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Friday, August 3, 2012

Day 9: Capetown by bus

Please note: the photos in this post are a bit fuzzy because of the program I used to upload my blog post from my iPad. You can click on each photo for a clearer view.   
 
The day dawned fairly cold and cloudy -- a disappointment, as I was looking forward to seeing Cape Town's spectacular views. But we (Cynthia England, her husband Warren, and I) made the best of it, and at least it didn't pour on us. We made our way to the harbor and the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. This is the Clock Tower:





There were lots of rusty vessels in for repair:











Cynthia do our best impression of the many African women we have seen balancing heavy loads on their heads:












Musicians performing:





This shop had some wonderful original garments:





Statues in the harbor of Mandela:



And Tutu:



We got aboard the City Sightseeing bus and took both routes all the way around. It was a great way to learn, and to get the lay of the land.


I loved the architecture around Green Market Square:





It was fun haggling over prices with the street merchants, who were selling fabrics, jewelry, drums, beaded animals, baskets, stone and carved wood sculptures, and more.

































































This is the entrance to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, one of the best gardens in the world. I want to go here tomorrow if it is clearer weather.











The Castle of Good Hope:


City Hall:


The yellow building is the Gold Museum:





Beautiful houses heading up Kloof Neck Road toward Table Mountain:





A very cloudy view of Cape Town on the way to Table Mountain:


Our bus at the cable car stop. The cable car was closed while we will be here (boo, hiss) but the weather wouldn't have permitted much of a view, anyway.





Protea:











The beaches -- at Camps Bay, Clifton, Bantry Bay, and Sea Point -- were simultaneously beautiful and forbidding.












We are hoping for better weather tomorrow, as it is our last full day here.