Cape Town, Feb 22-March 1

I love AirBnB.  We have stayed in the nicest homes.

We booked a place in the Fresnaye neighborhood with ample space for the girls to have their own rooms and to accommodate Jet and Lance who were joining us for a spell.  This was the house with the electric fence and the panic buttons that I wrote about earlier in Gated and Guarded.  We felt totally safe there and the sunsets were spectacular.  The owners have a similar aesthetic to mine and their home reminded me of the many lovely spaces Kirtlye designs (shameless plug for Santa Fe’s best designer… www.kirtlyeparker.com ).  Lots of white and neutral colors punctuated with color and art, unique linens and furnishings.  It was PERFECT!

Using the house as our base, we made our way twice to the wine lands.  First to Stellenbosch and then to Franceschoek.  Visiting wine country here is nothing like visiting Napa today.  The wineries are more like agricultural experiences and less the Disneyesque wine pouring events of Napa.  We enjoyed delicious food, strolled vineyard gardens, and saw 3-4 wineries at a very relaxing pace each day.  South Africa is known for its chenin blanc and pinotage, about which I still know very little, and it’s harvest time so we saw everything in full production.

Cape Town itself has a lot to offer as well.  There is the iconic Table Mountain landmark with its rotating gondola; the Victoria & Albert waterfront with its Ferris wheel, sail boats and shopping; the old Dutch fort, Castle of Good Hope, with its torture chamber; the gorgeous and shark infested waters of Clifton and Camps Bay.  We toured and enjoyed them all.

Just offshore sits Robben Island and the cell in which Mandela spent 18 of his 27 imprisoned years.  We went to see the cell, 10 by 10, the yard where he walked and the limestone quarry where he toiled.  We were guided by a former inmate, also a political prisoner.  He is an impressive man;  not because he endured similar mistreatment at the hands of the guards but because he demonstrated decency and kindness.  A bus had pulled in behind ours and there was no guide to greet them.  He asked our group to wait so that they too could be afforded the same warm greeting we had received.  He asked us to put our impatience aside and to put our empathy up front.  There were a few who didn’t get it.

On our last night in Cape Town, we were hosted by James, Josh, Daniel, Colleen and Malcolm – our man in Africa :-). We met in Cambodia in October and hit it off straight away. (When we met in October, they were also on a round-the-world trip and we began following each other’s blogs.)  They treated us to a “braai” or barbeque at their truly lovely home with a great music playlist, excellent wine and company.  It was a highlight of our time in Cape Town – we laughed and drank well into the night and Uber-ed home safely.  We hope to host them for a braai in NYC sometime this summer…

The Cricket Test match between Australia and South Africa started the next morning.  I was tempted to take up the ticket offered by Colleen and Malcolm but I didn’t.  Such restraint.  Instead, we were heading for the “Garden Route” which is similar to saying we were making a drive along the Pacific Coast Hwy in California.  In fact the landscapes in South Africa are reminiscent of California.  Jo-burg reminded me of California in the late 70s, early 80s.  Like Ontario and Diamond Bar before it was contiguous with LA. Cape Town is a combination of San Francisco’s steep hills and the breathtaking beauty of La Jolla and the Monterey Bay.  The Garden Route is like the stretch between San Francisco and Santa Cruz with all of the bird watching, biking, hiking, sailing, horseback riding and eating one could hope for.  Plus there are game reserves thrown in here for good measure.  We had had our fill of safari but our friends reported seeing white lion, rhino, cheetah, jackal and more at the Pumba nature reserve.

South Africa.  We’re bullish.

Some “Happy Feet” for my little viewers….Hudson, Duke, Caroline and Anthony