The Motherland!

View from our window

After a bit of a snafu, we settled into our apartment nicely.

Remember, I'm traveling with a colleague.

View from our window 2

Side note - The apartment was rented thru AirBnB, a website where people all over the world rent their apartments/homes.  I used them before and loved it.

This apartment is in a residential area called Sea Point with stunning views of the water.  We're on a hill, three blocks up from the beach.

Cool, square wash basin in the apartment

Stool that can double as a tray

Today was the first leg of our Big Bus Tour, which takes you through all of the city highlights.  There were seventeen stops on today's tour and you can hop on and off throughout the day.

Cape Town is a breathtakingly beautiful city.  It is surrounded on three sides by water, and there is majestic Table Mountain that dominants the landscape.

Cable car descending Table Mountain

Flat top Table Mountain

We took a cable car to the top of the mountain.  The views were spectacular. Seeing this grandeur helps you to see how insignificant you are in the real scheme of things.

To me, the city is a combination of the hills of San Francisco, the many glass buildings of Miami, and the quaintness of New Orleans.  It's a relatively large city, with a small town feel.

Funky purple building

Lattice-trimmed buildings, like in New Orleans

Glamorous Area - Camps Bay

The local people are friendly and helpful.

We've seen diverse crowds everywhere.  There seems to be lots of folks visiting like us.

We met a delightful young man, 26 years old, who was traveling with his mother. They hopped on the bus and sat by us.  They were from Zimbobwe. She was visiting him because he had just completed his Master's Degree.  It was so impressive to see how he treated his Mom.  She was proud of him and rightfully so.