The Bed and Breakfast at Cheviot Place, Green Point, where we stayed
In early December, I visited Cape Town in South Africa. As usual, the excuse was to "present a paper at a conference", but I managed to take 10-days off to relax and do some sightseeing. Although I went with some trepidation, given the terrible reputation that South Africa has recently earned due to a wave of violent crime, I had a great time. Not once did I feel that I was in any danger. The skies were clear, the food was great, and the people were usually friendly. What more could one ask for on a holiday!
The conference was held at the beautiful Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, actually within the Two Oceans Aquarium itself. The conferences I attend are usually held in convention centers or large hotels, so this was a new experience. The conference was small, with only about 30 attendees, but participants came from as far off as the USA, Russia (Siberia), Germany, Holland, France,
Australia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.
At the waterfront
For two days, we had breakfast and lunch on the waterfront, in the dazzling sunlight. The waterfront itself was rather generic (we could have been at Sydney or elsewhere), but the variety of cuisine that was available and the informal performances by local singing and dancing groups were unusual. My favorite eating places were Den Anker, a Belgian ale house, and Willoughby's, which served fine Japanese and Thai cuisine, despite its name.
Another view of the waterfront
Singing group at the waterfront
In Mandela's shadow. These are figures of the four South African Nobel Peace Prize winners
We stayed at Green Point, a 10-minute taxi ride from the waterfront, at a Bed & B'fast run by a youngish couple, James and Brooke. James turned out fabulous breakfasts and was good with sound advice. We talked about cricket, politics, and travel. Three other guests were Americans, staunch Republicans, and I enjoyed some jousting with one of them, who was still defending the American invasion of Iraq.
The lovely St. Margaret & Mary church at Cheviot Place
Beautiful homes at Green Point
At a park in Cape Town
James with his guests
Great pictures! I want to go there, too.....
ReplyDeleteMeedy
Meedy,
ReplyDeleteDid you know that there's a Malay community in Cape Town? The Dutch took some rebellious Malays (with their families)from Indonesia as slaves to Cape Town. Afater hundreds of years, these Malays have for the most part lost their language and not their religion.