Arrival Day!!

Well, after a long journey I arrived in Cape Town.  I was right in thinking that the flight to Johannesburg was going to be long.  It was LOOOOOOONG!!  Over fourteen hours on a single plane was a bit too much  A little atypical for me, I watched three movies during the flight.

Of course, I get to Jozi and just like in the US I had to pick up my bags and check them to my final destination.  Of course, my bags were one of the last ones off the plane.  Got to the gate for the flight to Cape Town and they were boarding.. a bus..  Yay!  A bus gate for an A330!  We wound up getting to Cape Town a little late.

I was met by Eugene who was to take me to my hotel.  On our way there, his cheery disposition overcame my tiredness (and grumpiness at the guy sitting behind my who could NOT shut up the entire two hours from Jozi to Cape Town).  He also pointed out some of the sights and changes that Cape Town has gone through primarily for the World Cup in 2010 but also since the end of apartheid.  There definitely are noticeable changes going on and they all seem to be for the good.

One other thing I notice while driving is that Cape Town is pretty green while Jozi was pretty brown.  Eugene told me that had a good rainy season and that the rivers and dams are full.  That may bode well for the visit to Victoria Falls.

I went to check in at my hotel and originally the room wasn't ready.  I was offered a parapalegic room and took it because I wanted to get cleaned up after traveling.  However, the lock on the room wasn't functioning properly so I was moved to a different room.  Lost the king sized bed but picked up a bathtub in the trade.

Once I showered, I went and took a walk to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.  Someone compared it to the San Francisco Waterfront for me.  I'd call it a combination of that and Boston's Quincy Market.  It was a nice brisk day for the walk.

One of the bad things above having a tight schedule for things is missing out on something you hoped to do.  Unfortunately, I wanted to see Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner.  Unfortunately, the only times available while I'm in Cape Town are while I'm on my wine tour tomorrow so I'm going to have to miss out.  This means that I most definitely need to visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.

It was a nice walk around the area.  Went back to the hotel, watched a little TV, rested then went out for dinner.  Now just relaxing before heading to bed.