Sunday, May 3, 2009

Our Last Post to the Blog

Hi,

          We are home!!!!!! We had the most amazing vacation possible.  We were blessed with unbelievable weather and terrific adventures.  We posted the last photos (unless you want more… there are about 2,000 of them).  So here goes the info:

          After getting off the ship we flew to Livingston (Dr. Livingston… I presume country) to see Victoria Falls.  It is the most impressive sight you have ever seen, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  It is a mile long with a mist that shoots up in the air creating a rainfall that is pelting when you walk near the falls.  The rainbows are so beautiful and huge!  The Royal Livingston Hotel made you feel like you were back in Colonial England times.  The hotel was so “Old World”… High Tea in the afternoon, Doorman in a storytellers uniform, Bellman with a fez cap waiting on the pathway (just in case you need anything), piano player in tuxedo at dinner, your robe and slippers set out on your bed with rose petals scattered on it and… monkeys playing in the trees outside your balcony.  We took a helicopter trip above the falls (you can’t possibly see it all from the ground due to the mist.  The water level is the highest it has been in sixty years… so the falls were unbelievable!  It was a terrific relaxing way to spend a few days before Cape Town.

          We loved Cape Town.  The people were friendly and it is a terrific city to see.  We were fortunate to be able to go up to Table Mountain at sunset.  The mountain is covered in fog a lot of the time and we thought we might not get up there at all, as whenever we were nearby it was covered in mist.  The mountain suddenly cleared about 5:00 PM on our final day and we made the last cable car up to the top of the mountain and caught the most terrific sunset.  We went to Cape Point, the most southern tip of Africa for spectacular views.  Cape Town is a beautiful city with gorgeous beaches (water temperature was too cold to go in), beautiful botanical gardens, terrific waterfront and great prices.  The ratio of “Rand” to $ was 10 to 1 so everything was amazingly inexpensive… a fabulous (NYC quality) dinner for less than $50 per couple.  We stayed in a lovely Bed and Breakfast and met some really fun people from England, Mauritius, Canary Islands, and Malta (talk about international).  One evening we were together in the lounge at the B&B till 1:00 AM drinking and telling dirty jokes.  There is nothing like a “Brit” telling a dirty joke about a man’s “Willy”.  I think I will leave it at that, and wait till I see you to tell the jokes.

          Hopefully, we haven’t bored you with our adventure… it was wonderful sharing with you.  Thanks for all your comments and emails.  It really added to our trip being able to share it with our friends.  Special thanks to Phyllis A. for setting up the Blog… we would have never done it without her.

          Love,

                      Pat & Mike