Stoic Wisdom

 A bit of Stoic wisdom for a drizzly Monday...

RSA - Part III

 

Our third day arrived bright and early, I had booked a driver to take us around the dramatic Chapmans Peak and also a few of the vibrant craft beer breweries that have sprung up around Cape Town in recent years. First stop was Noordhoek, a little beach town nestled on the Western side of the Cape Peninsula, a quick 30 minute drive from our hotel over the mountains separating the West and Eastern side of table mountain  delivered us there. It was a little early for drinking beer so our first stop was a stroll on the huge beach there (see above) the sky was blue and the sun was really strong, the turquoise water framed by the mountains and the white surf such a contrast to the previous few weeks in the UK.

After a decent couple of kilometers on the sand we headed back into the little village to a venue called "Aegir Project Brewery" a little wooden framed building nestled in the trees above the beach, it was a delightful location and the views from the outdoor terrace bar superb.

The tap list was impressive, just like being at home, plenty of choice and some interesting brews. I opted for the "Fields of Simcoe" as Simcoe is one of  my favourite hops, it was delicious and a perfect remedy for the growing heat of midday. The beer (pictured above) was a classic Simcoe forward brew tropical fruits with an underlying (dank) herbal vibe, very good indeed, difficult to beat the combination of (cheap) quality food and drink (being consumed outside) in a picture perfect setting with 30 degree heat, I might just move here myself!

Our driver "Mark" was a youngish chap (although most people look young these days) and we had a good old chat with him about life the universe and everything, although he was more interested in getting our opinion on his love life, which sounded similar to that of our own Son back in the UK. After a quick beer at Aegir we headed back to the car and drove along the Chapmans Peak Drive, a 9km toll road that clings to the side of the cliff and is reputed to be one of the world's most spectacular marine drives, it doesn't disappoint (see below) 

At the other end of the scenic drive is Hout Bay, another beach side town that's part of the Cape Town Metro-Area, home to many rich South Africans, some of the houses up on surrounding hills with sea views are to die for. 

After a pit stop in Camps Bay we headed up to Kenilworth and a spot called "Banana Jam Cafe", a Jamaican themed bar and restaurant serving up an impressive range of craft brews along with some fiery dishes (see below)

The beers were of excellent quality, the vibe relaxed and the food looked good, we vowed to return one evening later in the week. After a full day of being driven around sight seeing and imbibing some really good craft beers we headed back to the hotel as the Sun was setting and after an early dinner and an excellent wine from local producers Steenberg (a Nebbiolo, see picture below) we were ready for some shut-eye. 

We had an early start the next day and a full schedule of touring around the city sampling some of the sights and local food delights, more on this in part IV.

RSA - Part II

 

Our first full day in the Cape arrived with the Sun and after a nourishing breakfast we called for an Uber (incredibly cheap here!)  and headed out to the neighboring town of Constantia some five miles up the road. Famous for it's vineyards and wines Constantia is an affluent, leafy suburb containing many posh houses and old cape wineries; we were visiting friends who had lived there since the late nineties and who we hadn't seen for at least a decade. It was an interesting journey as I'd stayed in Constantia myself back in 1991 for a month over Christmas and I recognized some of the landmarks and road names, although the place has grown a fair bit since I was last here! 

We arrived at our friend's house and immediately all agreed that no one had changed a jot in the last ten years! It was really nice to catch up and hear about their lives since we last met and after a few drinks we headed out to a local cafe for a quick bite of lunch and then back to their house to laze around by their pool in the sun for a couple of hours, drinking cold white wine, chewing the fat about holidays, and of course, gossiping about mutual friends.

After leaving our friends and having agreed to meet up with them again at the end of our tour we retired for an early dinner at our hotel restaurant where we had some great food and an interesting, and tasty,  Barbera from Idiom, a Somerset West based winery (see photo above) total bill for food and wine came to a very satisfying £35, I can see why our friends decided to settle down here!

Our hotel was set in beautiful gardens and grounds with a fabulous pool and gym complex (see pictures above) it was a very relaxing setting and so quiet! On a previous visit to the Cape on business in the late 90s, I'd stayed here, it was vaguely familiar but had been extended quite a lot since that trip. It's claim to fame is that the Dutch founder of the Cape Colony back in 1652, Jan Van Riebeeck had planted the first Vines along the Liesbeek River on the site of the hotel, there were still vines here and ever since that time the area had been called "The Vineyard", the name of the hotel to this day.

We were up early the next day as I'd organized a little beer themed tour and our driver was scheduled to arrive at 9am, more about this in part III

RSA - Part I

I haven't been posting much for the last 4 weeks, the reason is that we've been off on our travels once more, to the Southern Hemisphere again but a different continent this time, Africa!

We departed from Heathrow airport on a dark, drizzly and cold January evening and the next day landed in a sunny, bright and warm Cape Town, South Africa, having slept through most of the night passing quietly over the "dark continent". On the approach into the international airport (CPT) I was lucky enough to be sitting on the right side of the aircraft to get a good view of table mountain (see photo above) and a panorama of the entire city, a wonderful view!

It was the start of a 24 day tour of the Eastern Cape in which we would visit many different places, see old friends, try new foods, laze around on white sandy beaches, see multitudes of birds and animals and drop into some stunning vineyards where we would sample some outstanding Cape wines! We were eager to get going and after a couple of stamps in our passports and a walk to the car park, we emerged into the African heat where our driver was waiting to take us to our first stop, Newlands, a leafy suburb of Cape Town and our first hotel.

Upon arriving at our hotel we quickly checked in and were shown to our room for the next five days; it was a nice room overlooking the hotel gardens (complete with giant tortoises) and with a wonderful view of table mountain itself (see above) The temperature was 28 degrees with a light breeze and having spent the last few weeks in seemingly continuous drizzle and grey UK skies it felt like a rebirth, we were keen to get out and explore and over the coming days that's exactly what we'd do, see more in part II

Friday Smirk

The lads showing us that our religious brothers and sisters seldom appreciate their own arguments being reflected back on themselves and their beliefs, of course secular logic would suggest that what's good for the goose etc..

(WWW)Wise Word Wednesday

Quite a lot of people fall foul of this conundrum these days, especially when social media pumps out mostly garbage and has become de-facto the sole source of news and data for many.

Friday Smirk

The lads discussing how important communication is for a religion to spread, interesting to note however that it's 2000 years since the supposed "good news" occurred and there are still parts of this planet that haven't received it yet..

Favourite Dublin Pub

Doesn't look much from the outside but on our recent trip to Dublin last month this was by far our favourite pub. Bowes Lounge, a classic old fashioned Irish boozer, replete with private booths and an authentic Victorian vibe. The Guinness was good here too, according to those who know (certainly not us!) it's the second best in the city!

Friday Smirk

The lads talking about how reliable Biblical predictions are, i.e. if  you wait long enough then something is bound to turn up..

Wine Gadgets

Tried out one of my Christmas gifts last weekend, it's a Coravin system which enables you  to drink a glass of wine without opening the bottle. This is very useful when you want to spread a bottle over a weekend or just want to see how a particular vintage is coming along. We tried it with an old St Julien by Leoville Lascases, a 2nd growth, the wine was 30+ years old (1995) and full of sediment, fortunately the device also acts as a filter too! It was a stunning wine, at the peak of it's powers right now I'd say.