Howzit?

Howzit? I am back! And I am good. 🙂

Schiphol (one of our favourite airports) was obviously ready for us. But does the same thing account for South Africa? — Schiphol (still one of our favourite airports) was obviously ready for us. But was the same statement true for South Africa…?

Yes, you were maybe thinking that she’s back in the blogging game again. But that is not what I was referring to. I am back in South Africa! To the country I fell in love with in January 2006 and have dreamed about coming back to ever since. To the mother city of Cape Town, where Mandela held his famous speeches. And where the sun is shining in December.

And sometimes Christmas wishes do come true…

We traveled to Cape Town from Oslo with KLM via Amsterdam. It was a nice 11,5 hour flight - with good service. No problem with 3 wheelies. — We traveled to Cape Town with KLM via Amsterdam. It was an 11,5 hour flight – with good service. No problem with 3 wheelies, fortunately (although we did not test the isle chair issue).

Also I have a new Christmas tradition: Always do something new (somewhere new). However it seems as if I am ending up with the same crowd of people. This time around we are visiting Cape Town and the Vinelands. The tour guide is the same (and still the best tour guide in the world). 🙂

Warren at V & A Waterfront - probably the best tour guide in the world (well we haven't tried them all - have we?) — Warren at V & A Waterfront – probably the best tour guide in the world…

Since 2006 he has started up his own guide company called Africa South Tours. And together with Warren, we have tailor made the tour for the five of us. Some activities two of us (the pioneers) have done before, but most of the programme is new – focusing on good food, wine and destinations around Cape Town and the road N2. We had some trouble finding a hotel with a pool for the first relaxing Christmas days. But after e-mailing with 10-12 hotels in the Cape Town area, we ended up in the Protea Hotel President, which turned out to be an excellent choice if you have a car. It might be a bit far if you want to live central.

I am a sucker for eternity pools. And Gry and Jo seemed to like it as well. December 23rd was mostly spent relaxing from the long flight beside and in the lovely pool. :-) — Gry and Jo seemed to be happy with my choice of hotel. December 23rd was mostly spent relaxing after the long flight beside and in the lovely eternity pool. 🙂

The hotel is situated in Sea Point, about 8 minute drive from the V & A Waterfront. It has a nice eternity pool (always dreamed of that), good breakfast and snack menu, 3 accessible rooms with wheel-in shower and ramps access throughout the hotel. Good service as well. Only thing to complain about is very heavy hallway doors (that you also have to use the key to open) and crappy drinks in the bar. 😉

We also paid a visit to the V & A Waterfront on the 22nd. The harbour area (mall) is full of nice shops, restaurants and also some entertainment... — We also paid a visit to the V & A Waterfront on the 22nd. The harbour area (mall) is full of nice shops, restaurants and also some traditional entertainment. We had dinner in Harbour House restaurant. Everyone was happy about the food except me…

The only problem regarding our itinerary is – we have such a busy schedule (and so much tasty wine to concentrate on) that we hardly have any time to blog. But we try. In between. AND – we have a tour guide who likes to get up eaaaaarly in the morning (when we have been blogging until late at night). But fortunately he is open for negotiations. Sometimes…

The plan for the next day (Christmas Eve) was to pay a visit to the Table Mountain (with the famous table cloth in the background).

Because of the busy scedule, I am afraid that this might turn into a photo blog for a while, but perhaps that is better than nothing. If you are interested in access information – South Africa is fairly easy to travel in (regarding tourist places) and you are treated as an equal paying citizen and not some poor social case. Which we like! If you want more details – just send us an e-mail.