Our second day in Cape Town started much like our first with breakfast at the Westin Executive Lounge. While I do try to visit local restaurants as much as possible, the convenience and price (free) of a very nice breakfast located an elevator trip away, is tough to beat — especially when trying to please six people.
With a lay of the land established on our first day, we broadened our scope with a hop on hop off bus tour, allowing us to visit more neighborhoods and attractions with the predictability of a scheduled bus schedule. The goal was to make an 8:30 a.m. bus, which picked up about 300 feet from the entrance of our hotel— talk about convenient. We were able to purchase tickets for the bus during boarding and at the same time picked up tickets for the cable car ride up and down table mountain.
Tickets in hand, we arrived at Table Mountain about 20 minutes after a few other stops and took the ride up. When you see the landmark you’ll instantly know why it has this name. The views of the cape are spectacular and as long as the wind is manageable you won’t have to worry about service being shut down while you’re at the top. However, high winds might require you to walk down the mountain…no, thank you!
After an hour at the top, we came down and continued on the hop on hop off bus through the city and down to a few of the beaches. We stopped at la Belle, had lunch and then wandered along the beach for a bit climbing on rocks and dipping our toes into the ocean — relaxing, right?
After taking the bus back, we arrived at our hotel where we dropped off bags and immediately headed back out to visit Truth Coffee (conveniently located not too far from a bus stop). A friend sent me an article about some of the best coffee places in the world and this was on the list.
The coffee and snacks were amazing, but the service left a lot to be desired. Half of what we ordered didn’t come, two orders were incorrect, and two items were out of stock yet we were only notified after half the order came. The service and experience may have been horrible but I’d go back in a heartbeat to have another sunshine espresso.
From Truth Coffee, we walked about two miles back to our hotel where we experienced a typical city transforming through rush hour with people moving hurriedly and sidewalk vendors making their final big push before shutting down shop for the day. While I have no desire to be a part of rush hour traffic in a car, being a part of the hustle on the sidewalks has always been a joy — you get to see the city alive with everyone coming and going at once.
That evening we had dinner again at the waterfront — our selection was a restaurant called Mondiall. Another great meal in a relaxed/casual atmosphere where for three courses, two rounds of drinks, tax and tip we were under $25 USD per person. By the end of the second day, we had really found our groove and figured out that Cape Town was a cool city. I mean, how can you not love a view like this?
[Images via Howie Rappaport, Lead Image via Getty]
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Annual Fee: $95 fee waived for the first year
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Bank
| FTG Review | Reward Breakdown | Points Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
Breakdown
Earn (pt.)
Spend
First 3 months
50,000
$4,000
Travel Purchases
2.00
$1
Restaurants Purchases
2.00
$1
Coffee Shops Purchases
2.00
$1
Fast Food Purchases
2.00
$1
Alcohol & Bars Purchases
2.00
$1
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1.00
$1
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