The day came and Shana picked us up from Hout Bay, we swung by her house to drop off our stuff and to pick up hers, and then we drove her to the airport. To keep us from getting bored rattling around in her big house with her adorable cat, Timmy, she had booked us lots of things to do in off-the-beaten-path places that only locals know about.
First was a sunset picnic at an outdoor concert under the shadow of the magnificent West Peak in the Helderberg Mountain Range, which was a lovely way to put a cap on a longish day.
A concert at Helderberg Nature Reserve (where the main visitor centre is built using old tyres
Shana lives in Somerset West a neighbour to Stellenbosch which is one of South Africa’s big wine regions. She had booked us for lunch the next day at Lourensford Wine Estate. Before that, though, we had a few hours to pop into Vregelegen Winery, which she also recommended. The holiday crowds had not yet begun, so we had the whole reserve to just us and a few other widely scattered couples.
We had a lovely meal AND a wine tasting (with a turkish delight pairing) at Lourensford winery. They also have some nice grounds with plenty of sculture art. It has a car museum and a host of interesting shops (like chocolate makers). You could easiily spend a day here. We had a delicious lunch!
We visited the historic Van Ryn's Brandy Distillery (which is a great included a barrel building demonstration - this takes a 3 year apprentiship!). We added in a tasting paired with chocolate
The Vergelegen has beautiful grounds and the tasting there was generous and well explained
With all the wineries, (including five others during our stay), you’d think we were both a couple of winos. While that could be a danger we don’t want to ignore, the primary appeal for us is the setting. We are scenery-os.
Maryanne said it best over a tasting: Most of the wines from most of the vineyards are generally good and within the same quality range, with a couple of better standouts and a couple that aren’t to our liking. Each winery, though, is almost completely different, with different gardens and different backdrops giving each a unique atmosphere. The point of going from one winery to another isn’t the wine so much as having a gorgeous place to relax and drink it. It’s virtually the same while nibbling on a cheese platter with a glass of tap water or just walking the grounds together and not holding any wine glass at all. Thus, being the Designated Driver doesn’t totally suck while the other one gets to have all of the fun.
Ernie Else (famous South African golfer) also has his own winery (with a practice area for anyone to use). We had a great lunch there on one of our days in the area.
Reflecting back on it, I realized that Maryanne and I have been to more than a few of the world’s famed wine regions: France, Italy, California, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, plus a few minor ones as well. (Again, probably not winos – yet), but I must say that out of all of them, South Africa is the most unbearably stunning. I don’t care if the wine is 2% better or 2% worse than some other place. Look at those mountains!
Anyway, the food at Lourensford was delicious. Thanks, Shana for setting that one up. Our favorite side bit of entertainment came from our server. She was friendly and efficient, but she had the almost instantly annoying habit of saying "Hundred percent", accompanied by a saccharin smile any time we asked her for anything. I’m sure it's just some term the local youth started using, but it was hard to get past.
"Could I get another glass of water, please?"
"Hundred precent"
"May we see the dessert menu?"
"Hundred percent"
"We’re ready for the bill now"
"Hundred Percent"
"Do you want a tip?"
Peter Falk Winery
At Eikendal Winery we had a pairing with Cheesecake (not shown here)... the calories are getting a bit much but we didn't complain!
Shana had also hooked us up with a visit to the local (private) Golden Eye cinema where we had yet another great meal, and a movie sowing - ending just around sunset.
Shana was apparently unaware that we were suffering from scenery overload when we picked her up at Cape Town airport. Even though she had already had a long day, she insisted on taking an indirect route back to her house through the pretty little village of Franschhoek, where we conveniently ended up parking for an amble of the town right next to an ice cream stand.
Then she drove us into the mountains and on the very curvy road over Franschhoek Pass. It is just so beautiful here! You could spend years and never see even half of it. It’s amazing that all of this is only a few minutes from the city.
Franschhoek town, more wineries (La Motte and Haute Cabriere Wineries), the Franschhoek pass - more beauty... Tough life. Big thank you to Shana for making it all possible (that is Shana in the top picture with Maryanne)
After days of seeing just parts of it, it was nice to return to Shana’s house for dinner where we were able to sit outside and get just a little feel for what it is like to live around here. It’s definitely not bad at all, especially when we are all able to have a glass of wine...
It was great fun to play grown-ups in a real house and fuss over the friendly Timmy (the cat)
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