When we travelled on the coastal road from Hout Bay last night, the wind was manic, whipping the tops off the waves near Oudekraal and it was difficult to stand still and take a photo. This morning it had settled to the normal Cape Doctor. Afterwards took Chapmans Peak drive to Noordhoek – it was back to green again after last years massive fire and the view awesome as always. We were looking for arts and crafts but this time Farm Village in Noordhoek was a disappointment. Nice place but more of a food emporium than a craft centre now. Pity. So over the mountain to Glencairn, where Charlie dragged me off to the gemstone factory. I had never been there and it was actually interesting to see the huge variety of stones, the tumbling and polishing process and the beautiful gemstones that emerged. It seems that this place is a right of passage for any Cape Town kid! 

 Next stop Adrienne’s mountainside apartment with its stunning view over Simonstown Naval harbour and bay. Good to catch up with my friend. Being lunch time we all headed down to the town & found a delightful family-run restaurant. It was yellow-tail for me because I can’t get that in England …….besides I was already getting somewhat “meated out”. 

 Later we continued our coastal journey to Kalk Bay – always a favourite with Charlie! Such an eclectic mix of small shops, so inevitably we ended up finding something for Astrid and topped that off with an ice cream just for good measure.

We had arranged to fetch Guy in Rondebosch. Such a sense of dejavu as we looked for his digs near Fountain shopping centre – this was the suburb of my birth and my student stomping ground. It was no surprise therefore that we landed up drinking beer at “Forries” while Charlie waited for her cousin Casey to collect her. Also no surprise that when she came back after a couple of hours Guy & I were still there! I really enjoyed the time spent catching up with my grandson. 

 By the time we finally got back to base at Fresnaye we were totally exhausted (but super happy)