Castle of Good Hope

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Today, Maura, Nicole, Josh and I decided to go on a sight-seeing tour at the Castle of Good Hope, which is the oldest building in Cape Town. Sadly, it does not look much like Cinderella's Castle, or any castle that you would think of when you hear the word "castle", but instead looks much more like the pentagon built in the 1700s. It's a fort, and it's a pretty cool fort at that!

Unfortunately we got there after the last guided tour, so we had to guide ourselves. I think that it would probably have been better if we had a guide, because there were a lot of confusing passageways and exhibits that weren't exactly well-maintained, so we really just mainly entertained ourselves. We climbed up the oldest bastion, and snuck into the bell tower (definitely weren't supposed to do that). I got some great views of City Hall (which is one of the most ornate views of Cape Town), and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so there was also a great view of Table Mountain. I think I have more pictures of Table Mountain at this point than I do of my family.

They also have flags flying over the fort, which is pretty cool because they go in order of who has occupied South Africa. First you have the Dutch flag, because they were the original ones that colonized Cape Town as a sort of rest-point for the Dutch East India Trading Company. Then came the British flag, because they took over for a while, but then the Dutch came back, so then you have the Dutch flag again. Then you have the British flag once again, since they took over in the early 1810s sometime, and then you have the old South African flag that was used after the unification in 1910, then you have the new South African flag that came about after the republicanization of the state in 1994. It's really very pretty and nice to know that the South Africans have such pride and memory of their heritage and immigrant-type society.

We also got to see some old prison cells and the torture chamber, which were small, dank and mildewy. That was very fun too...we thought about leaving Josh there of course.

Afterwards we went down to Greenmarket Square and looked at some of the vendors again, then had pizza for dinner and headed home. Now back to criminal justice reading 😞 Harry Potter #5 movie tickets for tomorrow night have been purchased!!!

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Comments

[mommy and daddy]

pretty pics
Once again you have totally awed us with your pictoral tour of south africa and all ita beautiful vistas and sights to see. I too like the guinea hen and would not object to one of those in the yard (as opposed to the noisome sand cranes that we do have). Glad you are getting great weather and from the pictures of you, you look great and none the worse for the wear and tear of uphill walking. Daddy is always on the ball to tell me when there is a new blog from you so you know he is loving this. Oh I meant to say that I got you a shot glass in Aspen for your collection (I keep forgetting to say so). I really lied the babbling brook and tree shots as you are right I did not need another picture of the mountain, but keep on taking them. I am anxiously waiting for the safari pics and hope you have a great time. Enjoy your movie and hope you get the book in a timely fashion as well. Love Mommy