Safrica
YES.
Finally.
One of the ports that I have been
looking forward to the most. It did not disappoint.
As soon as we arrived into our port of
call (Cape Town)- we were greeted by Table Mountain nonchalantly in view from
the 6th deck. As if
Our awesome tour guide, Albert was on
the other side of immigration waiting for us!
(US= me, Sarah, Yarden, Sydney, and
Phillip)
As soon as we got in the car- Albert
said, alright- what do you want to do?
So, we had to wing it.
First, we drove up to Table Mountain
and rode a cable car up to the top!
I am quite proud of myself for not
freaking out, seeing as I am terrified of heights. I think I’m getting better.
#GrowingUp
We got to the top and took what seemed
like hundreds of pictures at every scenic spot (hey, how many times will we
visit here?)
Albert did an awesome job of keeping us on task. We were like his sheep. Or his ducklings. And he was mother goose.
Next we visited the Castle of Good Hope. We walked around and spent some time in the museum, which was very nice- but we were ready for wine. And chocolate.
First came De Villiers Artisan Chocolate- and it was wonderful. I don't think Hersey's will ever be as appealing to me anymore. I'm a dark chocolate convert.
From there, we decided that we needed more than just chocolate (and soon wine) in our systems, so we walked over to a nearby pizzeria. And it was the best decision. I haven't had pizza in so long...and they had West Crust style pizza. It was thrilling. AND we were surrounded by incredible scenery.
First came De Villiers Artisan Chocolate- and it was wonderful. I don't think Hersey's will ever be as appealing to me anymore. I'm a dark chocolate convert.
From there, we decided that we needed more than just chocolate (and soon wine) in our systems, so we walked over to a nearby pizzeria. And it was the best decision. I haven't had pizza in so long...and they had West Crust style pizza. It was thrilling. AND we were surrounded by incredible scenery.
We moved onward to a slew of vinyards/wineries...and I'm definitely in love with Stellenbosch.
Remember when I said “how many times
will we visit [Cape Town/Stellenbosch]?" I think I’m going to move here. I’ve got a couple of
people I need to persuade- but I think I can manage.
We visited quite a number of them, so I will not bore you with the details of the wine tastings. Just know that each variety wine I put into my body was delectable.
And as time went on, the wines got even better, if you can imagine.
I refrained from buying hundreds of dollars worth of wine- if it were up to me, I would have purchased and shipped every single one that I tried home to Texas.
I thought I'd run to a grocery store, buy my favorites, and ship those- but never got the chance.
BUT FRET NOT.
I collected all of the US lesion/ shop information about each that I could get my hands on.
After our final winery, Albert dropped Sydney and I off at our hotel in Stellenbosch and took the rest of our bunch back to the ship.
We checked in and were told that the power would be shut off for two hours (30 minutes from our arrival) so we opted to grab our laptops, and hunt for wifi and dinner.
EVIDENTLY, our hotel was not the only establishment that would shut their power off.
So we selected a restaurant with their lights on, seemed like the best bet.
We thought that we had found both- at least that's what they advertised. Their food was not that great, and their wifi was abysmal. We headed back to our hotel ASAP
OH. I have forgotten something very important!
You know how my uke had a great fall at the Great Wall? Well, Albert (and my mom) arranged for me to get a new one. I had talked to Reg on Albert's phone while on the way to Table Mountain, and he said he had one! Now, what I thought was happening was I'd go to a music store and pick up a new one, but Reg asked if I could give him until the following morning to make me one! Cool, right?
So, I had planned on meeting him the next day- but got a text from Albert telling me that Reg was at the hotel with my newly made ukulele- while I was at dinner. SO, I left Sydney and quickly ran back to the hotel (took about 10 minutes- I got a little lost. And I'm not flash) and asked the front desk if they had seen a man with a ukulele running around- and pointed me in the right direction. I caught up with him and made the deal! I love it. It's a perfect souvenir!
On our second morning, Sydney and I got up, had some breakfast,checked out, and then met up with Albert! We had two wine tastings lined up, and then Albert was supposed to be rid of us by noon.
