September 23, 2007

This morning we dressed in layers due to the chilly weather and the rain. We all climbed into the van and made our way to Table Mountain. We all rode in the cable car up to the top of the mountain (60 of us were crammed into the rotating cable car to have a view of Cape Town). The sky had cleared up on the way up, but of course as soon as we got to the top it clouded up again and we couldn’t see the city or the view from the top…just mist and clouds! We took pictures anyway sitting on the edge and walking around the top of the mountain. I bought pictures to show people what the view should have looked like. It started raining while we were up there, so Tonya, Ashley, Denise, and I went to the coffee shop at the top and ordered hot chocolate and three of us split a cheesecake! It was a delicious treat before the cable care ride back down the mountain. As soon as we were out of the clouds we did have the chance to see the awesome view of the city from up above! After getting to the bottom of the mountain, we went to the Dutch Castle, Casteel de Doede Hoop, built in 1666. It reminded me very much of the fort at Mackinaw Island. We walked around the castle and after an hour we went to the VA Waterfront for lunch. We ordered a meal and after we finished we went back for a small cup of ice cream! I ordered chococcino and spotty dog (which was caramel with chocolate cookie pieces in it). After a quick lunch we piled back into the van to go to wine country and wine tasting.

At the vineyard, Blaauwklippen, we had a tour of the farm and learned that the man who originally built the farm built his house and it was too small, so an additional house was built to accommodate his wife and 22 children! Can you believe that?!? Twenty-two children, all with the same wife! We saw the cellars and learned the process of fermentation and how different wines are made. I kept thinking of Mom and how much she would have loved being there (Note to Dad: This would be a lovely anniversary trip for the two of you one of these years)! We sampled five different wines, and my favorite was the semi-sweet, so I bought a bottle for R30. We drove back to Dale Court and ate a snack, then we were back to the waterfront for shopping! Carrie, Katherine, Ashley, and I went to the African Trading Post and I spent way too much money (R600 to be exact!) on gifts for myself and friends! After dropping lots of money we took a taxi home, ate some cereal for dinner, then went to bed!