I wrapped up the last post with Sunday night's dinner with family.
What a busy week we have had!
Monday, we got up early to drop off Luba's uncle & aunt at the airport in Cape Town. They are such gems. I've followed them forever on Facebook and was beyond excited that they made the trip from Port Elizabeth to spend the weekend here and to come to the "tea." After taking them, we had some lunch at the coffee shop that was previously part of Monte Christo. We made a few stops at some wine farms in the afternoon looking for a bottle of wine for dinner. We went to Laborie and Glen Carlou. Monday night was date night. We went to Noop, which is where I took Luba once for a "thank you" dinner and belated birthday celebration, and in hindsight, it was a first date. It's such a delicious place and the ambiance is dimly lit in a barn type feel.
Glen Carlou:
Laborie:
Noop:
Tuesday, we ran a few errands including spending time at the coffee shop with the best internet - Bean in Love. It's such a cute place. I wish I could pack it and reopen it in St. Louis. We headed to Franschhoek to meet up with Blommie. Blom has always been a staple in the trips to Paarl. No other matches her hospitality. We went to JC LeRoux, a wine farm that has MCC and sparkling wines. It was closed in 2012 for renovations, and we all almost cried at the gate with the "closed" sign. We vowed to return together. After that, we went to Tokara and then on to dinner so Luba could have some lamb chops. This guy has been dying for lamb chops, and you don't find them in the USA with the same taste.
JC LeRoux:
Tokara:
Wednesday, we had breakfast with another "too far away" friend, Francisco. I first met Francisco my first year serving Monte Christo. We have kept in touch over the years. We had breakfast and coffee at Sit Cafe, one of my all time favorites. It's a cafe owned by the family that previously owned a B&B that housed us in 2010. Some of my fondest memories are in Sarina's kitchen. She makes beautiful creations with food, and the taste is out of this world. It's like eating art but with a warm hospitable feel. She was made for that. We caught up there and it felt so good to be in a familiar place with familiar people. After breakfast, we headed over to Sisa's (nephew) school and picked him up for a fun afternoon. We headed to the Drakenstein Lion Park (lion sanctuary) and Giraffe House. There was 100% chance of rain so we hustled, but lucky for us, the rain stayed away. For dinner, we went to another favorite date spot, Under Oaks. It's a pizzeria set in a farmhouse converted to restaurant. You can see out over the valley - seeing the landscape in the day and the twinkling city lights at night. We capped the night off with a few quick beers with Luba's best friend, Walter, whose trip to SA coincided with ours (he's in Scotland now). It's so great to see the two of them reunited.
Sit Cafe:
Drakenstein Lion Park:
Giraffe House:
Under Oaks Pizzeria:
Thursday, we got up and went shopping at the mall for a few things for us and a lot of things to smuggle home. We had the opportunity to visit a working farm. Many farm in this area, and it's a hard job. I got to see the land and the sheep. There were so many little lambs! The farm workers all live on the farm and work there. After the farm, we headed to Franschhoek/Stellenbosch (can't remember which we were in) for wine tasting with Walter. We started at Bablyonstoren (wait til you see these photos!!) and Vrede en Lust (an old fave of mine). We ended the night at his sister's for dinner. She made a full meal and it was so delicious. We left content and full. I think this was my best night of sleep!
Vrede en Lust:
Today, Luba is visiting his old work while I blog and upload pictures. We'll take some pictures and then relax a bit before having a mini reunion later with friends at sunset.
We are having so much fun. It's much busier than I'm used to during my "relaxed" week after teams leave or when I've come alone. I can't get enough of the proteas. Look at these that you can grab at the store....(varieties of these made up my wedding bouquet)
We will leave with very full hearts to carry us a while.
Until next update!
Danielle
