Good morning from the southern tip of the African continent! When we visited South Africa in 2002 we loved it and knew we had to return. So we managed to fit in a few days during our world tour to take in the Cape Province, namely Cape Town and the neighboring wine region. While South Africa is certainly part of Africa it is a world apart in terms of development - hence the rest of the continent is watching it closely. It is very refreshing to have the power stay on, to be able to drink tap water and to see such functional and well maintained towns and cities. We've only covered a very small area, but boy is it nice. Cape Town is a world class city. With Table Mountain as its backdrop it's absolutely stunning. We walked and walked taking in a local bike race, the Waterfront area, the city center and some picturesque neighborhoods. We also took a tour over to Robben Island which is a few kilometers off the coast. Robben Island housed many political prisoners, notably Nelson Mandela, during Apartheid. It is a hot, dry, inhospitable place so one wonders how they had the stamina and will to carry on.

From Cape Town we headed about an hour outside the city to the Paarl Valley wine region. We spent five nights in a lovely town known as Franschhoek. Franschhoek is an area where a number of Hugenots - Protestants exiled from France - settled to assist the Dutch East India Company at the Cape. Given the history there is still a huge French (and Dutch) influence here - notably the food, wine and architecture. The area is know as the "culinary capital" of South Africa and is most impressive! It is Fall here so the grapes are being picked, a few leaves are changing color and the mornings and evenings are cooler. The days have been unseasonably warm, but we arent complaining! We are actually savoring the moment knowing that our next stop, Rome, will be considerably cooler. We will leave a few lighter pieces of clothing behind to make space for a new sweater or two up north. Our plane leaves tonight for yet another new experience. Talk to you again from there. Take care.