The non-stop, overnight flight from Miami to Cape Town takes around 14 hours and the considerate stewardesses aim to keep the traveler happy. On a March, three-week trip with newspaper food editors from the States, our itinerary commenced in Cape Town with deluxe accommodations at the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West. With its majestic Table Mountain and Lion's Head Peak backdrop, Cape Town is a beautiful city. A harmonious blend of architecture dovetails with old Edwardian and Victorian buildings, Cape Dutch homes, and contemporary high rises. The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Development is an exciting destination for touring with its extensive shopping mall, craft markets, theaters, aquarium, Maritime Museum, and varied ethnic restaurants in affordable price ranges.
Boat trips around the harbor are a popular sideline.
On the edge of the city, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens offer a pastoral setting for a picnic. On a clear day, a five minute cable car ride to the top of Table Mountain affords a spectacular view of the Peninsula. The lower slopes of Signal Hill houses the Bo-Kaap area identified with Malay culture and Muslim mosques. Opened in 1899, the colonial, five-star Mount Nelson Hotel provides the ultimate in accommodations in its 28 suites and 131 rooms, surrounded by landscaped gardens and pool, in the heart of the city at the base of Table Mountain. The countryside is spectacular and the traffic is sparse.