Franschhoek

One of my favourite books is “Gone with the wind”.

There is something about the grandeur of life in the South, the almost innocent selfishness of the inhabitants that always intrigued me. Some slaves accepted their fate, far from Africa, and were very loyal to their “owners”. This lead me to reading an array of other books with the focus on slavery, one that stood out was “Beloved” by Toni Morrison. But wait, I am diverging.

View over the valley from the R45

Franschhoek is a town with a very rich history. The valley was originally settled in 1688 by almost 200 French Huguenot refugees. They escaped religious prosecution in France by fleeing to Africa and were given land by the Dutch Government.

Looking back over R45

The area they settled in were soon known as the French corner.

We went to Franschhoek to take a couple of American tourists out to dinner.

As always I had to find a dog and child friendly place and my choice fell on Lekkerwijn.

Lekkerwijn

Friends!

We stayed in the Ballroom and wow, the accommodation was magnificent. The main bedroom had a massive bed. I felt like a plane coming in to land on that bed! Jessie immediately made friends with the resident Labrador. They played and entertained each other for the rest of the weekend.

Friday night dinner was at Colcacchio pizzeria. I had the vegetarian option called “green genie”, a wood-fired pizza feast of roasted garlic, butternut and beetroot, shiitake mushrooms, rocket, avo, Parmesan, feta, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and balsamic glaze. It was the best pizza I've ever had!

The following day we went to the Huguenot museum. It is situated on beautiful grounds with a delightful little coffee shop. BB wanted something plain and familiar so we had toasted sandwiches and scones. It was delicious and freshly made.

Huguenot Museum

Blossoms at museum

We drove around to some of the wine farms and admired the lovely views.

Zorgvliet

For afternoon tea we stopped at the Hillcrest Berry Orchard restaurant in the Banhoek Valley. They boast beyond belief views across the valley to the Groot Drakenstein and Jonkershoek mountains. I can highly recommend the cheesecake.

Cheesecake at Hillcrest Berry orchard

I bought enough food for BB for dinner as well as she was staying with a babysitter at Lekkerwijn while we took the American couple out to dinner.

Garden at Lekkerwijn

Dinner. Wow. I was nervous about choosing Pierneef A La Motte. I've never been there and had to trust my gut feel. (Yeah..gut..dinner..meal..I get it!)

I soon relaxed and realized I could not have made a better choice. (The couple already went to the Taste Kitchen from Margo Jansen.) It is the small attention to detail that makes a restaurant. My mum was straining her eyes to read the menu..within seconds the waiter returned with a selection of reading glasses! The presentation was out of this world. Sauces were made to look like berries hanging of a branch. Small tasters of what was not ordered were served. In-between we were served true South African drinks like Amarula in minute bottles.

We all ordered different food, ranging from rolled lamb ribs, pork belly to a vegetarian pumpkin tart. There were no complaints..only admiration and loads of ooh and aahs.

When dessert came I had no space, but our new American friends chose the milktart, an oh so South African favourite.

It was a great night out but we were happy to return to our bit of luxury.

The next morning we had to head home, but not before visiting Babylonstoren.

Lovely gardens at Babylonstoren

First though..let me return to where I started this blog. Scarlett had a faithful help called Mammy. When I booked out of Lekkerwijn, I had to go to the main house. A grand elderly lady in a crisp white and black uniform opened the door. I followed her through this grand old homestead, passed a grand piano, perfect cutlery and old Victorian furniture. All while walking on shiny wooden floors. Well, I felt like Scatlett O' Hara following Mammy!

Garlic loaf at Babylonstoren

Back to Babylonstoren. The gardens are amazing..the only thing more amazing are the stunning breads they sell. I chose a garlic loaf with a lovely whole garlic in the middle and baked to caramelized perfection.

Unfortunately the restaurants were fully booked, so we had brunch at Vrede en Lust, another feast for the eyes and taste buds.

Brunch at Lust Bistro and Bakery

I was sad to leave Franschhoek..and will most definitely return..I just have to exercises a bit to loose all the gained weight!

Quaint house near Franschhoek