I’ve been riding bikes a bit on vacations lately – Orlando, Palm Springs, and Los Angeles.  When reading the guidebook we found a couple references for Bike Rentals in Cape Town — once we started digging a little further we found a Bike and Wine Tour in Stellenbosch.  There were three options for the ride 9k, 15k and 21k.  While I’m not a fit or avid cyclist, 21k isn’t that far, I was quite confident we could do it without a problem.  We opted to take the Adventure Ride, or 21k trip.  We signed up to take the tour on Saturday morning.  The folks at BnW were very helpful and great to work with.

We were told to meet at 08h00 at a coffee shop just a few minutes walk from our hotel.  From that point on, we’d head to the main train station and go to Stellenbosch station, about an hour away.  We arrive at the coffee shop to find a man from BnW telling us the ride had been cancelled.  He said the train to Stellenbosch had been sabotaged and no trains were leaving today.  This was a little concerning — sabotage?  What exactly does that mean? Who is sabotaging the train.  Come to find out, it was more just vandalism — people were stealing the copper off the power lines.  Whew.

We were able to move our reservation over to Sunday vs. Saturday.  Surprisingly we were the only people on the tour.  Our tour guide, whose name I forget, was an 18 year old kid, who was quite knowledgeable about wine.  He grew up drinking wine with his attorney parents.  We met at the coffee shop, and walked to the train station — we took the train to Stellenbosch without incident.  The trains looked a little old and not all that well maintained. I don’t know if all lines were like this or if it was just this one.

 The views along the route were really beautiful.  No one was out on the “trails” with us.  It was so calming out there.  As we headed down the hills we often ran into loose sand that caused us to really slow down — luckily none of us took a tumble (surprisingly).  Of all the wineries we visited I liked Spier the best.  The service was great and the wine was quite tasty.  I like it the best because of the outdoor seating area and we managed to make up some time so we could really sit and enjoy various wines. This is the only place where we bought wine, too.

 The Stellenbosch region was surprisingly green, considering how sandy and dry the whole area was.  We had a really great time, even when we were crossing over a rickety old bridge — so rickety and old we had to walk our bikes across.  Pretty cool though.

The brandy distillery was nice, but definitely my least favorite of the visits.  I was in no mood for Brandy when it was 35C and I was exhausted.  At least the service at the distillery was top notch and it was fully air conditioned with LOTS of water.

When I go back to South Africa (when, NOT if), I want to do this tour again. I’ve been riding my bike much more here and I think I am now able to do the first elevation completely — I’d probably struggle, I am confident I’d finish and not need to walk any of it.

epicfail.

If South Africa is on your short list, I say you MUST do this tour. It is absolutely amazing and well worth eating up an entire day in South Africa.  just do it!

The final picture here is taken at the train station. There were HUGE chickens just hanging out on the platform.  I can’t imagine how tough (or mean) this rooster would be.  I’m sure that big old bitch would peck you to death and think nothing of it.

Next as we continue south through the suburbs then out to the bay.  We drove through Muizenberg to St. James tidal pool beach with some beautiful multicolored bathing boxes.  The beach looks quite rocky from this picture, but that wasn’t the case.  The beach was separated from the main road by train tracks — it is a quick train ride out here from Cape Town…but an even quicker drive.  There were so many families out and about enjoying this wonderful weekend at the end of summer.

We continue a few minutes further south to Kalk Bay which is full of little antique shops and traditional beach town souvenirs.  We didn’t spend much time in this little down, but there was some nice art pieces that would have been horrible to get home.  There was a little Cuban place and far be it for me to turn down a mojito in a cool little bar with tobacco hanging from the ceiling.

While we enjoyed our mojitos we watched a cricket match (I believe it was the world cup of cricket, or some such nonsense.  There were several people in this bar (can’t tell from the pictures) watching the match.  I’ll pretend it is my bad posture and the pattern on my shirt that makes my belly look bigger than it is….ugh.

