Advertisement
Published: June 26th 2017
Edit Blog Post
Geo: -33.9366, 25.5709
Our third day in Cape Town was again a beautiful one with sunny skies though a cooler breeze. We decided to go into the city itself as it had been 18 years since we had seen it. We caught a taxi from the dock and asked to be dropped at St Georges Cathedral in the centre of the city. This Anglican Cathedral is an imposing stone building in the Gothic style, built in the 1800s. We went inside and admired the soaring stained glass windows and the carved choir stalls.
From there we walked along St Georges Mall. As it was a Saturday, there were many market stalls being set up with African souvenirs in abundance. The prices were much lower than at the V&A Dock so we happily browsed and made some purchases. The Mall was lined with beautiful trees, giving plenty of shade. At the end of the Mall we came to Riebeek St and turned left to find Long St, a thoroughfare we had walked along last time. A little way along here we saw the Tourist office from where the Hop on-Hop off buses leave. Next to this was a small café, You and Yours, which
provided a much needed cold drink and resting spot. It also proved to have an excellent WiFi connection. Here we happily ensconced ourselves for the next couple of hours, watching the world go by and catching up with news from home.
After a pleasant interlude we walked along Longmarket St into Greenmarket Square. This was a central meeting spot, filled with market stalls. The strolling crowds were being entertained by small groups of children in native outfits dancing and singing in their traditional fashion. These were school or church groups, busking and delighting the passers-by. We walked around the stalls making a few more purchases before settling at Le Petit restaurant at an outside table where we could eat and drink but also be entertained. This was a Tapas restaurant and we ordered the mixed platter. Unfortunately they seemed to be out of most meat offerings so we settled for the Hummus and vegetable concoctions we were given. Had a nice bottle of local white with it though, the whole meal costing $A28.
From there we walked back down the Mall, stopping to replenish our stock of rand at an ATM. We also bought a couple of cute dresses for small girls
and a loud shirt for Fletcher. We found a taxi and were driven down to the V&A again. Here the place was crowded and happily buzzing. We went into the Watershed, a shopping complex that houses local artists. There were some unique artefacts on sale here, made by the artists in situ. We did buy a small elephant made out of discarded flip flops, the name for thongs here. We spent a couple of hours here, browsing and enjoying the atmosphere. There was a small square containing statues of the four local Nobel Peace Prize winners which was interesting. We stopped at the wine store to buy two bottles of wine that we are allowed to take on at each port. The cost is so low here.
By this time it was 3-30pm and all aboard time was 4-30pm. We slowly made our way back to the ship after a wonderful three days. It certainly is the highlight of the trip so far. Back on board we watched the sail away from our balcony, with glass of wine in hand. We had a fabulous view of Robben Island in the distance and enjoyed spotting the many seals who swam along side.
I really appreciate having a balcony cabin for this reason. We rejoined our table for dinner and the conversation flowed as we compared experiences. Then it was off to the Wheelhouse Bar for Happy Hour and our favourite group on board, the 2 Cool Duo who played some great music, from Beatles to Adele. It had been a great day.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.048s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 18; dbt: 0.0304s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb