Skywatch Friday :

Yesterday .... a hot, cloudless and hazy day in Cape Town .... from the top of Signal Hill ...

.... looking down across Table Bay to Robben Island ... seemed appropriate for yesterday as it was the 20th anniversary of the 'walk to freedom' of Nelson Mandela who had been imprisoned on Robben Island for many years ....

The foreground puts it into perspective with the new Greenpoint Soccer Stadium built for the 2010 world soccer which is taking place in all the major cities in South Africa ...

.... and looking back from where I was standing to take the photo above .... how could I not include Table Mountain embracing the part of the City of Cape Town ...

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Skywatch Friday : Cape Town

From the top of Table Mountain ... her 'table cloth' wafting over ...

... one can see, through wispy cloud, down to Lions Head, with the new Greenpoint Soccer Stadium at the base of Signal Hill and Robben Island in the distance ...

Hubby and I are winging our way down to Cape Town on Sunday, for a few days - be back on Thursday ...

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The 'Wow' factor !

Choosing overall photos from hundreds and hundreds we took, between hubby and I, was a mammoth task!!!! So have picked a few that really made me go ...


.... WOW ..... to the grass which is the greenest of greens ...

... the trees .... scattered in parks like this at Blarney Castle, Co. Cork ..

.... and forests with autumn colours ...

... the mountains, reminiscent of our Cape mountains, mirrored lakes - in the Connemara National Park, Co. Galway

... the barren, rocky landscape of The Burren, Co. Clare which extended for miles and miles ...

... the exquisite beauty of the original Waterford Crystal ...

.. which showroom is filled with sparkling works of art like this beautiful huge vase ....

(sadly, it's only the showroom left with a few people manning it as the entire factory closed down due to the recession and has relocated to Poland. There are still some items - genuine Waterford, made in Ireland - left for sale .... hubby bought me the most beautiful bud vase which has the Waterford stamp on the base! Exquisite !! Shall have to take a photo of it !! )

... and this magnificent chandelier which sparkles with the light shining through the large window ..

... to the centuries old buildings ... like this Round Tower reaching 30 mtrs which stands at the 6th century monastic site established by St Stephen in Glendalough, Co. Wicklow .. (first thoughts that came to mind was ... "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair ...")

... and another centuries-old rocky stronghold which "rises dramatically out of the Tipperary plains". It dates back to the 4th/5th Century. The museum houses treasures including The St Patrick's Cross - St Patrick visited Cashel in 450. In future posts, I will show more of this magnificent medievial complex.

... to the colour of the calm sea at Mizen Head, Co. Cork - the furthest south-westerly point of Ireland ...

... and I was there ....

... to the majestic Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare, which rise to a height of 200 mtrs above the sea and stretch for 8 kms ... a little hazy on the day we went

.. but it was breathtaking .... we walked from that castle perched on top .. to the brownish area above that huge cave in the photo above

.. to the misty plains and castles ...

... and the hundreds of statues .... this one being one of my favourites ... she stands at Rosses Point, Co. Sligo 'watching and waiting for loved ones to return from the sea'

... and then of course there were all the churches and abbeys with magnificent ceilings, interiors and stained glass windows ... this reflection of the beautiful colours caught my eye in the Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin which is the oldest church in Ireland ..

... not forgetting all the pubs including this one simply called The Bank ... as it was a bank! (We both had a very good meal whilst sipping my French wine and hubby drinking his Guinness!)

... and then ... of course .... you can't visit Ireland without kissing the Blarney Stone ... !!!

... and visiting the Guinness Storehouse and having a Guinness ... cheers !!

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 ...

Skywatch Friday :

Dedicating my Skywatch photo to my niece who has graduated with cum laude ! We are all very proud of you - your dedication and hard work ... and long hours have been rewarded! You did it, well done!!

May you always stand on top of the world as you are now !! Congratulations, Daniella!




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Skywatch Friday : Table Mountain ...

..... Cape Town, South Africa ...

Not-a-spectacular-sky .. just plain blue with clouds peeping over Table Mountain just before it wafts over the cable car house.

This is for you Marcelle .....

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Skywatch Friday : Peeping through ...

... the clouds ... .. are majestic mountains in Central Drakensberg.



I have added the photo below to show the whole range viewed from the Champagne Castle Hotel at the foothills of this magnificent mountain range. The highest peak - or what appears to be - in the centre is Cathkin Peak 3149 mtrs .. to the left of it .. the flat bit is Champagne Castle and is actually higher but it's behind so appears lower .. that's 3377 mtrs. To the right is Sterkhorn after the dip which is Gray's Pass. Then comes Dragon's Back - not very clear in this photo - so let me add another photo below this one to show the beautiful sharp peaks of Dragon's Back.



The little 'blob' in the centre of the photo is the Sphinx which I featured last week - that's where hubby and I got to on our mountain walk. Spectacular!



Dragon's Back ....

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