Uganda Day 13: Crêpes with a View
Today began like most of my days off work, with a trip down to La Patisserie. You know the drill: coffee, pastry, reading. When I left I only had one chapter left of my book. (Spoiler alert: I finished it this evening, just before sitting down to write this. On to the next one!)
Since shortly after I arrived, I've been wanting to go to this crêpe place in Kololo (the swanky part of town) called Holy Crêpe. Aliana actually knows the owners, so she's spent quite a bit of time there, but I hadn't had the chance to try it yet. So this afternoon I ordered another free Uber to take me there. I think Kampala is still fairly short on Uber drivers...it took three tries before anyone accepted, and then it took him almost half an hour to get here (even though the app estimated 8 minutes—clearly it doesn't account for Kampala traffic). Thankfully, he did make it in the end, and a little while later I was exiting the car at the top of the hill in Kololo. This crêpe place is attached to a very nice set of apartments, also owned by Aliana's connections. Here's the outside:
First of all, let me just say that Kololo feels so far removed from the area where I live that it might as well be a different city. My neighbourhood is all people and chaos and red dirt and noise. Kololo is quiet, empty, and very green. It's been a while since I was in a place like that.
Being on the second floor at the top of one of the tallest hills in Kampala, I'd expected the view from this place to be pretty good. I wasn't disappointed:
That photo doesn't do it justice. It was far more panoramic in person—that's just one slice. It also misses the sheer altitude of the place. In real life, you could really tell that you were on top of Kampala. I'm glad I remembered at least to take the picture, but I'll be back with my real camera sometime.
Now the most important part, the raison d'être, if you will. I ordered a crêpe with Nutella and strawberries, and it was amazing. I probably should have ordered a savoury crêpe, on account of the fact that the day's food had so far been sorely lacking in nutrition; but this is what crêpes are all about, and I couldn't let my first experience here go to waste. How can anyone resist this?
It looked a little prettier before I took the bite out of that one corner, but I was so excited to eat it I forgot to snap the picture. Needless to say, the moment I was done I felt disgusting, but it was worth it. Next time I'll try something else. They actually have all kinds of desserts and things, plus the savoury options, as well as coffee and drinks. And you can hardly ask for a better setting in which to enjoy them.
We stayed at Holy Crêpe for a little while, then Aliana and I set out for Acacia Mall. Yes, again—it's a good place to hang out and kill time, and it's walking distance from where we were. We didn't actually go into the mall, though. Instead we went to Endiro Café, that place I mentioned yesterday with all the trees around it. I remembered to take a picture this time, but only from where we were sitting on the covered part of the patio. Still, it gives a sense of how secluded it is:
This place was originally recommended to us on account of its freshly squeezed juice, so that's what we ordered. Very refreshing. It was also nice just being on the patio, because it's much cooler than being out in the sun.
After finishing at Endiro, and after I successfully resisted the urge to eat dinner out again, we left for home. I called yet another Uber and made my way back to my place. I was right about Kampala's shortage of Uber drivers—the guy that picked me up was the same guy that gave me my first ride yesterday! In his enormous van with three feet of leg room.
At home I made dinner, finished off the little bit of my book I had left, and here I am. Tomorrow we are doing the boda tour of Kampala, which I'm looking forward to. I'm going to take my camera. It'll be the first time I even take it out of the bag since I've been here, and I'm more than a little nervous. Not so much about theft—after all, I'll be with a bunch of tourists and guides, not on my own—but the thought of breaking it on the boda somehow is more worrying to me than the thought of getting injured myself. Priorities? My backpack has a bit of padding, so hopefully it will be alright in there.
That's it for tonight! I am going to make myself a tea and relax for a bit before bed. Good night!