Wine tasting in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
On the way from Greyton towards Hermanus is the picturesque Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. According to a visiting Moravian missionary in 1899, it got its name because “so high are the hills which closely embrace the valley all round, that they seem to touch the sky and you cannot see anything but heaven and earth”. I was stunned to see this beautiful … Continue reading …
Riebeek Valley
Riebeek Valley Yesterday, Saturday the 17th of August 2019, we packed our bags and after giving instructions to the cat sitter, we were off to Riebeek West, a small town about 75 km north-east of Cape Town. It is next to Riebeek Kasteel, another quaint little town in the Riebeek Valley, which we have visited before. We booked into … Continue reading …
A Family Wedding In The Eastern Cape
At last – another family wedding, always a favourite event to attend. We were invited to the wedding of my nephew Angus and his fiancé, Michelle, both teachers at Gill College, Somerset East in the Eastern Cape. On 22 September 2017 we were on our way to P.E. We arrived at lunch time and decided to have lunch at Bluewaters … Continue reading …
A quick visit to Langebaan, Western Cape
I accompanied Deon in August to Langebaan where he had to meet with clients. As their meeting was late afternoon on a Saturday, we decided to overnight at the Farmhouse Hotel which overlooks the Langebaan Lagoon. Langebaan is situated 120 km north of Cape Town and is very popular among tourists. The Langebaan Lagoon is a salt water lagoon which … Continue reading …
Postberg Flower & Nature Reserve Langebaan
In spring it is wild flowers in abundance along the West Coast and we were off to the southern part of the Langebaan Lagoon, which is part of the West Coast National Park. The flowers are spectacular in August and September and then the Postberg, which is situated within the national park and privately owned, is opened to the public. … Continue reading …
Our weekend at Stanford, Western Cape
It was time to get away for a weekend. We have not done this in a while, so we were looking forward to visit the village of Stanford. Deon booked two nights in a quaint little village house and before we knew, it was time to pack our bags. Stanford was founded in 1857 and named after Sir Robert Stanford … Continue reading …
Mantis Mall, Darling
One of our stops when visiting Darling, was a very small mall, called the Mantis Mall. The sweet shop in the mall is well-known for making exquisite toffee, called Darling Sweet. Members of the public can watch the whole process of toffee making from beginning stage to packaging stage. The toffee is entirely manufactured by hand, with most ingredients locally … Continue reading …
Oh my Darling!
As a reward to ourselves for working hard during the first six months of the year, we decided to spend a couple of days in the small village of Darling, 75 km from Cape Town and 25 km from Yzerfontein along the West Coast. On our way, we noticed the dull and grey shrubs that is called Renosterveld, often dominated … Continue reading …
Woodstock, Cape Town
Deon and I took a short break during the June holidays and decided to explore Cape Town as much as possible during the few days. First of all we decided to visit Woodstock which is one of Cape Town’s oldest suburbs. Woodstock is within reach of Table Mountain (a beautiful backdrop to Woodstock); the CBD and the V&A Waterfront. We … Continue reading …
Oxford Arms Country Tavern, Durbanville
This Friday we were both too busy at work to explore Cape Town’s restaurants. But we will have our outing if there is time next week, maybe to our local pub. When on holiday in London and Amsterdam in December 2006, we explored some pubs. On one of our days in London we left the hotel at 11:00 and returned … Continue reading …
Simon’s Town
Once a term we break away for a weekend. Our cat sitter gets her instructions and off we go. I read about the actress, Ilse Roos, who moved to Cape Town with her family and settled in Simon’s Town. Our family visited Simon’s Town when I was a child and ever since I had a picture of a windswept town … Continue reading …
A visit to Kalk Bay and Kirstenbosch
Our friend from France is visiting us and we decided to spend the day in Kalk Bay and after that we would go to Kirstenbosch. It was a glorious, sunny spring day and early morning we headed to Kalk Bay. Deon and I have visited this beautiful bay several times previously, but it was again a worthwhile visit. What a … Continue reading …
