SA Day Four

After breakfast - which, btw, is the first where oysters have been an option - (not that we indulged!) we sat in the foyer and awaited our chauffeur.

The drive to Franschhoek was about an hour, the first part on motorways, but then into vineyards and stud farms, surrounded by big mountains as we came closer to the town.

We deposited our cases at the hotel, and set off to explore the rather upmarket town. We had a wander along the main street - art galleries, posh clothes shops, coffee shops and restaurants, and lots of very smart looking colonial type hotels with solid rectangular hedges round their smart gardens, which were usually filled with art works - sculptures and statues of all kinds. They’re VERY keen on sculptures here, the bigger the better - metal, wood, stone. Life sized Mandela and Ghandi bronze statues were standing in one hotel front garden.

We came to a huge monument, and it’s to the Huguenots, who came to this part of SA centuries ago, being persecuted by the French.

We have a very modern hotel this time - which even has a special wine bottle cooler (for six bottles), a wood burner, ( with a box of matches ready), a heated floor in the bathroom, AND the frosted glass wall to the bathroom can be opened up, should we have a sudden desire to be exhibitionists… (NOOO!)

We popped out for dinner, and chose the wee restaurant about 100 steps from our hotel. It was perfect. A log fire, NO muzak, charming wait staff, and VERY good food. We both had fish, which we were told was ‘kingklip’… and it was delicious! And I won’t keep mentioning how cheap it was… (But it was!)

We did have a marvellous view of the mountains, but they disappeared in the mist in the afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow is fine, as we have a wine tour (with lunch) booked.