A Cape day drinking wine

We spent the entire day yesterday with a private tour guide who picked us up drove us literally wherever we wanted (I needed to get a speck of dust off my camera sensor and he took us to a shop who did it for free in 5 minutes!!) Steve Thomas is totally getting a plug here in case anyone who reads this ever goes to Cape Town and needs ANYTHING in way of a tour. He's hilarious and well informed and fabulous and sat in his van for 4.5 hours while we fine-dined in Franschhoek!!

First [gorgeous] winery stope - Zevenwacht Wine Estate
absolutely loved this winery - it was so beautiful

The more we see Cape Town and the surrounding areas the more I am reminded of California. I keep having to tell myself just how far from home I am! The city center, waterfront and some roads and streets remind me of San Francisco. The Cape Peninsula reminds me of Monterey. The Winelands of course remind me of Napa Valley. Driving through the Winelands and being surrounded by the tremendous mountains reminds me of Tahoe or Yosemite. Camps Bay reminds me of San Diego. The weather is temperate and mild and familiar. It's really remarkable!

Could this be California? (along the road from Cape Town
to the village of Franschhoek in the Winelands)

Could this be CA? Or this? (all views of the Winelands)

So yesterday, Steve took us in his van and showed us the Winelands. It was absolutely perfect! He picked us up at our first [fan-flipping-tastic] guest house, An African Villa (the website just does not do it justice!) He basically told us the day was our day and he'd take us wherever we wanted. I knew we wanted to do a Winelands tour and that we needed to end at Le Quartier Francais in Franschhoek for a reservation I'd made weeks ago. So he took all our suggestions in and took off to show us a good time.

Next was a German winery called Neethlingshof. The stone pines that line the entrance are also a recognizable feature on their wine label:

The wine label ------ The stone pines

Steve then took us for lunch in a cozy little cottage in Stellenbosch that was Volkskombuis Restaurant. I love it. The food, the feel, the charming-ness! It felt like 1807 but with air conditioning!

Update late night, Dec. 13: Um - I wish I could finish this entry in it's entirety but it was saved in my account for that last couple days while we traveled to Kenya. Since fast Internet (ie: uploading pictures) is just not easy, I'm cutting this short for now in light of just getting it posted. Enjoy!!