I'm back ...

... from a fantastic weekend in the Cape.

While hubby and Mr T went about their business, I stayed with Ian and Kathy (my brother and sister in law) in Somerset West and visited my Mum. It's always so heartbreaking to walk into the Home seeing all the little old folk sitting in the comfy chairs in and around the lounges, some nodding off to sleep, others chatting (saying the odd word to each other is more like it), and others staring into the other world we cannot see ...

My Mum now doesn't go downstairs anymore but sits in the frail care lounge .. she was there .. asleep .. but woke when I approached her. It took her a few seconds to gather her thoughts .. she was pleased to see me but time means nothing as it was as if I had been there the day before. Very difficult to 'chat' now - I have to shout in her ear with only a few words at a time ... it was wonderful spending time with her again ... she's frailer and thinner than she was 8 weeks ago, but she's still our beautiful Mum



I then spent a couple of hours with Kathy at her beading class - what an experience! Kathy makes incredibly beautiful jewellery with beads, threaded intricately into twists and patterns, creating necklaces, rings, bangles etc. I watched the group of ladies being guided by an amazingly talented 'beader' who has written several books on beading, Heather Laithwaite - fascinating stuff!!!

You buy the 'kit' which has all the beads you need for the particular piece and follow the instructions. Sounds and looks terribly complicated but I believe once you get the hang of it, like a crochet/knitting pattern, it becomes easier ..


... this beautiful piece of jewellery is what the above work-in-progress will eventually look like ...


I will do a post on the beading as it's requires more than just a few words and two photos!!

And .... then it was onto the wines, wine estates and wine tasting ... as many as we could fit into a day and half ... !!!!!

The countryside was beautiful with autumn shades in the vineyards ...

I will do a post on each wine estate but in the meantime here's a 'taste' ...

The first one we popped into was Kanonkop ...

... then we drove to Meerlust .. which seemed to be quite run down and we wondered if we were in the right place ...


.. we certainly were in the right place ... the wines were yummy!! ... all six of them ... !!!


We had arranged to meet family members for a lunch at Guardian Peak but we managed to squeeze in more tastings at Rust en Vrede ... oooh ... thank goodness we did ... very very nice!!


This is our 'wine-tasting-chappie' (I am sure they have a title but I am too tired to find out!) who did our tastings. We took our 21 year old niece, Daniella, with us, who is in the 'foodie' industry - she seemed to like the Rust en Vrede wines a lot .. !!! ;)


Lunch at Guardian Peak which is on the wine estate owned by the internationally known golfer, Ernie Els ... what a magnificent view while munching away at the very tasty food which came with wines-to-match! This is our family enjoying the wine, food and view ..


Beautiful, isn't it ... just like a painting ... that's Ernie Els wine estate ..

We couldn't handle anymore wine or food after that and went back to the hotel in Cape Town for a 'rest' !

The foyer in the Southern Sun Hotel at the Waterfront ...


.. with a huge bowl of proteas in the centre ...


... and for breakfast, among other scrumptious food .. there was yummy honey dripping from a honeycomb

We needed the dripping-honey-energy for yet another wine estate before heading off to the airport and we decided to go to Lourensford, in Somerset West. Very modern building where they do the wine tasting...

.. which can be done either pairing with nougat or just plain! I made the mistake of doing just plain wine, but Ian, Kathy and Daniella did the nougat one ... oh yummy!!! That's a MUST for my next visit, as is the coffee roastery and the cheesery which are also at Lourensford

Then it was homeward bound ... over False Bay with the Strand and Gordon's Bay in the distance ...