The next stop was Simon Town — this was my favorite stop along False Bay — so much better than Kalk Bay.  You all know I’m not a big seafood guy — I love sushi, but once fish is cooked, I’m not a big fan.   The fish was so fresh — I do love the places that are right on the water and the menus are on chalk boards – gotta love super fresh food.  This place had a nice selection of fish. I opted for the Mahi Mahi, and I forget what MS had.  They had several different sauces — a spicy plum, a curry, ketchup, homemade tartar and a few that we weren’t 100% sure what they were.  We tried all the ones we knew though.  The chips were pretty damn tasty too.  The best part, it was served in butcher paper, eaten on a  picnic like table and served with bottled beer.  Loved it.

We knew the emperor penguins were just a couple kilometers down the road.  I must admit, I was shocked.  I (mistakenly) thought emperor penguins would be huge.  I was expecting (slight exaggeration) them to be about 1-1.25 meters tall — something that a Batman Villain could train to wreak havoc upon Gotham.  

 The water was so blue.  Again, I’m not a water guy either, I can’t swim and I don’t like getting splashed (even in the pool), but this water was so inviting.  Up until this point I had only seen penguins in Africa, no other animals (unless I was eating them).  The Baboon! sign greeted us as we entered the park — I was excited to see my first African animal in the wild.  I knew that baboons (all primates) can be a bit aggressive — and I sure as shit didn’t want to end up like Charla Nash, I would stay clear of all baboons, chimps, apes, gorillas and anything of the like (although only baboons were in the area).

 I like this beach photo — I had no idea I’d see ostriches here.  This photo makes it look like I’m a lot closer than I really am.  Ostriches will kick your face off, and I’ll have no part of that either.  MS kept saying “get closer”.  Fuck that.  It’s still a pretty cool picture and not once was I afraid of getting sliced.

ARGH! A BABOON!!!!”.  MS thought that was quite hilarious…and I must admit, I did too. We still find ourselves saying “ARGH a BABOON” from time to time and laughing quite heartily. 

The drive up for the next 5k-10k looked like the Pacific Coast Highway — beautiful but I’m a little jaded: a pretty coastal road is a pretty coastal road.  We had two options to get home, cut inland a bit (adding about 10 minutes if that to our drive) and staying along the coast and going over Chapman’s Peak.  I don’t like heights as much as I don’t like water, but much less than I don’t like fish.  We went the Chapman’s Peak route. I did ask MS to be extra cautious was we went along the route — as one small hiccup could send the car careening over the small brick “guard rail” to our firey/watery grave.  The drive was amazing.  MS drove expertly and surprisingly we didn’t run into much traffic.  I won’t get into the details of the road, as you can see that in Wikipedia yourself.  The views were amazing and a bit intimidating. 

We watched the sunset as we finished our Chenin Blanc and reflected on an amazing day.  This day was truly once in a lifetime opportunity.  A lovely nicely paced drive through some beautiful country.  If you are in Cape Town you must take this drive as well. I leave you with a picture from the south suburbs of Cape Town – a small town called Camps Bay (quite an affluent suburb).  I cannot wait to do this drive again sometime soon.

The guide books all said that Cape Town was dangerous City where one should not walk outside in the evenings with or without accompaniment – you must take a cab or a car.  For the first couple of days we heeded this warning — it wasn’t until the last day that we decided to throw caution to the wind and spent time wandering after hours out and about.  Guide books frustrate me at times when they are uber cautious.  I know why — silly Americans are afraid of their own shadows.  Anyway…

The first night we popped over to the V&A Harbor and had an acceptable dinner of African Meat (Ostrich for me and Boar for MS).  A couple beers and then back to the hotel.  We had a lot to do over the next few days and were running on limited sleep.

