Red bus Blue bus

I am a tourist after all, so why not take advantage of the things that tourists do? I've noticed double-decker buses rolling around town and there is a tour company that runs them. You can buy a ticket for 1 or 2 days and they will take you on two different routes. It's a hop on, hop off system so one can check out a number of sites around the city. Wednesday I took the Red Bus and Thursday the Blue. I began both tours at the V&A Waterfront (easy to get there via the MyCiTi bus)and spent all day touring around. It was R250 for a 2 day ticket (around $25 US). That price included a 30 minute canal boat ride and a wine tour which was a bus ride to two wineries. There were several stops that I had no interest in, either because I had already been there or I could go on my own. Or one that I had no interest in like the convention center. The view from the top of the bus was great and I was able to see things that one normally couldn't from a car. I exited at the District 6 Museum site to learn more about the history of that area.

District Six is the name of a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. It is best known for the forced removal of over 60,000 of its inhabitants during the 1970s by the apartheid regime.

A huge swath of land is still undeveloped although that should change soon as the land is too close to the city to remain vacant. It's a sad commentary to the apartheid years, which ended just a short time ago (20 years). The next stop was the Castle of Good Hope but since it was only two blocks away I just walked there. I thought it would be a quick stop but I ended up spending nearly 2 hours there. There was a museum on site with a reproduction of the living quarters where the Commander resided. There were many beautiful paintings along with furniture from the 18th century and everything was in fantastic condition. I had a small lunch in the courtyard courtesy of the restaurant on site. A pastrami and cheese sandwich for R20 (about $2) took the edge off. I skipped the Gold Museum and Jewel Africa for another day as they are downtown and I can get there on my own. The next stop was the Cableway - the tram that takes you to the top of Table Mountain. We had a brief stop so I was able to buy some post cards and get back on the bus as Ambereen and I will take the Cableway this weekend. We'll throw a hike into the mix as well. I can't wait to have my picture taken at the top of Lions Head. Ambereen showed me one that she had taken and it is spectacular. The next stop was the Winchester Mansion Hotel at Sea Point. We hear they have the best Sunday Jazz Brunch in town so we plan on going soon. This weekend may be the time. I went in to inquire about the brunch and sat on the patio to enjoy the view and have a glass of wine. 500ml of red wine for R35. Sold! As I was enjoying the view and my wine a gentleman walked up on the sidewalk and began singing opera. What a voice! He sang two songs including O' Sole Mio. I gave him some change and clapped. When I got back to the Waterfront I realized that I had time to take the Canal Tour so I walked over to the launch and waited. What a cool lace to stay that would be! The boat also served as a taxi between the Waterfront and the Convention Center. It was peaceful and relaxing and I always love spending time on a boat of any kind. That was it for the Red Bus. The next day I took the Blue Bus. My first stop was the Constancia Nek Wine Tour. I decided to check out Groot Costancia, the oldest winery in the region dating back to the late 1600's. For R35 I took a tour and had a tasting. You can walk throughout the operation and enjoy the views of the snow capped peaks in the distance, a reminder of last weekend's winter storm. The next two stops on this tour were the World of Birds / Monkey Jungle and a Township Tour. I figured that Ambereen would enjoy the World of Birds / Monkey Jungle so that could be another day. The Township Tour is a little more troubling. Many of the much less fortunate find work wherever they can and they end up living in tiny shacks built from scraps. This township is located on a pretty steep hill and when storms hit, like they did last weekend, the rain causes serious problems for the residents. Maybe another day. My next stop was Hout Bay. Ambereen brought me here the first weekend and it was nice to get back and explore some more. It's a working dock with numerous fishing ships, restaurants and shops. I had fish and chips at the Mariner's Wharf then walked around for a while. Time to catch the bus though. You have to pay close attention to the time as it sometimes arrives and departs a few minutes early. I missed a few rides because of this. Green Point would be my final stop of the day. There is a small lighthouse on the shore and a nice peninsula park where I found a bench and sat down to enjoy a nice sunset.