If you love great food, excellent wine, and gorgeous scenery.........South Africa, and Franschhoek in particular, is the place for you.
Simply incredible!!
We suppose we should have known that we would fall in love with South Africa when we met our guardian angel on the flight from Ethiopia en route to Johannesburg.
We left the Arusha Hotel in the late afternoon with the rest of our group, even though we had a later flight, scheduled to take off at 4:20 AM. When we arrived at the airport, we found out we couldn't check our bags until 1:00 am. We slept in shifts until then. The only reasonable way to get to Capetown was on Ehiopian Air---first to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, then to Johannesburg, SA. From Johannesburg we would fly to Capetown on South African Airways. The transfer in Addis Ababa was quite confusing; and the conditions quite subpar compared to Western standards, both in terms of organization and cleanliness. We were happy to leave and head out to Johannesburg. |n short, our odyssey from the Arusha Hotel to Franschhoek, South Africa took 28 hours of travel. In Addis Ababa we had a deeper understanding of how our guardian angels work. We met a woman at the gate, Merriam, who lives in South Africa. She was charming and helped us decipher the Ethiopian system. We also met a man named Mark, a South African who lives and works in Saudi Arabia. On the plane, Mark happened to notice a man named Stefan, another South African who was seated a row behind him. It turns out Mark had met Stefan at a barbeque years ago in Saudi Arabia. Stefan took us under his wing even before we left Johannesburg. Once we landed in Capetown he met his sister and introduced us, explaining to his sister that he would like to help us get on the road to Franschhoek. It was dark, raining very hard and the wind was quite strong. That, coupled with the need to drive on the left side of the road, would make it challenging for us to navigate---in the dark in a land we had never seen before. He went with us to the rental car counter and made arrangements with his sister to have his sister lead us up the highway to the turnoff to Franschhoek. He was a simply a great ambassador for South Africa. In short, he was our guardian angel.
Now we are happy to be safely ensconced at the Cape Vue Guest House in Franschhoek, SA---what we consider to be the St. Helena of South Africa. It is a charming town, with some of the world's best restaurants and phenomenal wine. The setting is spectacular, tucked beneath the mountains. We have had a great time so far, and are looking forward to simply staying in one place and not having to pack up a suitcase each night.
We showered (awesome!!) and then were picked up by the local Italian restaurant chauffeur and had a wonderful meal with an excellent South African wine.
The next day we slept in and had a great breakfast. We were picked up by Elmer, the driver for the wine hopper. This is a great service that they have here. You buy a ticket and then the bus takes you to the wineries and you hop on and off.
We went to Grand Provence, Le Petite Ferme, and Le Petite Dauphine.
The tastings were excellent, but the settings even more spectacular.
We then went to Le Quartier Francais, said to be the best restaurant in South Africa and said to be one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. The Chef is Margot Janse. She is regarded as one of the top female Chefs in the world.......after experiencing her dinner we understand why.......simply extraordinary!! Check out one of the blog pictures for the menu that we had.
Everyday was a culinary extravaganza. The restaurants here are off the charts. We decided we needed a little bit of exercise, so we drove up to Franschhoek Pass and did a hike, which had great views over the valley. As our five days was coming to an end, we regretted having to leave so soon. There is so much to see, eat, and drink here. Our last meal was at La Motte, which is a gorgeous winery and restaurant owned by the Rupert family. The meal was exquisite. It actually reminded us of the chef's wine pairing meal at Meadowood Country Club in St. Helena (of course we thought of you, Joanne!).
After this meal we were sure that we will be back...hopefully with some of our friends.
And now we leave enchanting South Africa for the Lake District of England, to walk in the footsteps of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Keats. When we post for the Lake District, be looking for us to be telling of the connection between Man and the landscape.
Love to everybody.
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