Cape Town's French corner...Franschhoek, this time there was snow...

Franschhoek, about a 50 minute drive out of Cape Town on the N2, is a must-visit destination for locals and People From Afar, come rain or shine. But on a sunny winters day, when snow caps the surrounding mountains, it's especially beautiful, a sight to behold. The Western Cape has had some heavier than usual snowfalls in the outlying areas this year - even Table Mountain got its share of powder, so the drive out of the city was stunning and I had to stop the car every 5 minutes to Instagram some or other scenic moment. I admit I was in a bit of an Instagram frenzy.

Franschhoek is a small town established around 1671 by the French Huguenots. The town has pretty much stayed the same over the years - there's definitely been residential expansion but the Main Street still feels (to me) as it did years back. There's some good shopping to be done, be it curios, artwork, locally made chocolate or home ware and there's no shortage of places to eat - both high end and casual - with some of the Cape's most rated restaurants being there, like Reuben's and Le Quartier Francais and then, even before you get to town, there's Bistro Allee Bleu and the superb Babylonstoren. If you're on the hunt for great coffee, then lucky for you (and me) there's a Deluxe Coffeeworks en ville, in a teeny space next to Reuben's - best get there early to make sure you don't miss out on the divine pastries. 

The Franschhoek valley is home to some of the oldest and newest wine estates, with each vineyard bringing something unique to the table: L'Ormarins,  Haute Cabriere,  La Motte, Rupert & Rothschild, Boschendal, Colmant, Freedom Hill...the list goes on. 

For a dose of culture, talke a walk around the Huguenot Monument or visit one of the museums...the area is steeped in history. There are even Bushman rock paintings to be spied if you venture a few km's out of town towards the mountains near the Wemmershoek Dam.

The name “Franschhoek” stems from the Dutch phrase “Fransche Hoek”, which means “French corner”. Don't you feel a French moment coming on? Allez mes Amis, good times await ...bon voyage, bon appetit & release your inner bon vivant- you know you want to. Just another reason to visit Cape Town I say.

See www.franschhoek.org. za for more info.

On the way...snow capped mountains...

Plenty of national monuments in the town...

Deluxe. Coffeeworks ...great ...

The Huguenot Monument...

Drive up the mountain pass out of the town & see the amazing view of the valley...

More snow, Mont Rochelle...

Viva Franschhoek....

A bientot *

Wine, quaggas & daisies...Groote Post

Groote Post, Groote delight 

Monday saw me heading out of the Mother City along the West Coast road and bouncing in a mini van through the veld towards the Darling Hills where, twixt the Kapokberg on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, lies a gem of a wine farm called Groote Post. 

I was there courtesy of Cape Town Travel, with a group of fellow travel bloggers (@Mzansigirl, @insidettravellab, @follow_colours), to savour the delights of a beautiful farm that produces world class and award winning wine on vineyards that cover more than 100 hectares. Owner and one time dairy farmer Nick Pentz, our generous host for the day, met us with the fabulous Terence from Siris Vintners, outside the grand olde manor house (built in 1808), starting us off on a memorable country adventure. After an informative chat alongside huge wine vats - with whiffs of alcohol the promise of good things to come - Nick led us to Hilda's Kitchen (named after Hildagonda Duckitt) in yet another gorgeous Dutch gabled house, for a wine tasting and a delicious light lunch. The restaurant, with chef Debbie McLaughlin at the helm, boasts a menu described as 'modern country' cuisine using truly fresh produce as Shaun McLaughlin emphasised - it'is the only restaurant in SA to be nominated by Eat Out 2013 in both "Best Bistro" and "Best Country-Style" categories in its region- pretty darn impressive though I can't say I'm surprised as our food was excellent. 

The farm drive through the vast expanse of Renosterveld revealed amazing wildlife wandering about (see the website for the full game list) and it's not every day you get to see springbok bounce across the plain - that really made my heart sing, cheesy as it sounds. And then there was the herd of rare quagga, standing in a patch of purple flowers with Table Mountain in the distance behind them...thst was the cherry on the top for me. This once extinct relation of the zebra is definitely making a strong comeback.  Kudos to the Pentz family for reintroducing this animal with it's impressively fading stripes, to the Groote Post wild lands. And bravo for being part of the Bio Diversity and Wine Initiative- viva sustainable wine production - this Eco Diva salutes you. Oh, let me not forget, special thanks to Mr. Peter Pentz, Nick Pentz and Groote Post  winemaker Lukas Wentzel for that ever marvellous Old Mans Blend they produce, although to be fair, I must also thank my client Pieter-Dirk Uys for introducing me to what has become one of my favourite vino brands. 

See you again soon in the country Darlings. 

+27.224922825 +27.224922693 wine@grootepost.co.za www.grootepost.com

GPS Coordinates:

18° 24' 38'' E | 33° 28' 58'' S 

About 50 minutes drive from Cape Town

Sights along the way...

Arrived!

The daisies are out...

Ye olde manor house, circa 1808...

Bubbly ...

Let's go game spotting...

Quagga eye contact...

Back home...

What a view...just another day in the life of a Capetonian. LOVE. CAPE. TOWN.

Organic in Oranjezicht ~ a fabulous city farm & market...

I've discovered another gem in the Mother City, the Oranjezicht City (OZF) Farm Organic Market, on upper Orange Street (opposite Carluccis). In a beautiful setting under ancient oak trees, it's a small market, for now, selling the most amazing fresh produce in a cool atmosphere of authentic community. There's great coffee made by Theo from Tamboerswinkel (beans by Deluxe); Fritz brings his cardoons & swiss chard in from the Karoo; Loubie Rusch is there, Making Kos; that gent who lived in San Diego has brought his more'ish Mexican churros to a table (I had 4, in a row); DJ Caz gives us the best background grooves, & so the list goes on & on. The market is right next to the fairly recently established OZF, created on a plot of land that back in the days of 1709 & onwards, was itself part of a farm - Oranje Zigt - that ultimately supplied produce to sailors making a turn around the Cape of Good Hope & to the locals of the rapidly expanding Colony. I've always believed that in time we'll need to be growing something we can harvest ourselves...be it wheat grass on a window sill, basil in a pot, or a bed of lettuce & carrots...all depending on our available space obvs. For me, urban farming on a small & large scale is going to become essential in years to come, so let's get to it.


Organic Swiss chard from the Karoo ...

One of my best fleurs ever, the Protea...a national treasure ..

The strawberries are big, fat & juicy...

This fabulous blanket was on raffle yesterday...in my dreams I can crochet comme ca...

Best.Churros.Ever.

Even the Little People have their eco-friendly bags (which reminds me, NB to take a bag along for all those delish things you'll be a-purchasing..)

 

Tamboers Winkel delights...

Have your (carrot) cake & eat it...it's good for you (wink)..

He's as happy as I am about the free WiFi... my life is complete (another wink)

And voila, there's part of the OZF alongside the market. As the website says: OZCF seeks to re-connect the Oranjezicht neighbourhood and the rest of Cape Town to this neglected piece of heritage through design, gardening activity and outreach, and to use it as a catalyst to build social cohesion across communities, to develop skills among the unemployed, to educate residents and their children and others about food, environmental and related issues, to beautify public space and to champion unused or under-utilised green spaces in the City Bowl. See more at: http://www.ozcf.co.za.

The market is every Saturday from 09:00 till after lunch; to see how you can be involved (I'm volunteering) visit the site & Facebook page, it's all there* @ozcf / tel:0836283426 / cityfarm@ozcf.co.za                Kudos to Sheryl Ozinsky & her Team*

Let's go farming people*