Day 4 (Saturday) - Brilliantly Clear - hi 81
Saturday morning proved to be typical Cape Town weather - clear and warm. The initial plan was to hit the winelands for the majority of the day, but the clear morning prompted us to change our plans to explore Table Mountain national park, probably the most visited tourist attraction in Cape Town.
Cape Town is built at the foot of Table Mountain. Its name is appropriate, as the top of the mountain is almost perfectly flat like a plateau. The mountain is displayed prominently in pictures of Cape Town, for example here and here. It is often enshrouded in clouds and therefore has a mythical or fantastic quality about it.
But this morning was perfect for absorbing the breathtaking views from on top. We made our way to the Cable Car station about halfway up the mountain. The cable cars are standard gondolas with a rotating floor enabling everyone to see 360 views of the valley below during the 5 minute trip to the top.
I was expecting a small building with some lookout areas to greet us at the top. But to my surprise, the entire top of the mountain was available for hiking. In fact, the national park service created three paths - a short hike, medium hike, and long hike - that allowed you to spend quite amount of time up there if you wanted. Because the top was relatively flat, we opted for the longer hike. It crept along the perimeter of the entire mountain top. One interesting thing is that there are no fences along the paths or on the mountain at all! (I wonder how many people have jumped?)
Oh, what views! Here's another. You are able to clearly see all the way to the Cape of Good Hope, the cape winelands, and the Indian ocean. From this birds-eye-view, we were able to follow the road we took the previous day, past Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles, down through the valley to the Misty Mountains. Robben Island, the political prisoner camp where Nelson Mandela was kept for over 18 years, could be seen plainly. It lies around 5 km off the coast of Cape Town.
The hike itself was great, as the park provided ample opportunities to rest on benches and take in the scenery. After I scared Maggie and Christina to death by jumping onto a rock on the edge of the cliff, we decided to head back. A commotion started in the cable car on the way down. At first I couldn't make out what everyone was pointing to, but then I saw it - climbers scaling the vertical rock wall of Table Mountain. I've been known to rock climb, even quite seriously in college, but never anything more than 100 feet off the ground. These guys were about 25 feet from the top of a 3,500 foot mountain! It was quite a scene.
Back in the car, we decided to head out to wine country and eat lunch at Le Quartier Francais, rated by various publications as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. Le Quartier Francais is located in Franschhoek, a lovely little town east of Stellenbosch. It is known as 'The Gourmet Capital of South Africa' due to its abundant amount of fine dining establishments. Franschhoek (literally translated 'French Corner') was founded by the Huguenots in 1685 after Protestantism was outlawed in France. 277 Huguenots fled France by boat and ended up landing in the Cape Peninsula. They knew how to make wine, so they established Franschhoek as their own little piece of southern France.
Let's not hold that against the town. It's great. There is a strong French influence nearly everywhere, but you don't have to deal with the incorrigible French attitude. In fact, I think most people there actually work at least 40 hours a week AND they don't riot about it! How novel. Enough editorializing. We found Le Quartier Francais at the end of the main road that leads through town.
What a meal. I started with Mussels the size of my fist. I thought they may be stringy and tough, but turned out to be delightful. Accompanying the meal was a very tasty local Chenin Blanc. Now normally I'm not a fan of white wines. But considering the surroundings - warm weather, sun, cafe elegance, and vineyards - this Chenin turned out to be the perfect choice.
We moved onto the main course. Christina had the fillet (no, not filet - and remember to pronounce it 'fill-it') of beef with garlic hollandaise sauce and potatoes. Ok, I've been accused of hyperbole in the past and I admit that I'm prone to over exaggerate something that I'm fond of, but I can say with all seriousness that this fillet was and is the best Christina or I have ever tasted. The flavor was outstanding, of course, but what stood out to us was the texture. It was more tender than any steak I've ever eaten. I had the quail which was more meaty than most quail I've had. Perhaps they grow em big down there. Who knows? Either way, it was enjoyable. This meal was the highlight of the week for Christina.
