Cold, rainy day. Hard to believe it's the same place that gave us such beautiful weather yesterday. Well, it is winter after all. They say that in Capetown you can experience all four seasons in one day.
It was a great excuse for us to just relax and do nothing for most of the day. We had originally hired Christna again to take us into Capetown, but she advised us to reschedule since the weather was so bad. She came all the way over to the hotel anyway, just in case we were psychotic enough to want to go, so we invited her to join us for coffee. After a pleasant breakfast, gossiping with Christna and Anne about celebrities (Christna is firmly on "Team Aniston", BTW, and thinks that Lindsay Lohan should just grow up already!), Anne and I adjourned to the lounge to do a little SSR by the fire.
"Hooray for Franschhoek!" Note the sign on the hill over my shoulder.The day was so low-key; it felt great to do nothing and not feel guilty about it. Anne was considering a nap, so we moved from the communal lounge back to our building. I decided to sit in the "Great Room" so I could dig into Wine and War in honor of our surrounds. I was disappointed that the fire wasn't roaring away when I got there. I briefly considered calling a porter but that seemed a little too Upstairs, Downstairs so I perused the bookshelf instead.
No sooner had a turned away than a heard a scraping noise. There was a maid lighting the fire. I froze for a second and thought, weirdly, Did I conjure her? Summon her with my heretofore hidden psychic abilities? I prayed silently for magical powers, just as I had when I was a kid. I promise I will only use my powers for good!
Turns out they are just stalking us because we are the only guests in the place today, since all the weekenders have checked out.
No sooner had a turned away than a heard a scraping noise. There was a maid lighting the fire. I froze for a second and thought, weirdly, Did I conjure her? Summon her with my heretofore hidden psychic abilities? I prayed silently for magical powers, just as I had when I was a kid. I promise I will only use my powers for good!
Turns out they are just stalking us because we are the only guests in the place today, since all the weekenders have checked out.
The Great Room.Lovely hour (plus catnap) by the fire, then off to lunch at La Petit Ferme. It's said to be the best restaurant in town, impossible to get a table in the summer. Even for a winter Monday, it was pretty crowded.
La Petit Ferme sits alone on a hill overlooking the vineyards. It's got a rustic farmhouse vibe and a fabulous wine list. I ordered the ostrich roulade (I had to look up roulade. Fancy!) Anne was detoxing after the previous day's wine tour, but I indulged in a nice pinotage. Yum.
I was starting to feel a little good twin/bad twin. Especially when I ordered a creme brulee and she got a fruit plate.
We spent most of the afternoon in town browsing through the shops, looking for local art. We didn't buy anything, but were almost tempted by the "Adopt an African Baby" display.
Just like Madonna!
La Petit Ferme sits alone on a hill overlooking the vineyards. It's got a rustic farmhouse vibe and a fabulous wine list. I ordered the ostrich roulade (I had to look up roulade. Fancy!) Anne was detoxing after the previous day's wine tour, but I indulged in a nice pinotage. Yum.
I was starting to feel a little good twin/bad twin. Especially when I ordered a creme brulee and she got a fruit plate.
We spent most of the afternoon in town browsing through the shops, looking for local art. We didn't buy anything, but were almost tempted by the "Adopt an African Baby" display.
Just like Madonna!Dinner at another great restaurant, Reuben's. The hotel basically chauffeured us anywhere we wanted to go (another perk of being the only people around!) When the driver picked us up from dinner, he called ahead to the hotel and had them light the fire in our room. Then he offered to send up a glass of port as a nightcap. Classy!
I've sort of made a habit out of checking out the mini-bars in every country I visit. There is always a Toblerone. And usually, something unique to the area (churros in Barcelona) or just plain weird (free condoms in Paris).
Africa is no different. In the mini-bar we found this vaccuum-sealed bag of mystery clump. Our hypothesis (some sort of jerky?) was eventually proven correct. It was biltong, or dried meet. Very common throughout Africa and considered a very tasty treat.
I've sort of made a habit out of checking out the mini-bars in every country I visit. There is always a Toblerone. And usually, something unique to the area (churros in Barcelona) or just plain weird (free condoms in Paris).
Africa is no different. In the mini-bar we found this vaccuum-sealed bag of mystery clump. Our hypothesis (some sort of jerky?) was eventually proven correct. It was biltong, or dried meet. Very common throughout Africa and considered a very tasty treat.
Toblerone never lets me down.
Looks yummy, doesn't it?
1 comment:
The Hotel Lancaster in Paris has canned oxygen in their minibar. And don't knock the free condoms! Usually you have to pay for them as part of the "Intimacy Kit"!
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