Oh the wines you can see.

During the night we were woken up by the rain just pouring down on the roof and the wind was furious too.  The day dawned with heavy rain and wind- looks like we chose a good day to try wine!  Up and down to the deli at the main house, where we devoured a breakfast of oatmeal, eggs, bacon, toast and some pretty awesome coffee. By this time the rain had petered off so we drove the 15 minutes to Franschhoek to explore. The entire drive we were driving past one vineyard after another- so much wine. All over town they were setting up for Bastille Days on Saturday, but we wandered the festive streets- doing some shopping and not having to contend with any crowds at all.  A lovely town- cobbled streets and some amazing architecture.  After an hour or so Frank and the girls were done ( I of course could shop forever!). Out to our first winery- we headed up the hill to Dieu Donne- they apparently have a great restaurant and look out.  At their restaurant it just looked like too much food for us- we weren't that hungry, but Frank and I decided to try the wine.  The girls had free wifi so they wanted to stay in the car?!  We sat down in the tasting room- with a breathtaking view of the Franschhoek valley- probably even more gorgeous on a clear sunny day.  Frank and I each had 5 glasses to taste- we ordered a cheese plate too.  I had mostly whites- while Frank the reds.  The wines are very good and the cheese plate pretty yummy too. Wow- what a good start to our wine experience.  Back at the car the girls were getting hungry- we drove to the next stop Leopards Leap.  A winery that don't grow their own grapes but make some good wines- more everyday drinking.  We ordered sandwiches for the girls and we tried a flight of wine each. By this time we had to hurry back to Boschendal as we had a cellar tour booked for 3pm.  Hurrying back we dropped the girls at the cottage and we met our guide at the cellar.  The tour was very informative- this winery is one of the oldest in the Cape- established in 1685.  This was at one time owned by Cecil John Rhodes- so there is a lot of history here.  They are also one of the biggest in the Cape- they produce about 850,000 bottles of wine a year!  Back at the tasting room we set in for our tasting- I had to have the chocolate tasting- Boschendal has paired with a chocolatier to come up with wine and chocolate that compliment each other.  Boy have they ever.  So good- these are really good wines- so we bought a few.  The Canadian dollar really goes so far- we had our tuor, tasting and 3 bottles for under $60.

We were due to meet Bernice and family at 5 in Paarl, we were running later.  We ordered a taxi as too much wine and beer for us!  Winston drove us the 15 minutes to Laborie in Paarl-we meet at the brewery on site for a beer tasting.  What a treat to meet up with Bernice after 26 years.  Her family are so lovely too- the girls hit it off with Beth and Ben and I'm sure they will be visiting us soon.  After our flight of beer we were sure for dinner at the Slug and Lettuce down the street- off we went and had a great table by the fire.  We could have sat and chatted for hours- but the night came to an end at about 9:30 as our taxi was due to pick us up.  We said goodbye but see you soon.  Another wonderful day in SA.