Last updated: 03:34 PM ET, Mon June 02 2014

Take A Twitter Tour of Cape Town

Destination & Tourism David Cogswell May 31, 2014

We flew into Cape Town at sunset. The sun's rays were burning through the misty atmosphere at a horizontal angle creating an orange tinge over the city. It was a beautiful sight.

Table Mountain was shrouded with a cover of thick clouds on its top, its tablecloth. The Lion's Head and Signal Hill cut out their characteristic silhouettes against the horizon. I took a deep breath. We had arrived at The Mother City. It felt like the ultimate destination.

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Shaheed Ebrahim, the founder of the destination management company Escape to the Cape, met us at the airport. He was to be our escort for the time we were in Cape Town. He was mellow and calm, with a congenial air of confidence that made you feel that you were in good hands and everything was going to be fine.

He drove us to the Mount Nelson Hotel in the heart of Cape Town, a regal hotel that was to be our home for four nights. At that moment, four nights stretched out before us as if it were infinity. By the time it was over it would seem to have gone by in a blink.

That night we had dinner at the hotel's Planet Restaurant. It was one corner the hotel that seemed glitzy and modern, like a small section of W Hotel inside the grand old Mount Nelson, vintage 1899,

We arrived in Cape Town on Friday night. On Saturday morning we took a tour of the city, led by Shaeed of Escape to the Cape. We went to one place it seems every tour includes, the Bo-Kaap neighborhood.

The name of it is Dutch, meaning "above the Cape," which it is, as it stretches up the slopes of Signal Hill. It is recognized as the spiritual center for the Cape's Muslim community.

Bo-Kaap is a neighborhood identified by a strip of houses that are beautifully colored with bright tropical pastel shades that seem to have been coordinated as a single work of art.

The core population of the area is descended from slaves brought to the Cape from Malaysia, Indonesia and various countries of Africa. The slaves had become referred to as Cape Malays though it was actually a melting pot of Asian, African and European ethnicities.

The City Bowl Market was a local market for fresh vegetables, fruits and a variety of foods, drinks, flowers and other products.

Long Street is a great strip to walk along, full of fascinating stores, restaurants and bars. Madam Taitou, an Ethiopian restaurant and craft store, was a great find. What an enchanted place! I wish I could go there now. A very kind couple, Solomon and Helen, came from Ethiopia and opened it about a year and a half ago.

Richard's Supper Stage and Bistro was fun! The food was good and the actor/singers portrayed themselves as a family and succeeded in making the audience feel like we were part of the family. They were talented singers and musicians as well. Under the silliness was a lot of polish.

The Cape Winelands are something not to miss if you're in the Cape. The scenery itself is worth the trip, and if you like wine there are plenty of opportunities to taste the offerings of different wineries. Many let you taste for no charge.

On Sunday we took an electric bike tour of Cape Town with Cycology. Our guide gave us a good short overview of Cape history and how it all came to be the way it is. And the bikes were so much fun. You can pedal if you want or engage the quiet electric motor and just ride. Great way to tour the city.

Another thing you have to take in when you're in Cape Town is the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Fantastic place. It is the place where the ferries launch for visits to Robben Island, Nelson Mandela's home for many years, another must-do in Cape Town.

And of course the cable car to the top of Table Mountain is indispensable if you are visiting Cape Town. Gotta see it, experience it.

The Mount Nelson Hotel was a piece of artwork itself and was also an exhibition space for many fine, intriguing pieces of art, both paintings inside and sculpture on the lawns.

The Victoria Wharf is one of many great things to see at the waterfront.

Shaheed Ebrahim, the operator of Escape to the Cape, took very good care of us when we were in Cape Town. He was the facilitator. He made everything happen without a whimper or a hitch. Besides mastering the operation of our tour of the Cape region, he is a fun person to be around. He has many good stories to tell.

For more information on Cape Town, South Africa, Africa

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