Beaune, France

What a surprise Beaune was to us as we drove through Southwest France and back to Lausanne. We are very aware of Burgundy but just never heard of Beaune. We arrived in early spring, late in the afternoon and found the place full of people. Buyers of wine filled the place as we found so many caveaux to visit.

The Hotel de Ville is a major attraction. Around the area are places not to miss such as Cluny and Taize. Cluny is where monasticism found its glory and Taize is where Catholics gather to pray. These are very charismatic places so if you haven't been yet, visit this place. It's a two-hour drive from Geneva.

Driving through France is always an experience of unique discoveries. When we drive through the Gascon region, we found out that it is the place where the best armagnac is made so off we went to one of the villages in Condom, the capital of the Gascon region and we were not disappointed at all.

Grandvaux, Switzerland

Grandvaux is a pretty Swiss village close to Lausanne. You can see the view we have of the lake and the mountains from where we are staying.

There are many walks one can take through the vineyards and short drives to Montreaux, Vevey, and Lausanne are day treats you can only find in Switzerland. One of the places we enjoyed was the old Roman village of Avence. There are still enough Roman ruin to recreate in your mind how the Romans ruled this part of the world as well.

Gruyere, not the cheese but the picturesque village is also just a drive away. Don't miss this one and stock up on cheese and chocolates and try some of the cheese dishes there, too.

The Safari

As you can see that's the lion that greeted us in our safari. We drove up to Inverdoorn yesterday and started our safari late afternoon. Mr. Lion in his rest was unperturbed but we were not allowed to get out of the safari truck.

There is, of course, Mrs. Lion, Mr. Lion's hard-working partner. We did not want to upset this one.

But there are so many other animals in this reserve including zebras, elands, springboks, hippos, rhinos and the imposing elegant giraffes, the topiary makers of the bush.

The Capetown Castle and Waterfront

Today, we spent the day in the city as tomorrow we go to a safari for a few days. We headed for the waterfront only to realize when we arrived there that I have not placed the battery back in my camera. Tom left his purse in the hotel so we were far from happy. We decided to go back to the hotel and got everything we needed.

After recovering from our lapses, we went to the castle first and that was great as we were just on time for the noon hour cannon. What a show that was but what was more interesting was our encounter with Michael. When we arrived in the castle, we were so exhausted from our memory lapses of the morning that we just plopped ourselves on one of the empty tables in the coffee area. And Michael inherited us so we started talking. He told us he came from the same village as Mandela and described this for us. I twas quite interesting but Michael unhappily was called.

The castle museum is worth visiting as it tells the story of how the Cape was settled and the presence of the San people in the area.

After spending some time learning about Cape history, we moved on back to the waterfront to enjoy fresh oysters and sushi. Our lady server is from New Jersey. What a pleasant surprise. We enjoyed the boats we can see from the restaurant coming in and out of the harbour. It was an enjoyable experience. Tomorrow will be the animal world.

Hermanus

Hermanus was today's destination in our drive around the Western Cape. We followed the route by the water and the smell of the ocean is quite a change from the roses and rosemarys. Once a small fishing village, it has now become a major resort because of the presence of large numbers of southern right whales from June to early December. As it was a Sunday, the beaches were full. We found a beautiful open restaurant right on the waterfront and enjoyed mussels cooked in sauvignon blanc with lots of thyme, celery, and onions.

You can dive here, kayak, rent a boat and go fishing or just do some crayfishing. We were welcomed by a group of seals as the whales are no longer around.