Franschoek

Two days in Franschoek and Stellenbosch--known to most as the beautiful wine country of South Africa. It was pure relaxation and we were surrounded with so much natural beauty. Our photos again cannot capture how lovely it was to stay in Franschoek.

We chose to stay at La Petite Firme, translating in French to The Small Farm. It was a very quaint B&B which offered us lovely views, food, and wine.


We arrived at lunch time, and La Petite Firme is known for its lunches. We decided to start with an arugula and beet salad.

Then, Paul decided to have Thumper for lunch. The poor bunny was served on a bed of mustard mash--a new favorite for me--but Paul does not care for it to much. Personally, I think a good mustard goes well with any type of food.

I ordered filet Mignon served on top of caramelized Camembert with a cranberry reduction and topped with arugula. It was lovely, but I thought I was going to have a heart attach after eating such a heavy dish!

After our lunch at La Petite, we ordered some rooibos tea and enjoyed the stunning afternoon view.

Ok, we came here to wine taste. So we head out to Graham Beck to try some bubbly and their whites. We left with the nice bubbly! Graham Beck was one of our favorite stops in the region.

We go back to the chalet, and we are greeted with this amazing view.

I told Paul after lunch I could not even think about eating another meal, and besides, how could we leave all this beauty. Luckily, we stopped at a Pick'N'Pay on the way back to the farm to purchase some crackers to go with the homemade cheese we picked up at Asara Farm. Pick'N'Pay is the local version of a Farmer Jack grocery store, and honestly when you have not been inside a proper grocery store in almost a year it becomes one of the highlights of your vacation to peruse the aisles. I made Paul cancel the reservation at Reubens (Sorry Paul!) and we decided to hang out on the patio to enjoy the sunset. Here Pauly is bringing out a bottle of white we bought at La Petite that afternoon. We had a nice plunge pool, but it was a bit too cold to try to take a dip.

The aforementioned bottle of white . . .

The sunset . . . followed by the stars amd crickets singing. We have not seen stars since we were home last September, so it was a real treat.
The parm and brie we bought earlier . . .

And our Tuc crackers from Pick'N'Pay!

The next morning we work early and ventured out to the Stellenbosch area. Our first stop was Vergelegen, translated in Afrikaans it means 'Situated Far Away.' Willem Adriaan van der Stel started this vineyard back in 1700 and though the ownership has changed hands it is still running. The governor chose this place as it was 'situated far away' from the cape and his duties in Cape Town. It offers stunning views and some good wine.

We went on our first cellar tour of the area here at Vergelegen . . .

Another view from Vergelegen . . .
After we were finished at Vergelegen, we ventured over to the neighboring Morgenster farm for wine and olive oil tasting. Then, off to lunch at Tokara. Aside from Graham Beck, Tokara was our absolute favorite and a must for anyone going out to the wine country. Again, the views are stunning, the food is outstanding, and the wine was the best we had! Here is a view from our lunch table at Tokara. The vines are actually on the opposite hill to the right.
At this point, I told Paul I could only tolerate one more wine tasting today if he wanted to make it to dinner this evening. So we decided to go to Warwick Estates. At Warwick, they have a special wedding day cup. The fable says that the duke of the land said if a man could make a cup that both the groom and the bride could drink from and not a single drop of wine spill, then that man could marry his daughter. Since the silversmith was already in love with the daughter, he made such a cup. Below you can see Paul and I drinking from it, and it surprisingly works--not a drop is spilled!
We left Warwick feeling warm and fuzzy after hearing such a nice story about the duke's daughter and the silversmith. We came back to the chalet to view this amazing sunset.

We freshened up a bit and then off to dinner at ICI at Le Quartier Francais. Back to La Petite early as we have a 5 am flight out the next morning to Jo'Burg and then off to Krueger National Park for safari!

Cape Town

Africa is a magical place, in particular South Africa. I have always wanted to go to Africa, ever since I did a report on Madagascar when I was 7. However, Paul was a little apprehensive to this idea at first. He kept saying to me, "Why would we leave one developing country to visit another?" Paul and I arrived in South Africa for our 11 day adventure filled with expectations and we left with memories that exceeded our expectations. It is amazing to witness how developed and well organized the city of Cape Town is as well as the entire country of South Africa, especially when you are comparing it to Mumbai, Pune, or the subcontinent of India. The city itself is beautiful, and very similar to the States in how it weaves some many different cultures and customs together as it too has had several different immigrating groups of people. By the end of our trip, Paul too fell in love with this beautiful, mysterious, and vast country. The photos cannot illustrate how beautiful, special, and magical South Africa is as a country. I am not sure where we will travel to next in Africa--perhaps another trip to South Africa would be nice, but we would also like to see Botswana, Kenya, and KwaZulu-Natal amongst other places.

