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  • Day 9

    Franschoek

    January 8, 2016 in South Africa ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
    Friday, January 8, 2016

    Today has been relatively quiet and a travelling day, so we finally took our little Hyundai out for a spin. We were sad to say goodbye to More Quarters who had made us so comfortable, but the onward journey to Franschoek more than made up for it. It takes about one and a half hours to make the drive at a gentle pace and once you turn off the N2 it is a very pretty run. The Franschoek mountains gradually loom into view and the surroundings become more undulating and the odd vine appears. Once through Stellenbosch, an attractive university town, you turn right heading up and over the Helshoogte Pass. The scenery is dramatic with marvellous views down into the valleys and wineries start to pop up all over the place. In some respects we were reminded of Marlborough in New Zealand, but the landscape is more rugged and extreme.
    We arrived in the charming town of Franschoek just before 1o'clk, in time to wander down its Main Street lined with small boutique type shops and traditional Cape Dutch buildings. This is the sort of settlement that you think of when contemplating the winelands of South Africa.
    In Afrikaans the word Franschoek means 'French Corner' and as the name suggests was once a French enclave, when over 300 years ago a group of Huguenot settlers arrived fleeing religious persecution. It is this influence combined with the larger Dutch speaking community that has given the area such colour and unsurprisingly a taste for fine wine and food.
    It is a bright and sunny day, but continues to be blustery with the Cape Doctor blowing. After an excellent lunch at an artisan bakery we drove out of town to find our hotel for the night, Mont Rochelle. Now this establishment came highly recommended via Richard and Alyson, so we expected it to be good, but oh boy is it ever! I think we'll have a job to top this. Set on a hill just out of the town with beautiful mountain views sits the white painted thatched former estate house. On first view it appears modest, but on entering its portals the impression quickly fades. It is all gloriously put together and following registration, which is undertaken on the verandah to the accompaniment of a glass of champagne, we were shown to the Vineyard wing. It was an OMG moment to be honest, to match Palazzo Avino in Ravello. These are rooms with a view. A huge lounge in modern style, an equally spectacular bedroom and a bathroom the size of our kitchen with an oval bath. Be still my beating heart - blow the wine tasting, I could sit in that bath sipping something interesting from the fridge (all complimentary) and gazing out of the glass walls overlooking the private garden with plunge pool and the mountains. I took advantage of the gym this afternoon and we ate at Miko, the flagship restaurant this evening. All excellent apart from the fact that the red wine was too cold. The Maitre D tried to say that they keep all the Reds at the temp needed for the Pinot Noir, which is slightly cooler. Try taking a few bottles out late afternoon then - go on be honest, am I getting too picky?!
    Incidentally, the champagne offered is produced locally and was served at Nelson Mandela's inauguration as President. It was subsequently served at Barack Obama's also, because he was so impressed with it. I could see why.
    Wine Tasting tomorrow leaving at 9.30am. Help! I suspect we will need a bit more breakfast than muesli on this occasion.
    TTFN.
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