Day 16 of tour - third day on Cape Town

We had a wonderful day on our own in Cape Town today.  The tour went to Stellenbosch for wine tasting.  We got on the "hop on, hop off" bus to visit the beautiful Victoria and Albert waterfront shopping area, zip through the Deboers Diamond  museum, and spend the afternoon at the South African Jewish Museum.

It was a beautiful day, and seeing the city from the top of the sightseeing bus was delightful.  We had wonderful views of the ocean and of Table Mountain, as well as the bustling city.  We found beautiful shops to browse in the shopping area and while I did not make many purchases, it was a welcome change from the run of the mill "stuff" we had seen everywhere else.  The narration on the bus was well done and informative.

The Diamond "museum" was a private "showing" by a local diamond jeweler, but the guide was delightful, the presentation was informative, and the sales pitch non existent.

We spent the whole afternoon at the Jewish museum, a hidden gem that Bruce found on TripAdvisor.  The museum was dedicated by Nelson Mandela and there was 25 minute movie that highlighted his relationships to the Jews of South Africa during his lifetime - how they had partnered with him personally as well as in his work to overturn apartheid.  We did not know when and how the Jewish community began in South Africa, but learned that it was based on Jews from Lithuania who fled the pogroms around the turn of the century.  The development of the community - synagogues, cemeteries, schools and businesses closely parallel what occurred in the US.  We also enjoyed the cafe and the gift shop.  It was a wonderful, worthwhile break from the tour.

We finished the day with our farewell dinner with the whole group.