The last update of our wonderful trip to South Africa.

We ended this trip with a week in the most beautiful city in South Africa: Capetown. What a magnificent place. The city is beautiful and the beaches and ocean water are divine. We flew in Friday morning, the 29th of July. We picked up our rental car, this time an automatic straight off the bat, and drove directly to the city center to the Strand Tower Hotel at the intersections of Strand/Loop/Long St.'s. Larry Gould, a friend of Jimmy's father, greeted us, as he was the one to obtain the four star hotel accommodation at a rate we could afford. After we dropped our belongings in our room, Larry took us on a quick tour around the city.

We drove up to Signal hill, down into Camps Bay, around through Sea Point, past his home in Mouille Point, by the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, and dropped us off at Gourmet Burger in Heritage Square (a courtyard surrounded by several different restaurants, which Larry claims only Capetonians know about.) We instantly knew who to trust when it came to asking advice on where to go around the city because Larry has currently published a tourist guide. After lunch, we snoozed and prepared to meet up with Jackie (the other Jackie Freer, who happened to get Jimmy his gig.) We had been expecting to see Far Too Loud (a DJ) that evening, but come to find out, he was due to play the 30th, the same night as Jimmy's gig. Instead, we had dinner at Royale Cafe with Jackie, Paul (her boyfriend), Angie (a fellow DJ), and Jo (apart of the event Jimmy would be participating in). They had printed out handfuls of flyers and once we had eaten we headed to Long Street to pass them out to innocent bystanders and hopped to a few bars as well, enjoying ourselves along the way.

Saturday, Jimmy and I wanted to get some exercise. We decided to walk from our hotel to the Waterfront and explore a little. We weren't there long because we realized that the waterfront, mall and all, would be a good rainy day trip. Once we were back at the hotel, we zoomed in our car down to Camps bay. We enjoyed a nice seafood lunch with a fantastic view of the ocean. Our leisurely lunch ended and we walked over to the beach and soaked up some rays for a few minutes. We had to then head back to the hotel so Jimmy could prepare for his gig that night. We left on our two block trek from out hotel to Club Voom Voom at seven. We arrived before the others and decided to hop across the street for a quick cup of coffee. What was supposed to be quick took longer than expected. A random Bulgarian man couldn't help telling us all about religion, inter connectivity, plasma, and other things that he seemed to be all tying together to make one big point. Of course, the cafe was quite loud and he spoke too softly and with an accent for us to accurately follow his story.

We inched ourselves away, saying goodbye five times before the guy finally let us go. We walked across the street and began to prepare for the evenings event. There were tons of people on the guest list, but only about 30 total showed all evening. We chop this up to the Far Too Loud show that was going on simultaneously. With or without the people, Jimmy still did an amazing job. Those that were there loved every minute of his set.

Sunday was a rather busy day, much more than expected. We decided to go back up to Signal Hill and take photos and then head to Cape Point. I had no idea how long these adventures would take and I definitely underestimated. After Signal Hill, we headed down the Cape. We stopped for lunch in Simon's town. On our way out of Simon's town, we made an abrupt left at the first spotting of a sign directing us in the direction of penguins. Moving along, we drove a small cliff side rode with an ocean view unlike any I've seen. The water was every shade of blue and green, lapping against the charcoal colored rocks at the base of the hills. We winded our way to the entrance of the national park, paid R160, and continued our adventure to the end of the cape. After a day filled with many stops and several pictures, we finally made our last stop. We parked our car and began our trek up the steep hill to the lighthouse that would allow us to view both sides of the cape. Exhausted, we spent very little time at the top. We were in a race against the sun. We felt it would be unsafe driving on such windy roads, in unfamiliar land, at night and headed home quickly.

