The only way to get to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens was to take the hop on, hop off CitySightseeing bus. It was quite pleasant. They give you earpods to plug in next to your seat to hear the commentary. It was fun sitting on the upper deck. The gardens are so huge so I signed up for a tour with a Romanian woman- this super knowledgable elderly gentleman took us on a golf cart around the gardens for an hour. He was really good and explained a lot. Then I wandered a bit more aroound by myself.
Hopped on the bus and transferred to the Wine Route. We stopped at Groot Constantia Wine Estate - the oldest vineyard. I toured to House, which was a mistake. There was wine tasting, but I passed. Walked around a bit. They had a very busy restaurant. Met a German who came for the library conference- he works at the Goethe Institute in Namibia.
It was pleasant being on the bus as it took the coastal road. We passed a township- the bus company talked about how they partner with the locals for the tour- but no one got off at this stop.
I stayed on as it began the route again and got off at the Nelso hotel- one of the most exclusive hotels in the city. It is stately- like the Victoria Falls hotel- steeped in history. Letters from the Queen about how much she enjoyed her visit. They were serving high tea. Wandering around the corridors was like seeing amazing art work in a museum.
I then tried to go to the Progressive synagogue to see the History of the Jews film that was on the BBC. I thought I'd get off the bus at a nice suburb. Walk a bit and then someone from the shul would bring me back to the bus stop. However, the neighborhood was not nice and I could not find directions to the shul nor could I find a taxi. The weather was bad with some rain. So I heard David in the back of my mind saying, "Lee, this is not a good idea." So I simply took the bus back- it was still daylight so I could just walk home from the bus station.
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