May 10 - Exploring Wine Country

We woke up to find the city shrouded in thick fog, so we didn’t get to enjoy the lovely harbour and mountains while we ate breakfast, but the food was great and our party of now six had lots to talk about. Promptly at 8:30 a.m., we met our tour guide, Liz. We piled into the van and headed east towards wine country. By 9:00 a.m., all the fog had burned off and we had clear skies and full sun. We passed through the suburbs of Cape Town – while the houses and gardens got larger, the traffic going into the city got thicker. Just like at home.

Our first stop was at a winery called Fairview near the town of Paarl (“Pearl”). We had a tasting of six wines (whites, rosés and reds), each with a different cheese. There were some real winners in both categories.

From there, we headed to Franschhoek (“French Corner”). French settlers came here in the 17th and 18th centuries, and as much as the Dutch don’t like to admit it, the French were a tremendous help in developing the area's wine industry into the world-class force that it is today. Our stop was at Dieu Donné Vineyards (“God Given”). Here, in a stunning setting overlooking the valley and the mountains, we did a sampling of three wines along with chocolate. I think we were close to heaven! We could have sat there all day on this spectacularly warm, clear, calm day.

But there was more to see and do so off we went. Next destination – Stellenbosch, located about 50 kms east of Cape Town. The town was founded in 1679 by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Simon van der Stel, who named it after himself – Stellenbosch means "(van der) Stel's Bush". It is the second-oldest established town in South Africa, after Cape Town. Population is about 25,000 plus the thousands of students at Stellenbosch University which is famous for its faculties of Engineering, Commerce, Science and Arts.

The main aim here was to shop. There were several streets full of artisan shops featuring handicrafts, paintings, fabric wares, jewellery, clothing, statues, figurines, wooden wares and so much more. I did find some Schweschwe fabric, but it was already made up into placemats. At least I got to show the others what I was talking about. There were some major purchases to show off while we had a refreshing drink about 2:00 p.m. South Africa has a big problem with rolling electrical blackouts. Many places have a backup generator that will give enough power to run key items like the billing system and the refrigerators, but not much more. So, at one point, the staff couldn’t make drinks that required the blender. And the hand dryer in the washroom wouldn’t work. Made me appreciate Ontario Hydro. How’s that for a weird thought?

One interesting thing I saw - the shoes Nelson Mandela was wearing when he walked off Robben Island in 1990. We were just on Robben Island yesterday.

Liz dropped us back at the hotel about 3:30 p.m., and we thought we’d have a couple of hours to ourselves before meeting for dinner at 6:45 p.m. We were barely in our room when Colette messaged, “Grab a glass and come down.” Sandy and I beetled down with drinking glasses in hand. While we were out, a huge charcuterie tray and two bottles of wine had been delivered to Colette and Sylvia’s room. By whom? We didn’t know, but that didn’t stop us from sitting back and enjoying nibblies and drinks as we watched the action on the harbour (seals frolicking, dragon boat training).

Dinner tonight is at Sevruga Restaurant nearby. From their website: “Sevruga Restaurant invites you to come and partake in our ever-evolving passion project. Step into a space, where the moment is yours to shape. A delectable seafood and grill menu, with Asian fusion flavours at its core, boasting an accompaniment of exquisite summer cocktails and crisp wines. No two visits are the same. Nor should they be.” This should be interesting!Read more