And now is the time I complain. Not about the restaurant - it lived up to its billing. No, I want to complain about people. Specifically, Londoners. I'll set up the scene: Our table was outside on the patio nearest to the hostess stand. Midway through our meal a ghastly beast emerged from the inside dining room complaining loudly about how 'horrid' the service was and 'she is going to tell everyone she knows NOT to come to this place.' The poor hostess valiantly took the harsh criticism with a smile. The beast went on and on about how SHE expected more out of such a notable place, 'but then what else do you expect in this country?'
I say that she is from London for three reasons: 1) she had a very distinguishable aristocratic accent, 2) her comments were intended to give the impression that she ran with the upper crust. Why else would it matter (at least in her mind) that she would tell 'everyone' to avoid the restaurant?, 3) she looked down her nose at the entire country of South Africa. Only a true Londoner is this conceded (well, aside from an American of course).
Anyway, the whole thing annoyed me.
We decided to stop at a few wineries on the way home. The first was Grand Provence. Grand Provence is a medium-sized winery set just outside Franschhoek. Its 18th century manor house has been converted into an art gallery and fine dining room. More importantly, their wine tastings are held outside the manor house under a 300-yr old oak tree. Just beautiful. This was one of those times where I sat back and became still, just trying to soak it all in.
From Grand Provence we head east and hit up the Allee Bleue wine estate. Most wine tastings close at 4pm, but Allee Bleue was open until 5pm so we arrived 5 minutes before close and promptly stayed until 30 minutes after. We were the only ones there, so the girl conducting the tastings gave us her undivided attention and told us the history of Allee Bleue. The farm is over 400 years old, but a disease killed all the vines nearly 100 years ago (along with most of the vines in the area), so they had to replant and start over again. I can't imagine how awful it would feel to lose vines that are over 300 years old.
Finally, we were on the way home after a packed day. After a quick shower we met up with Joe and Maggie for a bite to eat. We weren't altogether hungry after a day consisting of a late lunch followed by various cheese tastings at the vineyards. So, we went back to Harrie's Pancakes (much to Maggie's disgust) to order some dessert. We got home around 10pm. I watched the Manchester United game and Cricket highlights and finally fell asleep around 1am.
Cape Town is built at the foot of Table Mountain. Its name is appropriate, as the top of the mountain is almost perfectly flat like a plateau. The mountain is displayed prominently in pictures of Cape Town, for example here and here. It is often enshrouded in clouds and therefore has a mythical or fantastic quality about it.
But this morning was perfect for absorbing the breathtaking views from on top. We made our way to the Cable Car station about halfway up the mountain. The cable cars are standard gondolas with a rotating floor enabling everyone to see 360 views of the valley below during the 5 minute trip to the top.
I was expecting a small building with some lookout areas to greet us at the top. But to my surprise, the entire top of the mountain was available for hiking. In fact, the national park service created three paths - a short hike, medium hike, and long hike - that allowed you to spend quite amount of time up there if you wanted. Because the top was relatively flat, we opted for the longer hike. It crept along the perimeter of the entire mountain top. One interesting thing is that there are no fences along the paths or on the mountain at all! (I wonder how many people have jumped?)
Oh, what views! Here's another. You are able to clearly see all the way to the Cape of Good Hope, the cape winelands, and the Indian ocean. From this birds-eye-view, we were able to follow the road we took the previous day, past Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles, down through the valley to the Misty Mountains. Robben Island, the political prisoner camp where Nelson Mandela was kept for over 18 years, could be seen plainly. It lies around 5 km off the coast of Cape Town.
The hike itself was great, as the park provided ample opportunities to rest on benches and take in the scenery. After I scared Maggie and Christina to death by jumping onto a rock on the edge of the cliff, we decided to head back. A commotion started in the cable car on the way down. At first I couldn't make out what everyone was pointing to, but then I saw it - climbers scaling the vertical rock wall of Table Mountain. I've been known to rock climb, even quite seriously in college, but never anything more than 100 feet off the ground. These guys were about 25 feet from the top of a 3,500 foot mountain! It was quite a scene.