We started our holiday with three days in Cape Town. Cape Town is a beautiful city. The people are extremely friendly and the pace of life is pleasant. Even when it is foggy, the skies somehow seem blue. We had a jam-packed 3 days to see everything we wanted to see, you really could spend 1 week in Cape Town and its environs. However, we accomplished everything that we wanted to do, and yet we are looking forward to visiting this wonderful seaside town again someday (hopefully, soon!).

With our first day, we decided to get our "sea legs" and go sight-seeing at a leisurely pace. We left our hotel and took the ferry over to Robben Island. Robben Island is rich with history and was a great place to start our trip.

We took a 1 hour bus ride around the island to understand everything the island was used for since the Dutch colonized Cape Town during the time of the Dutch East India Company. We ended the tour by going through the prison where Nelson Mandela stayed during his sentence. Below is a photo of our tour guide explaining the harsh life that people faced in prison. He knows best since he was a former prisoner in the cell in which we are sitting. At this moment, he describes to us the different levels of treatment that a black, colored, or white person received while serving their sentence on Robben Island.

Here is the tiny cell that Mr. Mandela occupied while at Robben Island.

We left Robben Island and decided to spend the grey afternoon at the Mount Nelson Hotel for high tea and cucumber sandwiches. 1 hour quickly turned into 4 hours later when we left Mount Nelson. We then headed over to the V & A Waterfront to do some souvenir shopping and grab a quick sushi dinner. Then, back to the Cape Cadogan for some sleep.

Well, we thought we would go to sleep. But when we came inside the foyer there was a roaring fire as well as sherry, port, chocolates, and Brazil nuts awaiting us for a night cap. So, how could we resist. A port later...then off to bed!

Day 2 was a little more hectic, but still a nice pace. We decided to take the Cape Peninsula Tour (a driving tour). We left Cape Cadogan and the City Bowl and drove through Green Point, Sea Point, Clifton, Camps Bay, Llanduano, and Hout Bay. We intended to drive through Chapman's Peak, but it was closed due to rock erosion. So we detoured after Hout Bay, and stopped at a little ferry station to take the boat out to Duiker Island to see the seals, and some of Chapman's Peak. Here I am trying to stand still on the boat that was rocking like crazy . . .

And then Paul ... (I actually think these are the photos a group of Korean tourists took for us--I am surprised they turned out so well!)

Ta-Da! The seals on Duiker Island.

After Duiker Island we continued our drive through Constantia to Cape Point, a.k.a. Table Mountain National Park or the Cape of Good Hope. Driving through the National Park we spotted eland (another type of antelope) many tortoise, as well as this little family of baboons.

I thought it was a nice afternoon, so we should get some exercise and climb the staircase up to the lighthouse to view the Cape of Good Hope. Apparently, Paul and our tour guide, Odette, did not appreciate my suggestion. However, up we went climbing. Here Paul asked for a break half-way up to the lighthouse. The Cape of Good Hope is in the background.

And here it is . . . after a 30 minute climb to the lighthouse . . . The Cape of Good Hope, formerly The Cape of Storms.

We left the park and continued our peninsula tour. We then were heading towards Boulders Beach to see the penguins and hundreds of tourist snapping photos. Odette suggested we stop at a little park where the penguins run free and there are no tourists snapping photos! We thoroughly enjoyed our little detour to observe the little guys running around.

We now drove through the picturesque hamlets of Simon's Town and Fish Hoek and make our way to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Though many of the flowers were not in bloom as it is Fall in South Africa, the gardens were still a wonderful sight to see. It had been so long since Paul and I had the opportunity to wander through such a beautiful, and well manicured, garden. It was breathtaking, and we learned the Bird of Paradise flower is actually originally from Africa. Here is a photo of Paul and I in the gardens with Table Mountain as the backdrop. The fog has lifted so we should be able to go up tomorrow.

Back to Cape Cadogan to freshen up, and then we head out to Ginja for dinner. Ginja is known for its eclectic dishes that weave Afrikaans traditional dishes with Western style cuisine. As you can see, I am so happy to have such a lovely salad with butternut squash for dinner.

Paul chooses to start with "A Taste of the World" in a spoon. Very nice presentation, and also very tasty in his belly.

Day 3 we wake and learn the good news that we are able to go up to the observatory deck on Table Mountain as the fog is now covering downtown Cape Town and no longer the mountain. Below is a photo of the city skyline covered in fog.

Odette poses for a quick photo with me up on the mountain.

