July 21, 2011 Well I got here last night after a very long 29 hour of travelling door to door. Of all my tips in the last year this was the worst for a few reasons. The first reason is because there is only a 6-hour time change. The 2^nd is the duration of the trips. I flew from Philly to Detroit, 2-hour layover, 7-hour trip to Amsterdam (which is when I should have slept), 2-hour layover, and then 12 hours to Cape Town.

Well it was nighttime and so I thought I would naturally sleep and since it was only 7 hours total, didn’t want to take any Valium. Well the flight had 2 babies that cried the entire way to Amsterdam. They were both in my row and the row behind that one. I also had a small child that kept kicking my seat as well. I spoke to the father a couple of times but he wasn’t too bright either.

Well then go to Amsterdam and we took off at 10 AM and wasn’t going to get until 12 hours later at 10 PM and since were flying due south… there was no time change. I didn’t want to sleep all day or I would have been up all night etc.

I sat with 2 women, Ruth Ann which was going to the EI conference. She is from DC and is on the ESP staff. (32 yr old lesbian). Then there was Natalie who is a native Cape Town person. (42 yr old mother of 3 kids and a wife of a German national). And then there was me.. I ended up watching 2 movies, some reading, some talking etc.

I got in around 10 and to the Taj Hotel by 11 and after a quick shower met Tim and company at the Bronx 22 a gay bar in the city. Luckily I was home in bed by 12:30 to die a quick death in that bed. The Taj is a nice hotel. Since it is a 5 star hotel (Indian chain), I was comparing it to the Shangri-La Makati in Manila. They are comparable in that they are both beautiful. The Taj is a much smaller hotel, and there fore the main things are much smaller as well. The shower door is a poor design, and the picture window from the bedroom into the bathroom is kind of weird. They do have a blind you can pull down for some privacy. It reminds me of the old room I had in Vegas at Caesars with a mirror above the bed and the round Jacuzzi at the foot of the bed. Oh well. It is very nice..

Got up this morning and we had breakfast which is part of the room rate which is nice. Since I am paying for this trip, I am making sure I eat there when I can! Today we had a full day with Selwyn (www.IloveCapeTown.com) and we did the Eastern and Western Cape. Here is a synopsis of the day….

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Peninsula Tour

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Let me start by telling you that this is MOST CERTAINLY a Cape Peninsula

Tour with a difference. See why when you read the itinerary.

Selwyn collected us at the Taj Hotel and we started off on a

Peninsula tour. Note there are quite a lot of stops on this route so as to

stretch legs, walk around and take in the beauty of the areas around one.

Leave for the southern suburbs.

Travel via Cape Town centre, Woodstock, Observatory, Claremont, Constantia

and Boyes Drive to Muizenberg. This is all part of an inland drive towards

the sea through a very "leafy" and green suburban area.

From Muizenberg move on to Kalk Bay. This part of the journey was all along

A most beautiful coastline.

From Simonstown we traveled to Boulders Beach so as to see its special secret

viz. the penguin colony.

After our visit to the Boulders we returned to Simonstown (3 km away)

where we took some free time to browse around and enjoy this quaint

Naval village; saw sights and had fun. We stopped in at a little coffee shop called Sweet Nothings where we purchased some local pies and pastries. From Simonstown we traveled on to a VERY SPECIAL spot that Selwyn found that he labels "the best restaurant n the world". At this spot we sat down and enjoyed our pies and pastries in what just has to be the best setting for any restaurant anywhere in the world. A Beautiful park on the water!!

After lunch at our special spot we traveled to The Cape of Good Hope

Nature reserve and then up to Cape Point. I felt energetic so I walked

up to the top however Tim and Selwyn took the funicular up the very steep hill.

At the top of the point we saw the incredible overview of False Bay.

From Cape Point we traveled on to the wonderful scenic coastline of

Scarborough & Kommetjie. We then traveled via the magnificent Chapman’s Peak, which was one of the highlights of the day

Drove on to Hout Bay.

From Hout Bay we paid the luxurious area of Leeukoppie a visit so as to see

how the super wealthy live in South Africa.

We then traveled back to the city via the Atlantic seaboard towns of

Llandudno, Camps Bay.

Unfortunately we were unable to ascend Table Mountain and take in the special Cape Town view. It is undergoing maintenance the entire time of our trip. One disappointment but I am sure I will live.

Selwyn dropped us off at the restaurant called Beef Cakes which is basically a Hooters but instead of girls, the waiters are boys in tank tops which then eventually they come off. One of the key fun things to do is a shooter on one of the boys of your choice. They pour a shot of your choice on the boy’s chest and stomach and then you proceed to lick it all up. There was also a drag show and a show of a drag queen singing as well. It was a great way to end a perfect day. The weather was perfect… sunny, blue skies, great sunset and just the right temp.. better than usual at this time which is nice.

Now it is about midnight.. off to bed. Tomorrow somewhat relaxing for me. Early Breakfast, then the gym later on and maybe running outside and coffee with Natalie from the plane. But it will be a low-key day.

P.S. pics of the trip today are on Facebook.

Until next time.