A Winter Wine Evening .. ...

.... where we enjoyed a delicious meal paired with wines, was organised by Elaine's workplace ..

.. and was held at the FNB Conference Centre ...

... where there were rows of coloured cushions against decorated walls outside the dining area ...

Loved this delicately twirled chandelier which was one of a few hanging from the ceiling in the dining room ....

.. where the wines for the evening were supplied by the Bartinney Wine Estate, which is situated on the steep slopes of the Helshoogte Pass overlooking the picturesque Banghoek Valley in Stellenbosch.

Three wines .. a Savignon Blanc was served with a fruit/cheese starter, a Chardonney was paired with a delicious chicken dish .....

... and an 'easy on the palate' and 'drink now, don't keep' 'Noble Savage' Cabernet Savignon, very reasonably priced ... was paired with a delicious steak and baby onion bredie topped with a dumpling (inside the little potjie pot) ... (for overseas bloggy friends, this is miniature version of the traditional potjie pot which was traditionally used/and still is used for cooking maize meal as well as stew type, yummy tasty meals and sits on an open fire or hot coals)

.. and for 'pud' .. mini cheese cakes in ramekin dishes served with chocolate truffles .... yumm!

Thank you, Sweetie Pie, for organising tickets for us .. it was a most enjoyable evening ..

Elaine and Bryan ... and hubby and me ...

Skywatch Friday :

Not particularly a 'genuine' skywatch post, but there is a little bit of sky in each photo! - pale wintry ... very cold ... in fact freezing temperatures!!!)



Yesterday I went with Jeanette and the boys on our new express 'Gautrain', in Johannesburg, which was launched a few weeks ago ..

The initial stage is open .. from Sandton to OR Tambo International Airport and as it's school holidays at the moment and Jeanette had taken a few days off work, we decided to take the boys on their first train trip (they had never been on any sort of train before) ..

... they were in awe .. at the speed .. the view from the window ...

... the whole experience !!!!

For spectacular skies around the world visit Skywatch

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 ...

Snippets from the Cape ..

Tuesday - I have been trying to finish this post since Sunday! Have been busy since our return from our trip to the Cape. Choosing a few photos was very difficult as we seemed to be on the go the whole time .. and it was suppose to have been a relaxing few days away !

So here are just a few photos .. I shall do separate posts on some of the places we visited as they are worth sharing in more detail

This old fellow is one of the resident tortoises at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town

...which has a stunning view from the front patio which is part of the original building built in 1800 ...

... a large lush garden ...

... interesting corridors (in the newer part of the hotel) as though one was looking through mirrors ...

... and a dining area set out in rows ..

We strolled around the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens filled with indigenous plants .. (Kirstenbosch Gardens are the representatives every year at the Chelsea Flower Show in London and all the plant specimens come from these gardens) ...

The Cycads are amazing ...... some are huge in height and width !!

Wine estates in the Constantia Valley were another stop but being a Sunday some were closed like this one - Buitenverwachting ..

Hubby and I then spent some time in Stellenbosch whilst staying at the Erinvale Estate Hotel .. quite different from the Vineyard but equally as comfortable. From the vast picture window of the Vineyard hotel room, our Erinvale room was quaint !! ...

The buildings are also very old but I couldn't get any info from the chappie at the front desk. He just said it was 'steeped in history' and used to belong to 'an Irish guy' !!! I am hoping I have set him a task by telling him that there must more people like me who are interested in the history of a place !!

Strolling through the courtyard we came across a these cuties huddled in the morning sunshine ...

Morgenster Wine Estate is close by ..... soooo naturally we popped in for a tasting !!! We've been there before but it's well worth a second visit .. or third ... or .... !!!

Something different was the olive oils and olive tastings. Found the oil tasting quite weird as I had to warm the little glass in the palm of my hand and sip the oil! I managed ... actually it wasn't that bad .. I certainly got the flavours but the third one was a white truffle essence oil ... oh yuk!! The smell was fowl and the taste even worse!!! Apparently the overseas visitors love it and often buy bottles of the stuff to take back home !

Back to wine tasting ... this time a gem of a place ... Hidden Valley

... and whilst in the Hermanus area we popped into the old farm building of the Hamilton Russell vineyards. Took Hubby's Mum for a change of scenery from the Old Aged Home where she now lives .. well into her 80's, she is looking well but getting frail

Picnic anyone? ... Well worth a visit is the Franschhoek Motor Museum which is well signposted on the main road to Franschhoek ...

.. where there is a magnificent personal collection of about 350 cars spanning 100 years, of which 80 are displayed at any one time (they rotate the cars all the time so all can be viewed if you keep popping in to the museum) - we'll definitely be back - it was amazing (shall do a separate post on this outstanding museum) ...

A little wine tasting at La Motte in Franschhoek ..

... where I could peep into an oak wine vat ..

A Bistro lunch on the main street in Franschhoek which was bustling with tourists but I managed to captured these three tables at a moment when no-one was there ...

Perfect setting for a snack lunch ... beautiful mountains and buskers' music!!

Must add this ... that's one HUGE plane!!! It had just landed at OR Tambo airport ... I don't know what it's called but hubby says it holds about 600 passengers or so!! It's mighty large !!

And finally .. from the window of our 'ordinary' aeroplane ... the gorgeous False Bay with part of Strand Beach and mountains passed Gordons Bay up the coast ... the coastline where my Dad's ashes are scattered ...

Spent a little time with my Mum .... she didn't know me this time :(

Nice is nice !!

Hubby still away ... Elaine and I had lunch yesterday .. somewhere different ... Nice on 4th, Parkhurst, an old suburb of Johannesburg. Old houses bought by younger people bringing a vibe back ... this street used to be full of antique shops .. now 'hip and happening' restaurants and coffee shops have taken over ... still one or two antique shops .. but other very interesting places ..

.. a definite re-visit !! There are contemporary decor and design studios and all sorts of foodie places .. 'I love Cup Cake ' is one them ... really really need to pop into that place !!! It was closed by the time we left ..

Anyway .. back to 'Nice' which was ever so nice ... such friendly service .. makes you want to go back again .. and again ..

Menu on blackboards .. kitchen behind counter ... which stocked the most delicious looking desserts/cakes which Elaine was eyeing-but-didn't-have-space-for-any! Next time!

..decor old and funky ..

.. table decor .. simple ..

.. food ... oh sooo delectable !! Elaine had a chicken, avo, parmesan panini drizzled with a tasty balsamic dressing ... I had a salmon, avo and tomato relish salad. To drink, E had fresh watermelon juice and me ... chilled Fat Bastard Chardonney !!

Old books scattered about .. this one was on the sideboard which caught my eye having a large rose on the cover .... 'I recognise that style of painting roses ..



... I have placemats at home with same ' .. !!!!!

Must take hubby there ...