Back in the car, we decided to head out to wine country and eat lunch at Le Quartier Francais, rated by various publications as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. Le Quartier Francais is located in Franschhoek, a lovely little town east of Stellenbosch. It is known as 'The Gourmet Capital of South Africa' due to its abundant amount of fine dining establishments. Franschhoek (literally translated 'French Corner') was founded by the Huguenots in 1685 after Protestantism was outlawed in France. 277 Huguenots fled France by boat and ended up landing in the Cape Peninsula. They knew how to make wine, so they established Franschhoek as their own little piece of southern France.
Let's not hold that against the town. It's great. There is a strong French influence nearly everywhere, but you don't have to deal with the incorrigible French attitude. In fact, I think most people there actually work at least 40 hours a week AND they don't riot about it! How novel. Enough editorializing. We found Le Quartier Francais at the end of the main road that leads through town.
What a meal. I started with Mussels the size of my fist. I thought they may be stringy and tough, but turned out to be delightful. Accompanying the meal was a very tasty local Chenin Blanc. Now normally I'm not a fan of white wines. But considering the surroundings - warm weather, sun, cafe elegance, and vineyards - this Chenin turned out to be the perfect choice.
We moved onto the main course. Christina had the fillet (no, not filet - and remember to pronounce it 'fill-it') of beef with garlic hollandaise sauce and potatoes. Ok, I've been accused of hyperbole in the past and I admit that I'm prone to over exaggerate something that I'm fond of, but I can say with all seriousness that this fillet was and is the best Christina or I have ever tasted. The flavor was outstanding, of course, but what stood out to us was the texture. It was more tender than any steak I've ever eaten. I had the quail which was more meaty than most quail I've had. Perhaps they grow em big down there. Who knows? Either way, it was enjoyable. This meal was the highlight of the week for Christina.
And now is the time I complain. Not about the restaurant - it lived up to its billing. No, I want to complain about people. Specifically, Londoners. I'll set up the scene: Our table was outside on the patio nearest to the hostess stand. Midway through our meal a ghastly beast emerged from the inside dining room complaining loudly about how 'horrid' the service was and 'she is going to tell everyone she knows NOT to come to this place.' The poor hostess valiantly took the harsh criticism with a smile. The beast went on and on about how SHE expected more out of such a notable place, 'but then what else do you expect in this country?'
I say that she is from London for three reasons: 1) she had a very distinguishable aristocratic accent, 2) her comments were intended to give the impression that she ran with the upper crust. Why else would it matter (at least in her mind) that she would tell 'everyone' to avoid the restaurant?, 3) she looked down her nose at the entire country of South Africa. Only a true Londoner is this conceded (well, aside from an American of course).
Anyway, the whole thing annoyed me.
We decided to stop at a few wineries on the way home. The first was Grand Provence. Grand Provence is a medium-sized winery set just outside Franschhoek. Its 18th century manor house has been converted into an art gallery and fine dining room. More importantly, their wine tastings are held outside the manor house under a 300-yr old oak tree. Just beautiful. This was one of those times where I sat back and became still, just trying to soak it all in.
From Grand Provence we head east and hit up the Allee Bleue wine estate. Most wine tastings close at 4pm, but Allee Bleue was open until 5pm so we arrived 5 minutes before close and promptly stayed until 30 minutes after. We were the only ones there, so the girl conducting the tastings gave us her undivided attention and told us the history of Allee Bleue. The farm is over 400 years old, but a disease killed all the vines nearly 100 years ago (along with most of the vines in the area), so they had to replant and start over again. I can't imagine how awful it would feel to lose vines that are over 300 years old.
Finally, we were on the way home after a packed day. After a quick shower we met up with Joe and Maggie for a bite to eat. We weren't altogether hungry after a day consisting of a late lunch followed by various cheese tastings at the vineyards. So, we went back to Harrie's Pancakes (much to Maggie's disgust) to order some dessert. We got home around 10pm. I watched the Manchester United game and Cricket highlights and finally fell asleep around 1am.
posted by JP at 7:32 AM
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