Cape Town

Hiking Table Mountain

As every South African says, Cape Town is like a different country.  The long weekend we spent there was by far the best I've had this trip.  It is a bit like San Francisco in that it is a very hipster city with mountains right next to the ocean.  Right outside the city is gorgeous wine country.  We passed a  leisurely half-day doing a tour of several vineyards--so fun.

Wine tasting on the vineyard's lawn

We drove to the Cape of Good Hope, near the southern tip of Africa, taking the Chapman's Peak Drive route--one of the most scenic roads in the world where car commercials are filmed.  Our our way, we also went to Boulders Beach, where there were tons of photogenic penguins walking around on the sand and diving in the surf.  The next day, to continue the animal theme, we went diving with seals.  The animals were so playful.  They would swim right up to us and twirl around us in the water.  I have seen SO many different wild animals the past several weeks.

Photo taken by my friend who had an underwater camera

Unfortunate foggy view at the top of Table Mountain

Our last night in Cape Town we went to an amazing Italian restaurant.  The day before, after climbing Table Mountain, we happened to meet some off-duty chefs sitting next to us at a cafe.  We struck up a conversation in Italian with them, and they invited us to their restaurant.

Bo-Kaap district

We went to a couple adorable weekend markets like this

Cape of Good Hope, near the southern tip of Africa