What a trip! Sean and I are now suffering post-vacation blues. We would love to be back in Cape Town, but reality calls.
Our adventure to the Mother Land, as Sean puts it, was fabulous. We started the journey with an 18 hour flight from JFK to Cape Town. We did have a layover in Dakkar, where we refueled and had a security inspection. However, we did not leave the plane. We arrived in Cape Town on Friday, June 13 and met Granny and Grandpa. After some tea, good conversation and good old South African bobotie for dinner, we headed to bed for much needed rest. The following morning, Granny and I joined Zonna and the girls for hair dos and giggles. Excitement was in the air! Later that afternoon, we celebrated Zonna and Steven's wedding. What fun! Those South Africans love to give speeches and they love their wine.
Here's the rest of the vacation in a nutshell:
Sunday, June 15: Lamb cookout at Annika and Martin's house (friends of Auntie Viv and Uncle Ron). Yum!
Monday, June 16: Scenic road trip to Calvinia with Granny and Grandpa for a visit with Auntie Viv, Uncle Ron and Arron at their hotel, Hantam Hotel.
Tuesday, June 17: Sean and I meandered around the small town of Calvinia. He finally got his biltong (jerky-type food. His was made from kudu). I got my mango juice. Tasty! Had a lovely dinner with the gang.
Wednesday, June 18: Headed back to Cape Town in the rain. Winter weather there. Sean and I checked out Tyger Valley Mall that evening. Had a delicious meal at Annapurna Indian restaurant. Probably the best we've ever had.
Thursday, June 19: Breakfast with Grandpa's brothers. Great to see them! Then Sean and I ventured out alone and booked a hotel at the waterfront. Walked along Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Shopped a bit and had dinner at Ferryman's Tavern. Braved the rain and wind again.
Friday, June 20: Drove all along the Cape peninsula. Saw beautiful cliffs, bays and beaches and a mangy baboon. Ate delicious fresh fish. Didn't get to see Cape Point due to heavy fog.
Saturday, June 21: More fog so we missed out on Table Mountain. Instead we headed out to Stellenbosch and found a lovely guest house to check into called the Villa Grande. Walked around the quaint town and had dinner at De Volkskombuis. More bobotie and chicken pie. Of course, the ever present bottle of wine and rooibos tea.
Sunday, June 22: Drove out the Stellenbosch wine route and checked out some wineries. Found my favorite Spier chardonnay and brought it home with me. Dinner at 1802.
Monday, June 23: Time to leave. Granny and Grandpa got us to the airport. We met Zonna and Steven for lunch (they were coming back from their honeymoon) in the airport. Sad goodbyes!
Tuesday, June 24: FINALLY arrived home at 11:15 a.m. after 24 hours of travel. Ahh, home!
Thank you to Granny, Grandpa, Zonna, Steven, Viv, Ron and Arron and all of the wonderful friends we met there. You made our stay extra special and we miss you already.
Check out all of the links for a bit of education and check out these photos . . . South Africa (Sean would like you all to know that Picasa doesn't do a great job displaying them. Unfortunately, the compression they use doesn't give photos the same quality that the originals . . . whatever that means).