Monday was a relaxing day. It was beautiful weather and we couldn't keep ourselves from wanting to lounge on the beach. We headed to Camps Bay, bought straw beach mats, and lounged on the soft sand and listened to the crashing waves as a cool breeze kept the sun from being too hot on our skin. We broke for lunch at a beach side cafe. After lunch we helped ourselves to a tasty icecream cone on the beach. We played with the birds that were all around, throwing them pieces of our cones and offering pieces in our hands for those birds that were brave enough. Many men carrying painting and artwork of sorts solicited us as we sat on the beach. We succumbed to one man. We bought a nice sized canvas with a black, gray, and white painting of a village. We continued to bath in the sun, soaking in every single blissful moment before we went back to the hotel. We took our routine nap and prepared for a dinner with Jeff Clause, Freer family friend, and Larry Gould. Dinner was delicious and dessert was better. I enjoyed a delicious Amarula Don Pedro, specific to South Africa. What a tasty way to end a day.

Tuesday we zoomed off to Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. We had reserved a one bedroom villa and had luckily been upgraded to a nicer two bedroom villa. Although it was really of no more use than the first, it was still a nice luxury. We spent the majority of the day in Franschhoek. We had lunch at La Petite Ferme, a recommendation of Larry. We then ventured to two different wine estates for wine tastings: Diene Donne and Moreson. We bought ourselves a nice bottle of Champagne and ended our day trip with a lovely evening in Stellenbosch. Although we were both not fond of the vi be in Stellenbosch, we still had an enjoyable time.

Wednesday it was back to Capetown and back to the Strand. As soon as we got back, we found a place at the waterfront to have brunch. We then planned to make it to the top of Table Mountain before the weather went sour, as it had been forecasted. We had gotten to the bottom of the lift just in time. The parking attendant warned us that it might be closing soon because of high winds. We scurried to purchase our tickets and caught a ride to the top. Clouds had already been whipping over the far edge of the mountain and the air was too chilly for comfort. The wind was increasing speed at a furious rate and we made this excursion a short one. Even with the cloud coverage, a peak of sun kept our spirits up and we headed to the beach for one last lounge session before the rain would arrive that afternoon. We left at the perfect time, pulling into the parking garage at the hotel only minutes after it began to rain. We rested the remainder of the afternoon, and this was the day Jimmy began to feel under the weather. He began to run a temperature after his nap and before we planned to go out. He decided he would trooper through and we made it out to Trinity restaurant and night club. He felt much better after his first beer. We had the pleasure of seeing Dean Fuel rock the hose before fellow Capetonian, Haezer, came on. We weren't feeling Haezer's groove and decided to bounce after two songs.

Thursday was drab. It was rain y and cold. We returned to the Waterfront to continue our adventure through the massive mall. It was a short day, filled with rest after the waterfront. Jimmy was still experiencing spikes in his temperature. At this point, we began to be ready for our homeward bound voyage.

Friday, we ventured back to Joburg. Mooks picked us up from the airport and we spent the afternoon packing and resting. That night Pippa put together a wonderful meal. Guests included: Jimmy, I, Mooks, Pippa, Guy, Chris, Bev, Devon, Jeremy + his kids, Izzy, and Margie. We then spent that night with Izzy.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to the hospital. We spent most of the morning there. Jimmy was tested for Malaria and it came back negative. In turn, he was treated for Tic Bite Fever. We left the hospital and went to Rosebank mall to meet Mooks, Pippa, Jeremy and his kids for lunch. By the time we got back to Izzy's that afternoon, we had only two hours in counting til our trip to the airport. Jimmy and I were more than thrilled.

We finally began and completed our long voyage home safely. Jimmy still wasn't and is not feeling fantastic, but at least we have him on meds and better health is in sight.

Thanks to everyone in South Africa for your support and familiarity in a land so foreign. We appreciate the adventures, the laughs, and the companionship during so memorable an experience. This has truly been a trip unlike any other. The knowledge gained is irreplaceable and the friends acquired are graciously appreciated. Travel offers wisdom, accepted or rejected by participants or not, that may not be found through or by any other means.

Last, but certainly not least, thanks to Billy and Lori for making this trip possible.

Cheers South Africa! Cheers world travel, until next time! :)