Cape Town / Stellenbosch

Table Mountain was lovely as we pulled into Cape Town this morning and we were excited because instead of riding the bus today we got to be with good friends. When last we had seen them in AZ over two years ago they left saying that we should come to South Africa to see them and I thought in my heart, “That will never happen”. But here we were with two days to spend with them!

Since we all enjoy gardens we spent the morning at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden where we walked on the tree top walk and enjoyed many native species and beautiful but unfamiliar plants. The setting for this huge garden was spectacular with the mountains for a backdrop and spacious lawns and small forests sprinkled all over. I especially enjoyed seeing the proteas that were still in bloom this late in the Autumn (it’s Autumn here, not Fall).

I can’t remember if the “spider” flower above was in the protea family or not. But it was beautiful, nevertheless.

This tree was amazing! And big.

As opposed to these bonsai. The one on the right is approximately 160 years old! All of them were very old and in perfect condition. Perseverance!

The store was as lovely as any I’ve seen and later my friend gave me a package of protea seeds that she bought for me while I was checking out the very realistic plastic proteas. I sure hope they will grow in AZ!  After famous fish and chips for lunch we drove along the coast, walked on the beach, watched a clever potter and then drove inland to their home in Stellenbosch where we had a delicious lamb and boerwurst brai and spent the evening enjoying a nice visit.

Next morning was Good Friday and we got to attend a service at the beautiful historic church where the first sermon in Afrikaans had been preached. The church was full and although we couldn’t understand a word of the service we were glad to be in the fellowship of hundreds of people who also love our Savior for what He did for us on Good Friday.

The town of Stellenbosch is one of the loveliest I have ever seen. We walked on the campus of the university and through the old downtown, thoroughly enjoying the architecture, Cape Dutch and otherwise, and the stately oaks.

This old administration building and this newer building both contribute to the amazingly lovely campus.

There were, as always!, little things in town which also caught my eye. The starkly white sand made a pretty pattern on their red bricks and even though I’ve seen hundreds of pigeons and lots of bark before these were different enough to be interesting.

We drove through rolling hills and vineyards, stopping at one for lunch and another for the view, as we made our way back to Cape Town and our ship. This truly is a lovely part of the country.

The garden at this vineyard provided fresh vegetables for their restaurant and a great view of their surroundings but the view from the next one was my favorite.

What a wonderful two days we had with good friends in their beautiful country!