Cape Town. One of the oldest cities in Africa. Home to one of the New 7 Wonders of the Natural World. Host of the most recent soccer World Cup. Home to me for the past three months. It has been a wonderful ride. You will be forever in my heart.

Alas, my time in Cape Town has come to a close. I wrapped up work on Friday. I was indeed able to complete my spreadsheet. It was indeed very large. That was essentially all I worked on for the last two weeks.

On the personal front, things were a lot busier. On Friday, the 18th, our VACtivity was going to the Kirstenbosch gardens and relaxing with strawberries and champagne. The weather was incredible and the gardens are absolutely beautiful. The 19th, it was about 85°, so we all spent the day in Camps Bay at the beach. It was also gorgeous. White sandy beaches and posh shops and restaurants, that is the area of Cape Town where celebrities (such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Prince Harry) are spotted when they come here from around the world. We all got awesome tans (and some burns) and just relaxed. That Sunday, a group of us went to Robben Island, home of the jail that housed political prisoners during apartheid, one of the most famous being Nelson Mandela, who was held there for 18 of his 27 years in prison. That was an incredible experience. It is certainly emotional and enlightening. Thursday, as I am assuming many of you know, was Thanksgiving. We decided to celebrate South African style and had a large potluck and braai at the local backpackers (where they could sit all nearly 30 of us in the group). It was great to all get together one last time before many of us began to head home. Friday entailed one final hike, this one to the Cecilia Waterfall. Due to this time of year being the dry season, it was more of a watertrickle than a waterfall, but the hike itself was still fun. On Saturday, I went to the Biscuit Mill for the last time. :( Saying goodbye to such an awesome market was a bit rough. Following that, we went to Stellenbosch for a day of wine tasting and braaiing. I tried some amazing wines. Yesterday, I went in to the SAMGI office to say goodbye. They surprised me with a nice lunch and it was a great way to wrap up my time with them. Then, last night was my goodbye dinner. We ate at this amazing place called Royale Eatery, which brings me to…

Food! Ah there is so much to talk about here. First off, let me say how much I am going to miss all of the food here. Undoubtedly the best-kept secret in Cape Town is all of the incredible food. And wine. The wine is great too. It's really inexpensive as well. Last Saturday in Camps Bay, I ate at a local health food chain, Kauai. I had this amazing blueberry lemon smoothie. It had a kick to it and it was perfect for the hot weather. On Sunday, we went to the waterfront after Robben Island. Kate and I shared a pizza that had chicken, garlic and creamed spinach toppings. It was obviously incredible. Thursday was Thanksgiving. What a treat. Everyone made a bunch of food (personally, I made candied butternut squash). All of it was delicious and even greater than the food was the amazing time we all spent together. This past Friday, Kelly and I made our final Cocoa Cha Chi's stop. I had a tramezzini (a type of sandwich) with melted mozzarella, feta, avocado and bacon. Paired with a vanilla chai blended drink, it was super good. Saturday was my final Biscuit Mill. I had to end on a known high note and chose my favorite potato pancake with salmon, a poached egg and hollandaise. Delectable. As I was leaving, I thought that I should get some biltong (somewhat like jerky) as it would probably pair well with wine tasting. So I went and tried a bunch of different kinds and ended up getting some kudu biltong. It was awesome and I was right, it did pair well with wine. Last night, Royale. Mozzarella burger. Oreo milkshake. Amazing. Selma Hayek ate there while she was filming Ask the Dusk and she told Conan O'Brien that it was the best burger she's ever eaten. In. The. World. The world! It was pretty incredible. And finally, for my last meal in South Africa, I had to eat at my favorite restaurant in the world (the world!), Hello Sailor. I had the Rump Steak Prego Roll and fries. Incredible. Sailor, you will definitely be missed.

For the last time, from Africa with love.