marlee is STILL cartwheeling as evidenced below:
(add it to the collection = click here!)
the LEAST relaxing vacation EVER! despite gorgeous weather (38 degrees celsius, or 100 degrees fahrenheit), majestic scenery, incredible beaches, great food - i'm exhausted! too much fun! too much of a good thing!
firstly, cape town: spotless, organized, stunning. great graphics. nice people. hip but humble. thin (damn them!). easy to get around, despite driving with the steering wheel on the left. our small hotel, a living homage to beauty and modern style - wine flowing, solar heated pool, the incredible hospitality of klaus and chris at 2 inn 1 kensington. all is good. and the guests ... every night we congregate at 11:30 to regale ourselves with stories of table mountain absailing, paragliding, wineries, and secret beach coves. we were just admonished for our merry-making; every evening someone else emerges from their room, ready to break open gold-leaf dusted chocolate truffles, or champagne from one of the famous wine making regions. glass clinking, mad laughing - oh!
today, bright and sunny. jane and i insist on taking a walk down kloof street, right around the corner from our very smart hotel - a 'run' actually. well, the 'run' turns into a brisk stroll, and quickly descends into window shopping, checking out the menu at manna epicure, picking up treats at melissa's, and in a final act of desperation, sipping lattés curbside under an umbrella at vida e caffé. we're pathetic. when in insist we 'run' back to the hotel uphill, jane completely gives up, insisting she'd rather be out of shape and happy than in shape and sweaty.
it's already broiling by this time, and we rouse the kids at 10:30 - their personalized eggs, toast, juices, and lattés are waiting poolside. i tell them it's 7 am and that we're going to synagogue - they sing a chorus of protests, and finally realize that i'm joking and that the day is half gone. we decide to basically do nothing at all today; then suddenly find ourselves in the car, driving east to stellenbosch and franschoek (wine region towns, not unlike easthampton and southampton). it's the most spectacular scenery - tokara is glorious in all it's modernity (good wine tasting too!). stellenbosch is adorable - cupcake, the newest store, carries jane's kitsch kitchen handbags (from amsterdam); they have delicious little salads and quiches, and all manner of knick knacks ... great design! we pop into 'dot' next door for more amazing collectibles. again, we are super impressed with the beauty of western cape, the incredible hospitality of all, the quality of food/drink/design/graphics, and the lack of expense for this amazing experience. nothing is a hassle - not parking, not reservations, not weather, not accommodations - everything is first rate.
our only gripe? it does not seem to be 'african' - certainly not compared to rwanda. but that's okay - we feel happy, relaxed, well fed, and safe.
onto franschoek, the 'french' town in the winelands - picture perfect, with mountains growing in the background (think palm springs) and adorable eateries. we stop at ici, and find ourselves yet again imbibing wine and eating organic. oh, how much more can we stand!!!!!
blaring 'the five' radio and 'good hope fm' - inspiring on the radio...
we stop at the taal monument in paarl, and have the whole (poured concrete) place to ourselves - an incredible utopian paean to south african languages - brilliant and sort of fascist in it's incarnation - a great stop. we swiftly glide back into cape town - oh, there is our beloved table mountain and lion's head. home sweet home - time for another glass of wine and a quick call to the nassims and company in israel. poolside playing cards, snacking, staring into space. chatting with the other guests, with the incredible klaus; should we really go out for another gastronomic dinner tonight?
and suddenly, again, it's dark, and we're all dressed up, ready for an evening at ginja. at the last moment, i pull the bottle of bubbly out from the minibar - the one given to us upon our arrival from our new friends michelle and david - and we bring it to the restaurant for 'corkage' (they open it and pour it for you). jane, marlee, and i all sample it ... delicious! the food, well, incredible! inventive - appetizers on spoons, all manner of ostrich and springbok and fish. cheese platters, pear tarts, and chocolate landscapes. at the end of the meal, the waiter comes back - how did we ever manage to get a bottle of that champagne? whatever do you mean, we ask. it's rare, he tells us - almost impossible to come by, with a great pedigree (it's ambeloui, the hout bay bubbly available in tiny quantities only to those in the know). oh, dear friends, you've done it again!
finally home at all hours, we hook up with our compatriots poolside, for one last round, talks about garrison keeler, life, children.
