Traveling Jones

  We’ve been laying low for the past couple of weeks. The weather has been perfect, similar to New England in August. Spent our weekends at some of our fave beach bars and restaurants. As most of you know, Claw BBQ holds a special place in our hearts . . . about as close to an American bar as we can find here, complete with buckets of seafood, “Mexican Style” Corona drafts, and of course barbecue  Another newly discovered outdoor venue. Pretty soon the temps will make outdoor seating a bit uncomfortable Shimmers - our go-to Greek restaurant on the beach next to the Burj Al Arab The Burj Al Arab actually has a helipad, providing direct access to the coveted 2-floor $23k/night suite.  We were lucky enough to see it in action Close-up view of what I believe to be the living room of the aforementioned $23k/night suite.  Sunset looking out to the Palm Jumeirah. The Lego like structure is the Royal Atlantis hotel, which opened in 2023 This gold camel makes an appearance ev...

  Highlight of the day was spending time atop Table Mountain, a 3500ft chunk of eroded sedimentary rock formed over the last 1 million years.  Named for obvious reasons as it is completely flat on top.  View from the bottom looking up the cable car line. If you look closely, you can see a descending cable car in the middle.  Cable car station at the top Bronze sculpture depicting the topography of Table Mountain and its surroundings Cape Town and Table Bay A closer look. Our hotel was located in the middle on the water Signal Hill Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for many years Lion’s Head. Still can’t see the lion in this mass of rock! Mountain flower Southern tip of Africa off in the distance. Cape of Good Hope, which was a complete lie.  A confluence of two oceans and crazy weather patterns make this one of the more treacherous of shipping routes replete with a shit-ton of shipwrecks.  Similar view with the town of Noordhoek off to the...

  Great day exploring several wineries west of Cape Town.  Started in the town of Franschoek and finished in Stellenbosch.  One of our first stops, the Atlas Swift winery. We tasted 5 Chardonnays and ended up buying 9 of them!  Some cool artwork on the bottles as well.  Interesting old wine barrel transport (now a storefront ornament) The 400yr old Muratie vineyards and winery About 20yrs ago the winery was sold back to a family that had owned it 200yrs ago. They apparently got a great deal with the stipulation that they couldn’t change anything for 4 generations, including cleaning the cobwebs from the windows!

  First full day in Cape Town.  Took an all day guided tour around the coast. Stopped at an ostrich farm . . . . Penguin colony . . . .