The next day we slept in a bit then headed up to find a Cape Malay restaurant that we had read so much about.  It was called Bo Kaap Kombuis and was really great.  The food itself looked a little funky — see…

During our lunch were were shocked by a very loud explosion.  We were the only ones in the restaurant who seemed to care.  After asking a couple times what the noise was, we were informed it was the Noon Gun — a cannon that is fired at noon each day so the laborers know when it is lunch time.  We got use to it — and actually enjoyed it from that point on.  The guide book did warn us about the gun, but we paid no attention to that warning either.

After lunch we headed over to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and many other prisoners were held.  It’s a quick ferry ride from Cape Town. The guided tour was well done, but not something you need to do more than once.  It is something you MUST do whilst in Cape Town.

After Robben Island we walked up and down Kloof Street, looking for a few good restaurants.  We didn’t see anything that really jumped out at us as a fantastic place, but everyone said this is the place to walk.  We found a nice little place at the base of Table Mountain, called Asoka, for a couple of specialty cocktails made with fresh herbs and loads of liquor.  The service was really good and it was a great way to kick off our second evening in Cape Town.

After drinks we walked around trying to find a great sushi place called Kyoto Gardens — but we couldn’t find it.  We looked all over and I swear it must have gone out of business.  We chose to eat at a small Thai place a block or two from Asoka.  The food was quite lovely – we dined al fresco both places this evening.

After dinner we decided to go out.  We aren’t big on the whole gay scene — we don’t go clubbing, we don’t have to stay in the gay neighborhood, although traditionally one night in a new City we will go to the gay ghetto for a cocktail and to see what the locals do.  Cape Town’s gay area, that we saw at least, was pretty casual (like the rest of the City). We walked around for a bit, but didn’t find anything that really jumped out at us.  As we were sitting outside eating dessert, a place around the corner up a hill caught my eye…called Bubbles. Immediately I thought it was a little champagne bar — and well, that’s all I need to see and I’m all over it!  We ventured up the hill and then up the stairs and heard a live show…it was a drag show.  Maybe we will find the gay bar we were looking for after all.  We aren’t into the gay scene and we really aren’t into the drag scene either.  This place was great though.

The owner/performer was Polish and she told us the place had been open just a few days.  She and her husband recently moved from Paris to start a new life in Cape Town.  When she was younger she use to perform in Poland and live in Paris — and commute weekly for her show.  The club had 6 other Americans inside (ugh) they informed us that they flew in from the US for Pride Weekend…we were completely shocked that it was Pride in Cape Town.  The owner at Bubbles was leading the parade the following day and performing in their new HUGE football (soccer) stadium.  We were invited to join her VIP area, but alas we were taking a drive to the Cape of Good Hope the next day (whew).

The performers name was Lola (like my Grandma) and of course she sang “Copa Cabana”, which just made my day.  Her name was Lola, she was a show girl…and I am a Fan-ilow!

The next day we decided to take a drive down to the end of the continent (which was amazing and will be reviewed next).  The day after the drive we went on a GREAT bike and wine tour (to be reviewed shortly).

The final day in Cape Town we decided to hike Table Mountain, which was high on our list from day one.  One thing I didn’t mention yet, is the weather.  Cape Town was windy (blew the smog and filth out of the City) but it was warm. It was in the 30s each day. I loved it.  Table Mountain is extremely steep.  There were a two ways to get to the top — either cab it part way up and then hike, or take the cable car.  We opted for the latter.  It was a very quick ride to the top and interestingly enough the inside of the cable car rotates, so no matter where you stand you’ll get a full 360 degree view of the area.  Going up the mountain you can look out and see Robben Island and all of Cape Town.  I hate heights but with a firm grasp on the railing I enjoyed the ride.

At the top of the mountain we decided to walk around for a bit…it was much cooler at the top and was really surreal.  As we moved a little bit away from the observation deck we really found no one else out and about, it was really surprising.

