Cape Town, South Africa!

 Here I am in all my glory sitting on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.

   I was very blessed to spend New Year's vacation in Cape Town, South Africa last week and let me tell you, that place is pretty epic!
   Cape Town, located in the Western part of the country, has a rich cultural history.
   The city was colonized by the Dutch and is the place where Nelson Mandela spent nearly 20 years as a political prisoner on Robben Island.
   There was so much history to be learned but also so much fun to be had.

I stayed on Long Street, the place where things get popping at night. It's busy during the day, too:

Cape Town is a bustling city. I loved this purple building, called The Purple Monkey. It's a night spot.

I visited a several nice craft markets:

I wanted two of everything I saw! I was in heaven, I tell ya!

Some parts of Cape Town reminded me of New Orleans:

This French influence was brought on by French religious refugees during the early 18th century, according to The Rough Guide to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Naturally, there were many beautiful Nelson Mandela tributes all around the city:

I spotted this tribute of the hero in one of the malls that wasn't far from my hostel.

I went up Table Mountain, which was voted as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World:

The scenery was just stunning! This place was heaven on earth.

Of course, I found a bead store:

I didn't do major damage like I normally do, though.

The palm trees reminded me of Miami:

What say you? Miami or Cape Town?

I went nuts for this coconut:

It was good and refreshing! I love me some fresh coconut.

One of my favorite places was the Slave Lodge:

It was one of my favorite places because it explained South Africa's complicated and painful apartheid history.

I also had a baby:

Her name was Cotton Candy. She was cute and cuddly and sweet. Pun intended:)

I was minding my business at the museum and almost got eaten by a shark:

So yeah, I survived a shark attack! LOL!

I had Ethiopian food:

I LOVE Ethiopian food!!!!! Can't even tell you what this meal did for me!!

I visited five wineries:

Wine and cheese? Yes, yes, please!

The beaches in Cape Town were to die for:

Please know that I AM about that beach life! 

I partied it up:

New Year's Eve was a madhouse!

I went to Robben Island:

This was Nelson Mandela's jail cell. He spent about 18 years at the prison and it was surreal to be here.

   I had such a good time that I'm having some serious withdrawals from my Cape Town visit.
   It's going down as my second favorite vacation, after India.
   Have you visited Cape Town?
   If so, what was your take?