Brunch at the Jonkershuis restaurant at Groot Constantia Estate this morning. We watched them erecting a tent and laying tables for a wedding tonight - 180 guests all seated at a long table. What a new year to remember! 
Luckily the wind isn't too strong today but I hope they have a few extra tents ready in case ...
Yesterday morning the city was deserted - partly because most people are on holiday and partly because there was a black Southeaster blowing with squalls of light rain. The square in front of The Capetonian Hotel, Pier Place, has these bronze figures dotted around, looking like ordinary people going about their daily business. I just managed to whip out my camera to capture the hooded guy walking in the opposite direction past his bronze double. The guy sitting on the bench is also a bronze statue. I will have to include a few more in future posts. The statues are by sculptor Egon Tania.
Xiphotheca fruticosa - the Silver Pea bush that grows on Table Mountain. This unusual bush grows in profusion on the slopes of Chapman's Peak overlooking the Cape Town suburb of Noordhoek, Long Beach and Kommetjie in the distance. It flowers from April to September.
At 7 am in the morning the Southeaster cloud is already starting to spill over Table Mountain. This is the grand entrance to Cape Town's gracious old dame, the Mount Nelson Hotel, on Orange Street. The Nellie is almost 111 years old - a Nelson for the Nellie! It apparently opened on 1 March 1899 to provide luxurious accommodation for passengers using the Union Castle ships. This gate and the palm lined driveway leading up to the hotel was built in 1924 in honour of the visit by the Prince of Wales in 1925. I am sure he must have been suitably impressed. For more on the history of the Nellie, click here.
After the hurly burly of Christmas it was great to relax in the garden with friends on Boxing Day which is officially known as The Day of Goodwill in South Africa.
Taking a break from last minute Christmas shopping at Constantia Village to listen to these talented and accomplished musicians playing light classical music. Very civilized.
W is for Wakame - a fantastic "Asian fusion" restaurant in Mouillie Point close to the Waterfront and in spitting distance of the Soccer Stadium in Greenpoint. We had a delicious dinner there - but be warned - it is BUSY! Arrive early (or book) and stake out your place on the verandah. The views over Table Bay up the West Coast and to Robben Island are pretty spectacular. For more ABC doubleUs, click here.
On Robben Island the bus tour (which is a bit of a sausage factory kind of tour but still a wonderful experience) takes you to the house where Robert Sobukwe, the leader of the Pan African Congress or PAC was "detained" for six years in a tiny, tightly fenced house. His four children were allowed to visit him for two weeks during their school holidays in 1967 and 1968, and this is where they slept. This little girl was part of the visiting throng of tourists that move through Robben Island daily. 
In case you were wondering why the hiatus - we were out of computer range for the long weekend - in a small holiday village called Suiderstrand - at the southern tip of Africa.
Today is a public holiday here - the Day of Reconciliation. It is also the day of our son's graduation with a BA Degree in Law and French. This is my view of the academic procession onto the stage of Jameson Hall at the University of Cape Town. (I was unable to capture the strains of Gaudiamus igitur.) We sat up in the gallery and had a bird's eye view of the ceremony - and the huge Art Deco chandelier too.
And as a proud mom, I was unable to resist a photo of my son Simon! 
Cape Town's first safe harbour was constructed in 1860 when a breakwater was built with Queen Victoria's husband (consort to be posh), Prince Alfred, being there to ceremoniously tip the first load of stones into the sea. It was named the Alfred Basin. After a while that harbour became too small and the Victoria Basin was built. By the mid-1900s the Victoria and Alfred basins were unable to cope with large container ships and they fell into a state of disrepair after the Duncan and Sturrock Docks were built.
The chancel of this delightful Anglican church of All Saints in the suburb of Plumstead was designed by one of Cape Town's illustrious architects, William John Delbridge, in 1910. (I can't find any information about the original part but presume the tower was also Delbridge's.) Delbridge also designed the Polana Hotel in Maputo, and the Marine Hotel in Hermanus, along with many of the very distinctive thatched roofed houses that define Hermanus. He was interested in French Gothic designs, and the Arts and Crafts movement, which is borne out by the look of this little church.
The Shuttle Car tour of the magnificent gardens of Kirstenbosch starts off on Camphor Avenue which used to be the main road from Cape Town to Hout Bay. It was lined with trees to represent the various outposts of the British Empire by Cecil John Rhodes: cork oaks from Gibraltar, Moreton Bay figs from Australia, camphor trees from Hong Kong, and so on. Legend has is that he wanted Queen Victoria to be proud of it when she eventually came to South Africa and presumably would have driven up the road to have tea with him. Sadly for Cecil it never came to pass and today the honourable guest coming up the road was a little tortoise.
A weekend away in the limestone hills above Pearly Beach, two hours out of Cape Town up the East Coast. Some friends of ours have a holiday house on their own nature reserve called Kleine Perle which means Little Pearl. In the distance you can see the coastal resort of Pearly Beach, and on the left is Bantamsklip where they want to put a huge nuclear power station. Please God they don't! If you fancy experiencing this beautiful corner of paradise, treat yourself to a night or two at Klein Paradijs guest house which is the next farm along from Kleine Perle.
Our Walking (and Lunching) Group had its Christmas walk in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve followed by a fabulous lunch at the stylish Jordan's Restaurant in the winelands near Stellenbosch. The chef, George Jardine, uses seasonal, locally inspired, produced and sourced ingredients for his beautifully presented and tasty dishes. It was quite pricey and "nouvelle" (not for ravenous teenagers) but perfect for a special occasion. Although the day was hot, our table was under cool white umbrellas on the terrace overlooking the vineyards and a lake.
Yesterday evening we went to an opening of an art exhibition at In Fin Art - a well-known art gallery and shop in the Chelsea area of Wynberg. In the Window you can see a painting by Zimbabwean artist Wendy Rosselli who now lives and paints in the seaside village of Kommetjie in Cape Town. Well worth a visit!
This gloriously pink and white icing-sugar building in Cape Town is Charly's Bakery - famous for its over-the-top delicious cakes.
The inside looks like something out of the Roald Dahl movie too. All the workers wear pink. 
It may be snowing in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but this is just about the closest we ever get to snow here in Cape Town. The common name of this everlasting daisy that is flowering on Table Mountain at the moment, Syncarpha vesitita, is "Cape Snow". 
The red carpet was down and the marimba band playing for wine-buyers this morning. Getwine was having one of their sales at their Harrington Road shop in the City. You can taste all the wines on sale, or buy one of their "mystery boxes" - really good wines for R20 a bottle. No wonder this lady had a trolley!
Surveying his domain is Monty, the resident dog at Silverhurst, a stately old Victorian house on the grounds of Wynberg Boys High School that is now the residence of the headmaster and his family. The book Wynberg: A Special Place by Helen Robinson, says that Silverhurst, situated on the crest of Wynberg Hill, used to belong to a wealthy merchant, Isadore Hanau but is now part of the school which must have some of the most beautiful grounds of any school in the world. The Eric Tasker Museum - filled with memorabilia relating to the school's long and illustrous history, has recently been relocated to Silverhurst and is well worth a visit. Contact the Wynberg Old Boys Union for information.
We caught the brand spanking new Gautrain from Sandton to O.R. Tambo airport in Johannesburg and were most impressed with the ease, speed and sheer "class" with which we found ourselves at our destination, on time. It seems that impetus to build the Gautrain system was the news that we were to host the World Cup in 2010 - which was very timely.
Hot day, hot kids, cool jumping castle!
Cape Town Time