"My Home town - Additions under... " a Cape Town Travel Page by jo104

It’s a bit hard to build a page of travels on Cape Town as this is where I grew up & spent a great deal of my life. Now that I live in London I go back home to visit my family and friends regularly. I have a real passion for Cape Town & this city has come on in leaps & bounds a huge tourist attraction. Many people in Cape Town are positively united to make Cape Town even better.

I went to high school in the suburb of Newlands which is very notorious for rain and the backdrop of the mountains. Newlands has a lovely forest which is great for escaping the heat & excercising dogs, although nowdays its better to walk in groups.

I worked in Cape Town central called the CBD which is small & compact so one could walk it in a day. Lunchtimes I enjoyed walks around Green market square or through the squirrel filled gardens by the museum just of the main Adderly street. Cape Town holds the parliament although the capital of South Africa is Pretoria. The parade in the shadows of City Hall doubles as a stage for political rallies as well as a market selling anything from fabrics to clothes. The castle overlooks the parade and it is more like a 5 pointed fortress although we still call it the castle.

Whilst in Cape Town I was involved on the committee for the Barleycorn music club and arranged shows which I compared. This is a non-profit organisation which provides a platform for musicians. There is lots of varieties of music to be found in cape town with Observatory being a particular favourite of mine (just a touch arty).

My other passions are shooting pool with mates and drinking ice cool Savanna, a refreshing cider served with a lemon twist (althought I find it a bit acidic for the vast quantaties I used to drink). Talking of alcohol no trip is complete without a visit to the winelands for a tasting session. I prefer Paarl & Robertson wine routes to that of the more familiar Stellenbosch. There is nothing better then a glass of South African white, red or rose.

I flew out from London Gatwick on Air Namibia, getting off the plane in Windhoek I was greeted with a wall of heat - yes home was only a few hours away I could feel it in my bones.

When we got back on the plane for our Cape Town leg of the journey our captain advised us that there was no fuel in Cape Town so a few people will not receive their baggage so they could take on extra fuel. Needless to say I was one of those many & waited for 2.5 days for my bag to arrive although my suitcase full of presents was not taken off the plane. I was comforted by my sister's comments that I could always borrow her maternity clothes!! - this did not go down well as we are only one clothes size difference!!!

During my stay I managed to spend a few days away in our Knysna which is about a 5 hour drive. I am updating my Knysna pages so please have a look. Knysna. I did a day outing to a few wine farms, visited the Penguin beach Bolders & our botanical gardens Kirstenbosch. I mainly spent my holiday at home with my parents & enjoying the company of my niece who turned 4 years. The thing with going home for a holiday is that you don't seem to find time to do everything you want to do as everybody wants a piece of you.

But it is good to kick off the shoes, feel the warm African sun on my face & the love of family & friends.

Another opportunity to spend Christmas with my family was very much a relaxing holiday. I was invited to braai's (bbq) at friends houses and spent time in close proximatey to the beaches whilst only actually going to sunbathe on a beach once during my holiday. Our botanical gardens, Kirstenbosch, and the ample wine routes are still as fantastic as ever.