Wordless Wednesday :

Twelve Apostles Hotel - Cape Town

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Skywatch Friday :

I feel like ringing that bell ... we have had good news today ... very good news !! Yay !! My hubby had a biopsy on Monday and he has got the 'all clear' !!

IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY !!!

Just like it was when I took this photo on our recent trip to the Cape ...

Bell at Dutch Reformed Church built in 1847, Franschoek, Western Cape

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Wordless Wednesday :

Uva Mira Wine Estate, Stellenbosch, Western Cape

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Skywatch Friday :

Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa
We live inland - Jo'burg to be precise .. it's time to go to the sea again .. to feel the sand between the toes !!

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Franschhoek Motor Museum #1

With the magnificent backdrop of the Franschhoek Mountains, the Motor Museum is a fascinating place, where there is a private collection of about 320 cars of which about 80 are exhibited at any one time (cars are rotated to give them equal viewing) - in these four 'warehouses' on either side of the main building in the centre ...

Wandering around on your own is not permitted but they have guides taking small groups to each of the warehouses. Once inside you can walk around freely but are asked not to touch the cars or stand on the white boards under the cars.

Our guide was this very knowledgeable young man on the left ... ask him any question and he knew the answer ... and with him is the oldest car in the collection - a Ford Model A dated 1903 !!

So as not make this post too long .. I will do a couple of posts with some of the cars spanning 100 years ..

'Golden Oldies' first - I love the old vintages! This is a motorcycle from 1905 - Mars Carette

Smart little one below ... but I didn't get it's name ..

.. or the name of this Ford ... snazzy little car .. imagine bumbling along the narrow roads with the canopy down on a lovely warm summer's day, with hat tied on and scarf billowing behind ..

The famous Model T Ford ...

This one below reminded us of a programme we used to watch on TV many years ago with John Boy and family who lived in the depression years in America .. we both have forgotten the name of the series, which always ended with them going to bed and each member of the family said goodnight to each other ... does anyone remember ? ...

Bugatti : 1930 ...

Beautiful .. aren't they ? ...

Photo below - unfortunately the AC on the left is not quite in the picture because I was more interested in the cute little green car called a Dixie !!! But I should have taken a full photo of the AC as it had a fascinating story. It is a very rare car - there are only 2 or 3 (hubby would remember!) in existence and a group of car 'people'/enthusiasts came out from England recently to study the car - every inch of it - taking it's chasis number etc !! They have also asked that if ever it is sold, they would like to be told of it's whereabouts at all times! A very rare car indeed !!

Watch this space for more ...

As promised in a previous post ...

.. would you like to stroll through part of the 6 acres of gardens of the Vineyard Hotel in the leafy suburb of Newlands, Cape Town ...

The path starts here ...

... eyes up ... peek through the trees to Table Mountain ..

... come to a clearing at the top of the ridge ...

... down we go ... following the path ..

... or shall we go up ... ?

... keeping to the lower path, it leads a bridge where there are 'cottages' (!!) on the other side .. but it's drizzling so we won't go that far !!! .... (those are self-catering cottages/houses/mansions (!) which are also part of the hotel) ...

... view from bridge ....

... another path leads to this 'cottage' (!) which has two numbers, so I suppose it's two units in one large-what-used-to-be a private house ...

... turn around and go back ... and cross the little bridge ...

... and follow the path again ...


.. stop to whisper hello to the sleeping wet tortoise ! ...

.. follow the path edged with masses of Plectranthus - this is why I need to encourage mine to grow in my garden - they were magnificent here and in Kirstenbosch! ...

... stop a while ... quiet spot on the other side of the river for meditating or reading a good book while a child swings - there is a black tyre-swing on the left, just visible ...

... off we stroll again .. following the path as it narrows towards the end ...

... where there is large shallow pond with a few Koi ...


Hope you enjoyed the stroll as much as hubby and I did :)

Wordless Wednesday :

In the gardens of Vineyard Hotel, Cape Town

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This is especially for you ... Mr T and P ....

... 'cos you couldn't be with us on 'our' holiday in the Cape :(

Soooo ... come with me and I'll show you what you missed/share some of our photos from the Vineyard Hotel in the leafy, quiet suburb of Newlands, Cape Town ...

Built in 1800, "Paradise" was the residence of Lady Anne Barnard and her husband Andrew, the secretary of the first British Governor of the Cape. It was the first English style home to be built in the Cape. In each of the rooms there is a very interesting book with the story of those early beginnings but I sadly didn't have time to read the whole book. It has of course, been added onto ... this being one of the more modern blocks of beautifully appointed rooms overlooking the gardens. Ours was the one in the gap in the trees with the window open (closed umbrella under it) ...

But let's start at the entrance which is on the other side !!!! Small cannons guard the front door ...

... inside the foyer, and indeed, all over the entire hotel, there are antiques and treasures from bygone days ... this is a huge consomme pot from the old Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg ...

... take a peek down the original main passage ...


.. which takes you into the gardens ...

... passing the old staircase and a gallery of drawings and paintings done by Lady Anne ... a painting of her is in the oval frame ...

... a corner in one of the lounges ...

Let's go up this staircase to our floor ...

.. down the passage lined with old pieces of Afrikaaner furniture and prints of well known artist Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef ... another very interesting website is www.gbu.co.za/trees/jacobhendrikpierneef.htm ...

I am sure this - below - is original. It's a Christmas greeting card to the now deceased owner of the hotel, Henry and May Patousis .. (but it is still in the family as the sons now own it) ...


... on we go ... into our room with a panoramic view of Table Mountain (the 'table top' is round to the right) ...

... and the beautiful lush gardens below ..

The dining area is in an old courtyard linking the old building on the left to the newer part ...

.. with a beautiful mosaic fountain inscribed "Family Patousis .. Vineyard" ..

If you need a workout or a little pampering, there is a gym and spa nestled in the gardens ...

I shall take you for a stroll around the gardens next ... so watch this space !!

Wordless Wednesday :

In the garden of the Vineyard Hotel, Cape Town

For more Wordless Wednesday contributions go here and here