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Showing posts with label Capetown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Capetown. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Bains Kloof Pass
When in the Western Cape, one must try driving through some of the famous mountain pass. We tried the Bains Kloof Pass built by Thomas Bain between 1848-1852. It is such a winding fun and once on top, you are rewarded with spectacular views of the plains down with speckles of rain and sun to make for dramatic photos.
We went through Bains Kloof driving from Stellenbosch to Wellington and even when it was raining, the sun lights up some parts of the valley and you have a photographer's delight. We went up the pass via Wellington and got out in Ceres, Capetown's fruit capital. Got some cherries and drove off to Tulbagh.
Tulbagh
Tulbagh was the day's surprise. We picked up some brochures in Ceres and Tulbagh looked really interesting. Our destination was !Kwah Tuu but the detour to Tulbagh looked short and interesting. And that was one good decision.
Tulbagh"s Church Street is the best example of 19th century Dutch colonial street.The street is not just a historical delight but also a culinary one. Most of the houses as often happens when tourists come have been transformed into guest houses or restaurants. So, we went in one of the restaurants that has an interesting common name, Restaurant 29. It looked like a garage but inside is an artist gallery but what attracted us was the sign, Belgian cooking. We badly wanted some coffee.
The Belgian Lady who owns the place has once lived in Canada (Aylmer, Whitby and Kingston) so the conversation became quite animated. Moreover, just outside is a peacock that kept pecking on the owner's dark blue shiny car. My husband thought that this is one ugly peacock who kept seeing his ugly face reflected on the car so he kept pecking on it. The gentleman owner was peeved as his car is almost classic but his wife kept feeding the peacock as her way of luring the peacock away from the car. The husband thinks of the day when he'll see that peacock in his pie, it's rightful place as far as he is concerned.
Tulbagh"s Church Street is the best example of 19th century Dutch colonial street.The street is not just a historical delight but also a culinary one. Most of the houses as often happens when tourists come have been transformed into guest houses or restaurants. So, we went in one of the restaurants that has an interesting common name, Restaurant 29. It looked like a garage but inside is an artist gallery but what attracted us was the sign, Belgian cooking. We badly wanted some coffee.
The Belgian Lady who owns the place has once lived in Canada (Aylmer, Whitby and Kingston) so the conversation became quite animated. Moreover, just outside is a peacock that kept pecking on the owner's dark blue shiny car. My husband thought that this is one ugly peacock who kept seeing his ugly face reflected on the car so he kept pecking on it. The gentleman owner was peeved as his car is almost classic but his wife kept feeding the peacock as her way of luring the peacock away from the car. The husband thinks of the day when he'll see that peacock in his pie, it's rightful place as far as he is concerned.
Franschoek
On our second day, we woke up early and drove to Franschoek. We did not realize how close it was so when we arrived there, nothing was opened yet. We walked around and enjoyed the heritage left by the French Huguenots. They have a monument there with records of the first Huguenots who settled in the area.
The place has now billed itself as Capetown's culinary capital so we settled ourselves in one of the restaurants and enjoyed a hearty breakfast. Tom had a boerworst and mileiepap, a traditional South African breakfast.
When you visit Franschoek, don't miss this place. Franschoek Motor Museum.
The place has now billed itself as Capetown's culinary capital so we settled ourselves in one of the restaurants and enjoyed a hearty breakfast. Tom had a boerworst and mileiepap, a traditional South African breakfast.
When you visit Franschoek, don't miss this place. Franschoek Motor Museum.
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