another, yes another incredible down in western cape!
the LEAST relaxing vacation EVER! despite gorgeous weather (38 degrees celsius, or 100 degrees fahrenheit), majestic scenery, incredible beaches, great food - i'm exhausted! too much fun! too much of a good thing!
firstly, cape town: spotless, organized, stunning. great graphics. nice people. hip but humble. thin (damn them!). easy to get around, despite driving with the steering wheel on the left. our small hotel, a living homage to beauty and modern style - wine flowing, solar heated pool, the incredible hospitality of klaus and chris at 2 inn 1 kensington. all is good. and the guests ... every night we congregate at 11:30 to regale ourselves with stories of table mountain absailing, paragliding, wineries, and secret beach coves. we were just admonished for our merry-making; every evening someone else emerges from their room, ready to break open gold-leaf dusted chocolate truffles, or champagne from one of the famous wine making regions. glass clinking, mad laughing - oh!
today, bright and sunny. jane and i insist on taking a walk down kloof street, right around the corner from our very smart hotel - a 'run' actually. well, the 'run' turns into a brisk stroll, and quickly descends into window shopping, checking out the menu at manna epicure, picking up treats at melissa's, and in a final act of desperation, sipping lattés curbside under an umbrella at vida e caffé. we're pathetic. when in insist we 'run' back to the hotel uphill, jane completely gives up, insisting she'd rather be out of shape and happy than in shape and sweaty.
it's already broiling by this time, and we rouse the kids at 10:30 - their personalized eggs, toast, juices, and lattés are waiting poolside. i tell them it's 7 am and that we're going to synagogue - they sing a chorus of protests, and finally realize that i'm joking and that the day is half gone. we decide to basically do nothing at all today; then suddenly find ourselves in the car, driving east to stellenbosch and franschoek (wine region towns, not unlike easthampton and southampton). it's the most spectacular scenery - tokara is glorious in all it's modernity (good wine tasting too!). stellenbosch is adorable - cupcake, the newest store, carries jane's kitsch kitchen handbags (from amsterdam); they have delicious little salads and quiches, and all manner of knick knacks ... great design! we pop into 'dot' next door for more amazing collectibles. again, we are super impressed with the beauty of western cape, the incredible hospitality of all, the quality of food/drink/design/graphics, and the lack of expense for this amazing experience. nothing is a hassle - not parking, not reservations, not weather, not accommodations - everything is first rate.
our only gripe? it does not seem to be 'african' - certainly not compared to rwanda. but that's okay - we feel happy, relaxed, well fed, and safe.
onto franschoek, the 'french' town in the winelands - picture perfect, with mountains growing in the background (think palm springs) and adorable eateries. we stop at ici, and find ourselves yet again imbibing wine and eating organic. oh, how much more can we stand!!!!!
blaring 'the five' radio and 'good hope fm' - inspiring on the radio...
we stop at the taal monument in paarl, and have the whole (poured concrete) place to ourselves - an incredible utopian paean to south african languages - brilliant and sort of fascist in it's incarnation - a great stop. we swiftly glide back into cape town - oh, there is our beloved table mountain and lion's head. home sweet home - time for another glass of wine and a quick call to the nassims and company in israel. poolside playing cards, snacking, staring into space. chatting with the other guests, with the incredible klaus; should we really go out for another gastronomic dinner tonight?
and suddenly, again, it's dark, and we're all dressed up, ready for an evening at ginja. at the last moment, i pull the bottle of bubbly out from the minibar - the one given to us upon our arrival from our new friends michelle and david - and we bring it to the restaurant for 'corkage' (they open it and pour it for you). jane, marlee, and i all sample it ... delicious! the food, well, incredible! inventive - appetizers on spoons, all manner of ostrich and springbok and fish. cheese platters, pear tarts, and chocolate landscapes. at the end of the meal, the waiter comes back - how did we ever manage to get a bottle of that champagne? whatever do you mean, we ask. it's rare, he tells us - almost impossible to come by, with a great pedigree (it's ambeloui, the hout bay bubbly available in tiny quantities only to those in the know). oh, dear friends, you've done it again!
finally home at all hours, we hook up with our compatriots poolside, for one last round, talks about garrison keeler, life, children.
another, yes another incredible down in western cape!
No comments:
Post a Comment