This past weekend, we rented a car and drove all over Stellenbosch visiting vineyards and markets. On Saturday morning, we started at the Saturday market right outside of the heart of Stellenbosch on a vineyard. There we took in the wonderful atmosphere of the laid-back lifestyle of South Africa. We listened to music, drank fresh-squeezed lemonade, ate Middle-Eastern food (served by the most adorable 70-year-old man EVER), and shared some sweets. There are lots of markets on the weekends, but this is by far my favorite. The food is amazing, it's not too crowded, and there are tons of clothes to look at and purchase :).
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| Delicious Berry Cheesecake |
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| The view from the market and the vineyard where it takes place. |
After the market, we went to Vredenheim Wine Estate where we partook in both wine tasting and animal viewing. We first went on a tour of their animals there. Driving into the winery you see zebras, wildebeests, springbok, antelope-ish-looking-things, tiny-looking-elk, and cows. In the back of the winery is a cat sanctuary. There we saw lions, white lions, bengal tigers, cheetahs, and leopards. Our guide fed whole chickens (the feet, heads, feathers, and all included) to the lions and bengal tigers. As I told my Father, this place was super cool but it would never be found in the US. This place was an insurance man's worst nightmare. The small fences with electric shocks did not seem like enough protection between the giant, wild cats and the humans.
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| The view from the back of the winery. |
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| Katie, Melodi, and Ally watching the ducklings. |
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| The bengal tiger eating the whole chicken. |
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| A roaring, hungry lion was very scary behind such a small fence. |
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| The vineyard |
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| Gorgeous Gazania's everywhere! |
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| Bengal Canna's growing in the wild. |
After our little jungle experience, we tasted the wine! The wine was delicious! Since being here in South Africa, I have started to drink more and more reds. I tasted all reds at this winery. My favorite was the Shiraz.
That evening, we had a farewell dinner in Cape Town with our program, ISA. We ate at a traditional African cuisine restaurant. The menu had organic butternut squash soup and lamb as some of the highlighted dishes. This place was on the beach and has beautiful mosaic work everywhere. And of course, we had wonderful wine.
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| Rachel, Katie, Tanner, Matthew |
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| Rachel and myself; I'm going to miss this girl! |
On Sunday, we went to more vineyards. The highlight was the Somerbosch Vineyard. Here I once again tasted all reds. My favorite was a Late Bottled Vintage: essentially a port. I liked it so much I bought a bottle! I want to keep it until my parents get here, but I don't know if that is going to happen. This port is very full bodied with a smooth finish and it is quite delicious.
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| Ally and myself at the winery. |
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| Melodi and myself at the winery. |
After another Sunday market, we went to a winery called Delaire Graff Estate. I personally think this is the prettiest winery in all of Stellenbosch (that I have been to so far). Lindsay and I went here for dinner a couple of weeks ago and had the most amazing meal in Africa yet, but also the most expensive. My favorite wine here is called Botmaskop. It is a red that is very powerful and is a Bordeaux-style blend. It went very well with my Asian-influenced pork that I had that evening. I also purchased a bottle of this and am once again "patiently" waiting for my parents.
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| My favorite flower driving into the Winery- Birds of Paradise. We see them everywhere here! |
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| The vineyards |
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| Inside the winery |
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| Driving into the winery |
We then checked out a small town on the other side of the mountains called Franschhoek. This is an adorable little town with many tiny African-souvenir stores and overpriced clothing stores. If you blink while driving through the town, you WILL miss it.
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| A glimpse of the church and the mountainside. |
Cheers until next time.
xx kCl