Before we leave Cape Town for Franschoek, I have to go to this renowned coffee shop to try a latte and purchase some beans. We head over to Origins Coffee Roasting for a quick cup of joe, and we decided that the Ethiopian Harrar is the winner. I buy 1.5 kg, and we head out the door. Here is a very San Fransiscan perspective of Cape Town as we leave Origins.

Now, we hop back in our VW bus to drive our to Franschoek.

Rahul Weds Hemlata

We finally just arrived home around 11 pm from Rahul's wedding in Nigadi. An Indian wedding is a little different from one in the States. Instead of cramming all the events into one evening, the events take place over several days. Paul and I decided to participate in the last day, which of course, includes the actual ceremony.

We arrived in Nigadi in time to watch Rahul ride to the wedding hall on his white horse.

Santosh did a nice job decorating the wedding vehicle.

Ok, so the 1 kilometer procession takes about 2 hours to complete. Why, you may ask? Because it is a slow trot to the wedding hall, and the procession stops to dance the along the route. The wedding procession is accompanied by a live marching band and dj.

Paul and I pose for a quick photo in our Indian attire. Rahul, his mother, and his sister, Marisha, gave Paul the sherwani suit and me the sari as a gifts. Note Paul has some awesome mojandis on his feet. This being my first time wearing a sari, I was a bit nervous. However, they are extremely comfortable, and if pinned correctly they cover you where you would like to be covered and do not fall off.

All the colors of the saris . . .

Rahul's sister found me walking down the street and decided that Paul and I should start dancing. Here we are as we make our way to the wedding hall.

A photo with Marisha, Rahul's mother, and myself.

We finally make it to the wedding hall. Below is a video of the actual wedding ceremony. During the ceremony, you will notice that we are throwing rice as a blessing on them as they walk around the fire. Pay close attention to Paul's unique filming technique it becomes apparent near the end of the video.

Now, off to Africa tomorrow afternoon!

An Evening of Dinner and Dancing @ Rahul's

Paul's driver Rahul Rajput is getting married on Thursday. His mother invited us over dinner tonight. Paul and I thought it would be a simple, awkward affair to meet the family and eat a nice home cooked vegetarian meal. We arrived at Rahul's home promptly at 8 pm. Of course, we were the first to arrive. We were greeted by his mother, who performed a quick pooja and gave us tikka on our foreheads. We entered the home and we were served kesari, a hot sweet milk dish with vermicelli noodles, raisins, and cashew nuts. After eating our sweet, we were ushered outside to the tented area and the dance party began. Apparently, the intent of the evening was to teach us some Bollywood dance moves! Rahul's sister graciously and patiently taught me some of her awesome stylings on the dance floor. Paul and Rahul danced the robot. And yes, the videographer came so that Paul and I will be forever immortalized dancing badly in Pune. I am certain all of the General Motors driving fleet will be watching Rahul's Sir and Ma'am with their crazy dancing shortly!

The men danced separately from the women. Here this little boy is partying!


Here is a video of little boy dancing machine gettin' down with Snoop . . .


Paul takes a break and plays with the kitten . . .

Here I am tearing up the floor!

Oh yes, here I am with the White-Man's Overbite in this video clip . . .

As part of the upcoming wedding, the bride and groom have turmeric paste applied to their face, arms, and sometimes entire body. Turmeric is a natural antiseptic and cleanser. It also whitens the skin. So, the evening finished by us applying more turmeric to Rahul's face, and then his mother slathered it on Paul and I. Though, I scrubbed my face with the loofah when I got home, I am now a lovely shade of yellow. And our ears are still ringing with the faint notes of "Bra-zil, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La . . .". (Yes, this favorite for Brazilians at Carnival is also quite popular in India.)

Around 11 pm, we finally were served a lovely meal of chapati, cabbage shorba (yummy!), daal, and rice. For dessert, we had a rainbow falooda, with tapioca seeds, vermicelli noodles, and rose syrup. Now, time for bed.

Green Pune

Today, we went to help our friends Bec and Will plant in their new garden. Will is opening up a NGO in Pune called Solar Cinema (http://www.solarcinema.org) and decided that the backyard garden needed some sprucing. Paul and I really miss working in the garden. This time of year back home we would spend all weekend getting it ready. It was a lot of fun to have our hands back in the earth, we did not realize how much we missed it until we were digging again. Of course, Pauly and I came home covered in dirt. It would not be a successful day without getting a little messy.

Below are some photos of our afternoon gardening . . .

Here Bec is trying to plant the scrawny bougainvilla . . .
All finished with this side . . . let's give the plants a drink!

After we finished drenching the plants, we had a nice barbecue and then the boys played cricket in the alley.