Author Archives: Paul
Cobblish alleys
A disapproving dog
It seems she did not approve. :-/
The eclectic
Strange cabinets, strange hats
Wall pictures
Photoplay December 1953, Marilyn Monroe
Iron tracks
On the tracks at Elgin
Elgin train station
Old grapes
Grabouw’s beautiful Elgin Valley
A wine-loving lamb
Highlands Road Estate and the Elgin Valley wine festival
After tripping through a few estates, sampling the fruit of their vines, we ended up at Highlands Road Estate for lunch. The staff kindly set up a table for Dominique and I right next to the dam's edge before decorating it with a variety of gourmet pizzalings (which are pizzas, only smaller ;) paired with five glasses of their very best wine - two white, one rosé, and two red. I'm no food or wine connoisseur, but the little bit of sophistication that my taste-buds had was extremely pleasantly surprised with how well the pizza worked with the wine.
We spent the next hour or two sitting in the shade, listening to a solo singer with his friend on acoustic guitar sharing a few covers (one of which was Chasing Cars, by the legendary Snow Patrol). The combination of food and wine, alongside the quite water's edge, with soft background music was really pretty awesome.
Visit Highlands Road Estate for a relaxing lunch. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Wine in progress at lovely Belfield
Our first stop was at Belfield, a lovely boutique wine estate just around the corner from the Peregrine Farm Stall. The main photo in this post shows the contents of one of about 6 large plastic tubs filled with cabernet sauvignon grapes; the makings of the estate's award winning wine. Since we were the first to arrive at his estate, Mike Kreft (owner and wine maker) spent a few minutes explaining the mechanics around the grapes in the tubs.
What's interesting (and not the obvious from just looking at the tubs) is that the pressed husks, floating on top of of a 100-200mm layer of wine-to-be, are constantly releasing carbon dioxide during the fermentation process. The carbon dioxide hovers in a layer just above the husks and (besides for keeping the wine free from oxygen) effectively serves to wards off insects and other contaminating creatures from indulging in the fruits of Mike's labour.
Click on the thumbnails above to see a few more photos that I took on the wine farm's grounds.
Street posters and the changeling
Pegasus is a mythological white winged stallion, and a changeling is the son or daughter of a troll, elf, fairy or some other creature of folklore that's been switched with a human child. Doesn't talk of Death Pegasus and Changelings make you really curious bout what goes on at The Pit? Well, I suppose perhaps moderately terrified would be more appropriate than curious.
Old street posters and the Pit Pong Championship
By-laws governing the city allow the municipality to recover costs for the removal of posters from the individuals or organisations hosting the advertised event - but even though this is the case, I have my doubts that this is often enforced (probably because there's so many other things to take care of). Regulations regarding posters can be found in Section 11 of the December 2001 Western Cape government gazette. It's probably a good idea to review the document if you're in the event industry. ;)
Cocktails and pineapples
Rocking the Daisies tickets go on sale in May
If you plan on visiting Cape Town over the period of 2-5 October 2014, and if you'd like to hang out at a wine farm with a huge group of music-crazy people for a weekend, listening to local bands rock the stage, then don't hesitate, don't delay, get ready to buy your Rocking the Daisies tickets in May. They sell out fast folks.
Zebra in chains
Do you love Cape Town?
A gateway to Africa’s music
Browse their Facebook page for more information, or read a more indepth account of the store here.
Abantu shots R5
On the bench
Cape Town streets
Smoothies ‘n juices
Post by Orchard On Long.
It’s a party bus!
Check out KMB Party Bus's website, or take a look at their Facebook page for more information about their offering.
It’s a party!
Hire bicycles!
But, that said, Cape Town is actually a very cycle-able city on weekends and public holidays when traffic isn't so heavy. One sees a great deal more bicycling the city streets than one would from a bus or car. This time of the year is the perfect time to cycle the city - the sun isn't nearly as hot as it is in summer and the wind tends not to blow much at all.
Take a look at one of the bicycle-hire companies - most of them even offer guided tours of the city, vineyards, or MTB trails. Take a look at RentABicycle, Bike & Saddle, and AWOL Tours.
The Bare Necessities