The weather can change pretty quickly on the mountain.  You’ll notice the wind damaged sign above.  The “hooter” they refer to is the siren to warn everyone to get off the mountain (or you must WALK down…no thank you).  The clouds from form over Table Mountain and from a distance it looks like a table cloth over the table — really quite extraordinary

After the Table Mountain Hike we headed back to the Hotel and MS had dinner with his uncle’s friend. I opted to go to dinner on my own.  The next day we headed to the airport early and continued our journey to Zimbabwe.

Cape Town was one of the most beautiful Cities I have ever visited.  My biggest regret about Cape Town was not being their for the World Cup.  The City has such a great energy when we were there, I just cannot imagine what it was like with thousands of footballers there (and the whole world watching).

We opted to stay the four nights in Cape Town at the Westin. This hotel was near the convention center– which wasn’t a selling factor for us, but the lucrative Starwood Points + Money option did. We paid $45 plus 4,000 points/night. I started Tweeting to the hotel and Starwood before we left and once we arrived we were upgraded to nice corner suite with a view of Table Mountain (partial view).

The room had a lovely large bathroom, a bedroom and a living room/office.  The real savor here was the separate rooms.  MS snores a bit, especially when he is exhausted.  I am a light sleeper, so coupling us together can make for a night (or nights) of limited sleep.  Unfortunately we did have to take turns sleeping in the living room area.  While we were upgraded to a suite, we weren’t offered access to any Executive Lounge or a complimentary breakfast.  MS is also an elite Starwood guy — still no Lounge or other amenities.

The location of the hotel was pretty good.  It was a very short walk to the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Waterfront, which sort of reminded me of Navy Pier in Chicago.  There were street performers, dozens of restaurants (of varying quality…everything we had there was far from Michelin rated, that’s for sure).  Our hotel had a shuttle every 15 minutes to and from the V&A Waterfront – which was a nice little bonus.

The hotel had a nice lobby bar with a pretty nice port selection.  We really became fans of port as a nightcap after spending a couple weeks in Portugal in September 2010. It’s nice being someplace where you actually have a choice of ports.

The hotel also had a EuroCar kiosk in the lobby.  I’ve never used EuroCar before, so I can’t speak to the overall service at this company, but I can say the folks at this hotel were absolutely horrible.  We decided to rent a car for a day and drive down to the Cape of Good Hope. We reserved a car once we got there (Thursday) for rental on Saturday.  We then confirmed again on Friday and our car was set and ready to go — we could pick it up anytime after 08h00.  We show up at 10h30 and we don’t have a car, no reservation, nothing.  I walk away and let MS deal with this…after about 45 minutes we are given a car and we are off  to the Cape.

Cape Town has gone through a major change since hosting the World Cup in 2010 — our guidebooks often had phases like “should open in 2010”, “major renovations expected before Summer 2010”.  We used the concierge quite frequently during our stay because of this.  Each of the concierges were quite knowledgeable and managed to get us reservations several times and at a moments notice.  I wouldn’t hesitate to rely on these people for recommendations for a second.  Top notch service — plus they all had pretty cute South African accents.

Would we stay here again — for the price, I absolutely would stay hear again.  If we had to pay market rate (currently $250/night), I wouldn’t rule it out.  It would be nice to try some place else in the City.

You see from above how strange this cabin is. Also, remember, I’m only 6′, my knees were JAMMED into the seat in front of me. I was terrified this flight would be torture. 12.5 hours in the air like this… I couldn’t handle it. Luckily no one sat next to me, so I could stretch out. The arm rest would fully lift up, but I had plenty of room for my legs and was comfortable enough to sleep. Before nap time, we were served what I would call one of the best meals I had on the entire trip and probably the best meal I’ve ever had on a plane. I opted for the lamb curry — amazing. The stew was good about giving us multiple bottles of wine — he knew he was doing only one service and expecting everyone to sleep. Wine was tasty and it was nice not getting banged by the beverage card multiple times throughout the night.