but once I reached the city, I felt relatively safe. I came accross a nice park in the center of the city that I didn't know even existed, and found the National Gallery, which I toured it briefly, before taking a break on a bench outside in the shade, with a beautiful view of Table Mountain. I stayed for 30 minutes, listening to a chapter of Trevor Noah's book, Born a Crime, which I downloaded on Audible a few days ago, then continued on my walk feeling refreshed.
I made it to Long Street, and walked down and back up it to Kloof Street, just people-watching on these busy Cape Town roads. After walking up a couple of big hills (see below), I decided to end my walk at the base of Table Mountain and Lions Head, and call an Uber to get me the last 2 miles over the hill.
I walked for about 3 hours, covering 6 or 7 miles, and made it back just in time to see another incredible sunset from my balcony.
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