Last Day in Franschhoek

Saturday Morning, Franschhoek, Western Cape

We had a fine day yesterday.  It was the first day of bad weather though.  A storm came to the north and it was cloudy and rained intermittently all day.  The low clouds and rain made for interesting vistas as we drove on the Franschhoek mountain.  The town is at the head of a valley ringed by mountains on three side.  Not sure how, tall, maybe 3000 feet, but they are very rocky and very steep.  There is a big contrast between the tops of the mountains and the vineyards and orchards of the valley.

First we had a nice breakfast at the Pancake place – very good crepes.  We drove over the mountain in the morning.  The passenger seat was a bit concerned about the twisty mountain road and lack of guardrails.  But for a mountain road it generally had a shoulder and my turnouts to look.  We went over and back again and arrived back in the Franschhoek valley.

Time for wine tasting.  Off we went to Moreson.  For R30 ($4) we got 5 wines and a nice conversation with the staff.  Being a rainy day, there was not a big crowd.  By this time it was lunch time and we went across the road to La Motte.  This was a very beautiful estate set up against the mountain.  It include a museum to the founder, Anton Rupert, his collection of art by a South African artist – not too interesting – and a small shrine to his daughter Hanneli Rupert who is a mezzo-soprano of some repute.  It seemed a bit odd.

Mother needed food.  No more wine tasting without food.  She headed to the restaurant and set herself down.  It was a very elegant restaurant.  She had the mushroom lasagna (porcini mushrooms in a fine dining concoction that did not resemble lasagna).  She declared it the best thing she had ever eaten.

By now, 3 PM, we headed to another winery.  Boekenhoutkloof.  Free tasting, 7 wines, the Syrah is the best in Franschhoek.  Everything else is a bit ordinary and lacks character and depth.

We headed home to nap and rest.  The rain stopped but it was still cool.

After much research, we went off to dinner at what we thought was the best restaurant in town to celebrate the end of a wonderful vacation.  Ryan’s Kitchen.  We had a great 7 course, 3 hour dinner that consisted of Namibian Crab, Kudu, Snoek (an Atlantic fish) mousse in an Asian fusion cannelloni thing, more wines, small bites, etc. 

We got back at 10:30 and collapsed in bed.

Last Day – Heading homer this afternoon.

Today is the last day.  The rain is past and the sun is shining.  We planned to take a short drive in the country and make our way leisurely to the airport in Cape Town.  My flight is at 5:05 and Mom’s is about 4:30.  Then begins the long trips home.  She goes first to Durban to spend the night and catch the coumbie home on Sunday morning.  I go to Joburg, for an overnight flight to Amsterdam and then to MSP.