The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, Barcelona
I remember a summer’s night in Barcelona. Sandra and I have started our Spanish visit in Madrid. After three days in Madrid we went to Toledo for one night, then magical Granada for four glorious days, then one night in Sevilla (which was not on par with the other cities we have visited) and then … Barcelona (do you hear … Continue reading …
Vergelegen
Yesterday we visited the Western Cape’s world-class Estate, Vergelegen, in Somerset-West. Vergelegen was granted to the new governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel, successor of Simon van der Stel, in 1700. Willem Adriaan transformed this outpost into a magnificent Estate. Unfortunately he was called back to the Netherlands in 1706. Vergelegen then had several owners, until 1917, when it became … Continue reading …
Meteora – suspended in the air
In June 2010 we were off to Europe and we included Meteora, meaning suspended in the air, in Central Greece as part of our itinerary. We booked into Plakias guesthouse in Kalampaka, the city under the towering rocks of Meteora. What makes Meteora worth the visit is the monasteries built on huge rocks. Many tourists gather in Kalampaka every year … Continue reading …
Riebeeck-Kasteel
Today we visited one of our favourite towns close to Cape Town – Riebeeck Kasteel. It is situated in The Riebeeck Valley, about 80km north-east of Cape Town. We have been to this village many times, but will always return to experience the exuberance of this place again and again. This is one of the oldest towns in South Africa. … Continue reading …
De Malle Meul, Philadelphia
Just outside Durbanville lies the village with the beautiful name, Philadelphia (brotherly love). It is popular with Capetonians, not only for a weekend getaway, but also for the Sunday lunches at de Malle Meul, the restaurant which is also the art gallery of the well-known South-African artist, Pieter van der Westhuizen. This 150 years old village originated when farmers in … Continue reading …
The jovial waiter; his wife the chef; a wet guest and penne al pollo
In June 1999 we went to Italy and France. In Italy we visited Rome, Siena, Florence and Venice. Then we travelled from Venice by train to Nice, France, where we met our friend, André. The three of us planned to explore the French Riviera and the arrière-pays niçois (Nice hinterland) for three days. We spent our first night at the … Continue reading …
Aliens in Athens?
Our last trip to Europe was in June 2010 to Turkey, Greece and France. It was wonderful. First of all we stayed over in the magical Turkey for three days. The Hagia Sophia is our favourite monument to visit in Istanbul. Then we explored the monasteries in Monastiraki – breathtakingly beautiful. Strange how some people choose to live, but I … Continue reading …
A Wintry Night in Stellenbosch
We enjoy visiting the towns around Cape Town. We have been to Riebeeck-Kasteel, Greyton, Franschhoek for the Bastille Day festivities and now Stellenbosch. We sleep over for a night, explore the town on foot and try to find a good local restaurant before heading home the next day. This time we reserved a room at De Hoek Manor, a guesthouse … Continue reading …
A Street in Istanbul: 1997 and 2010
On our first visit to Istanbul in 1997 we stayed at the Alaaddin Guest House in Sultanahmet. This neighbourhood gets its name from the Blue Mosque (The Sultan Ahmed Camii) that is just around the corner. We long ago decided to always stay in the old city centres where we would be the close … Continue reading …
ISTANBUL: The Hagia Sophia
Our first visit to Istanbul was in summer 1997. We were well prepared. We have read much about Constantinople, the once capital of the civilized world. One of the first things we wanted to do, was to visit and experience the 14 centuries old Aya Sofya (The Church of the Devine Wisdom) built by emperor Justinian to restore the greatness … Continue reading …
Shirley Valentine and Manoulas Restaurant, Mykonos, Greece
Our favourite movie (or at least one of our many favourites) is Shirley Valentine. We have watched it many times. [At first I was not allowed to participated in the dialogue, later on I was not allowed to move my lips in sync with the the dialogue (Master of the House)]. Whenever one of us felt we were losing the … Continue reading …