Of the cities we planned to visit on this adventure, I was really looking forward to seeing Cape Town. Partly because — of the cities/places we are visiting — it is the furthest away from Indianapolis (our home) of any place we are traveling. But mostly based on its reputation as a port city, an international city, and as a vibrant city. Of course, it has enormous challenges with wealth distribution and inequality… and while we haven’t personally visited the more challenging parts of Cape Town, so far, we have loved pretty much everything we have seen and done. Below is a recap of our first few days:
The Apartment: We hit a home run with our Airbnb apartment — a 3-level “penthouse” with 2 bedrooms, 3 balconies, and more common area than we’ve had the entire trip. You may ask: “Why, Sally,* did you splurge for such a luxurious place?” …and Sally* will tell you – “she didn’t… This entire place is just $70/night!” (below are pics of the place and the view from the balcony):
**”Sally” was our tour guide in Beijing who, oddly-yet-charmingly, spoke and posed questions to herself in the 3rd person, and gave answers w/o waiting for actual questions… it has become an amusing ‘theme’ for us on this trip).
Our Neighborhood: Our lovely flat is located in a pretty cool neighborhood — in the city bowl, near Parliament, the “Company Gardens,” a very old (but still active) synagogue and Jewish history museum (describing how/why/when Jews migrated here after the Russian Pogroms), and other cool/interesting things to see.
Parliament 
One of many statues of white guys 
synagogue (built 1905) 
U. of Chicago Reunion! A couple classmates of mine from U. of Chicago (Becky & Kurt Ackermann) moved here about 20 years ago. They welcomed us into their lovely home, prepared a wonderful dinner, and gave us great suggestions for things to do/see while here… their talented son, Zane, introduced us to some of his recent, impressive artwork! It was quite a lovely evening.
Hop-on/Hop-Off: Like other cities, Cape Town has a really great/easy way to take in the sites: A hop-on/hop-off bus that runs several routes to the various attractions the city has to offer. Today, we rode the City loop, from downtown, to the base of Table Mountain, to the southeast/bay/beach side of Table Mountain, and the V&A Waterfront, where there are a ton of activities/shops/restaurants, and sights to see. Below are pics from the ride around the city, including panoramic views from the base of Table Mountain.
Unfortunately, the funicular up to the top of Table Mountain is under repair/maintenance for the next 6 weeks, so we could not go up today. Depending on timing and weather, Max and I may take a stab and hiking up to the top on Friday before we leave Cape Town that night.
The aquarium: At one of the “hop off” sites, there is a Two Oceans Aquarium (named such because it is where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet). It is the coolest aquarium I’ve ever been to. (below are a few pics)
Do sea urchins have eyes? 
cool jellyfish 
cool jellyfish
We have several more days of exploring, but so far we love Cape Town. It is welcoming, has great food, is naturally beautiful, has a cost-of-living that is apparently ⅔ that of Indianapolis, and the “winter” (which it is here now) is between 55-65 degrees (and the summer is apparently in the 70’s/80’s) — lots to love about this place!
Don’t skip a visit to Robben Island while you’re there. Seeing Nelson Mandela’s prison cell is an experience no one could ever forget.
We are unlikely to make it to Robben Island (which bums me out)! Oh, well, I guess we’ll have to return, or just see it when we retire here! 😉
I’ve never seen pictures of Cape Town nor have I known anyone who has been there except Mark St. John. It looks like a hidden gem.
It is an extremely cool place (at least as far as we can tell)… it seems to have all the amenities, and is a nice mix of European/Western comforts and local/African culture/art/people as well. It has about 4-4.5 million people but is less expensive than Indianapolis. It has its drawbacks – chiefly a lot of poverty (though seemingly not in the center where we are), and it reportedly has a high crime rate… but so do many cities.
That looks fantastic! (And Max is SMILING in the pictures! Good to see!) Your AirBnB is really nice.
How big is Cape Town? (Never mind–I’ll ask Dr. Google.)
It’s pretty cool. See my response to Bob’s comment too.
Looks beautiful!
I knew about Table Mountain and the views from there, but the city is surprisingly beautiful — particularly the greenery/local vegetation everywhere. Pretty stunning.