BUT his second tour of the day got pushed back, and he offered to take us around for a few more hours! We really lucked out in the tour guide department. He MADE our trip! He was so fun.
Albert took us to a grocery store (after picking up some champagne) to gather some supplies for a picnic. We divided and conquered- and came out with brie, mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, baguettes, biltong, avocados, and cupcakes- then had our little picnic on Chapman's Peak!
Great views, and far better company.
After our picnicking adventure, the time had come for us to make our way back to the ship.
It was a sad goodbye, but I was looking very much forward to the next led of my trip- Victoria Falls!
Things I love about today:
1. Albert- the world's greatest tour guide
2. South African wine
3. My new ukulele
4. Grocery stores.
We visited quite a number of them, so I will not bore you with the details of the wine tastings. Just know that each variety wine I put into my body was delectable.
And as time went on, the wines got even better, if you can imagine.
I refrained from buying hundreds of dollars worth of wine- if it were up to me, I would have purchased and shipped every single one that I tried home to Texas.
I thought I'd run to a grocery store, buy my favorites, and ship those- but never got the chance.
BUT FRET NOT.
I collected all of the US lesion/ shop information about each that I could get my hands on.
After our final winery, Albert dropped Sydney and I off at our hotel in Stellenbosch and took the rest of our bunch back to the ship.
We checked in and were told that the power would be shut off for two hours (30 minutes from our arrival) so we opted to grab our laptops, and hunt for wifi and dinner.
EVIDENTLY, our hotel was not the only establishment that would shut their power off.
So we selected a restaurant with their lights on, seemed like the best bet.
We thought that we had found both- at least that's what they advertised. Their food was not that great, and their wifi was abysmal. We headed back to our hotel ASAP
OH. I have forgotten something very important!
You know how my uke had a great fall at the Great Wall? Well, Albert (and my mom) arranged for me to get a new one. I had talked to Reg on Albert's phone while on the way to Table Mountain, and he said he had one! Now, what I thought was happening was I'd go to a music store and pick up a new one, but Reg asked if I could give him until the following morning to make me one! Cool, right?
So, I had planned on meeting him the next day- but got a text from Albert telling me that Reg was at the hotel with my newly made ukulele- while I was at dinner. SO, I left Sydney and quickly ran back to the hotel (took about 10 minutes- I got a little lost. And I'm not flash) and asked the front desk if they had seen a man with a ukulele running around- and pointed me in the right direction. I caught up with him and made the deal! I love it. It's a perfect souvenir!
Made it back to the restaurant- and we decided to go back to the hotel.
THE POWER WAS STILL OUT. But it was only supposed to be out for 10 more minutes.
10 turned into 45.
We became stir crazy. It was hot in our room and we really had nothing to do and nowhere to go. UNTIL, we found a frozen yogurt place called Fabio's that appeared to be open within view from our balcony. Sure enough, it was! But after a couple of hours- they closed and we had to go back to our hotel.
WHICH, was not so bad, because the power was back on and BONUS: the wifi from Fabio's worked from our balcony. SCORE. I got to talk to my mom, Mark, Taylor, Brooke, and Kelsey! Quite an eventful night for me and FaceTime.
But I had to sleep sometime, we had more adventures coming our way!
On our second morning, Sydney and I got up, had some breakfast,checked out, and then met up with Albert! We had two wine tastings lined up, and then Albert was supposed to be rid of us by noon.
BUT his second tour of the day got pushed back, and he offered to take us around for a few more hours! We really lucked out in the tour guide department. He MADE our trip! He was so fun.
Albert took us to a grocery store (after picking up some champagne) to gather some supplies for a picnic. We divided and conquered- and came out with brie, mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, baguettes, biltong, avocados, and cupcakes- then had our little picnic on Chapman's Peak!
Great views, and far better company.
After our picnicking adventure, the time had come for us to make our way back to the ship.
It was a sad goodbye, but I was looking very much forward to the next led of my trip- Victoria Falls!
Things I love about today:
1. Albert- the world's greatest tour guide
2. South African wine
3. My new ukulele
4. Grocery stores.
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