We set off for Company Gardens, but on the way, passed through the former free slave (Malay) quarter. Slaves were not allowed to paint their houses and so when the people were free, they painted their houses with bright colours, and so they remain. The brilliant blue sky complemented the houses.
When we reached the Gardens, Victoria was there to greet us
Parliament is close by and she sits in the grounds.
We wandered through the gardens which were an oasis of peace and tranquility.
Table mountain dominates the city and is often there as a backdrop.
We came across the slave bell
We stopped for a drink in the cafe where a classical concert by a Cape Town orchestra would soon start.
At the far end of the gardens is the South African Museum
And an art gallery
We came across some Egyptian Goose goslings sheltering from the sun under a waste bin their parents were not far away but seemed unperturbed that humans were going fairly close to their chicks.
On our way out of the gardens, we found tall bamboo with carvings that were growing up and up as the bamboo grew.
We went past St George's cathedral and along St George's Street which is traffic free but the roads crossing it are not!
Off St George's Street is Greenmarket Square where there is a craft market of African arts, masks, paintings and nick nacks - very colourful and quite cheap, we nearly bought a painting.
Then it was time to find lunch. There wasn't much open, but we did find this Ethiopian restaurant nearby which had already attracted our attention by its colourful display and jazz music.
We had plates of vegetable starters eaten with the fingers using the moist white flatbread, extra portions of the bread came in rolls like napkins. The food was delicious.
We headed back to our apartment passing many cyclists who had completed the race and were returning home. The roads were now open to traffic.
After a short rest, we set out by car for the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens which are on the southern slopes of Table Mountain.
The gardens are huge, 36 hectares. Parking was difficult because a sunset rock concert was about to start in the grounds. So for some of our stroll we had a musical accompaniment.
The gardens are only stocked with indigenous South African plants - fynbos, proteas, cycads. Some of the fynbos have very distinctive flinty smells.
Pat spotted this Sugareater and managed to get close.
Protea just about to close for the night.
The largest pelargonium we have seen
A scary looking bush that looked like it might harbour spirits.
And an amaryllis
Pat and John on tour