Cape Town, South Africa

We're nearing the end of our first full day in Cape Town. So far, so good!

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We arrived yesterday on schedule, at the Cape Town airport. We sat next to a friendly South African who gave us some valuable pointers on various hotspots throughout the city. A tour director was at the airport awaiting our arrival. We were whisked away to a company van and immediately transported to a grand hotel. The director pointed out sites along the way and highlighted recent/future significant events, historical trivia about visible landmarks, and updated us on what we had to look forward to. The lodging turned out to be a large, old Victorian style hotel. There were beautiful gardens and lovely decorations throughout. We were given a brief tour and were led to our room which included a nice little sitting area, king size bed with down comforters, and a bathtub (bonus!).

Dinner was served a couple hours later at the hotel restaurant. I enjoyed yellow tail while Mike dined on steak. We met our tour mates who turned out to be from Texas. Dinner was complemented by conversation as we all acquainted ourselves with one-another.

The morning started with the buffet breakfast which did not disappoint. Our tour director drove us through the city on our way to the Cape of Good Hope. He too briefed us on city highlights and gave us ample opportunity to snap photos at optimum view points. We ran into some baboons on the way - and these did not have purple butts! :) Our visit to the Cape ended with a visit to the light house. With any luck, Mike managed to get some awesome photos...

After the lighthouse, we ventured off to visit the penguins along the coast and eat lunch. We saw the full circle of life as we witnessed some tending to their eggs, babies shedding their baby coat, adults waddling around the sand, and sea gulls dining on the dead.

Lunch was another delicious meal - tiger shrimp this time, while Mike enjoyed ribs and seafood - before we continued on to the botanical gardens. The gardens were to large to take in in the hour we had to visit. Unfortunately, the flowers were not all in bloom but regardless, there were plenty to see.

Mike and I finished the day by loading up on some anti-Malaria pills (I can't believe how much they cost!) and some cake during the tea break offered by the hotel. We look forward to some more fine dining this evening at what is rumored to be an nice seafood restaurant! :) Yum!