My happy place

St James beach huts

Kalk Bay has always and always will be my happy place. No matter if it's pouring with rain or the most beautiful December sunshiny day Kalk Bay has the ability to transport you to a little carefree places full of happiness...well that's what I think at least

We hadn't been to Kalk Bay in ages and sometime, like a mermaid calls lost sailors you get this little tugging feeling that it's time for a visit and some Ice Station Ice Cream (Possible the best ice cream you'll ever taste).

Olympia Cafe

Pieter and I don't often get days off together so we always need to make the most of what time we have...and what we had happened to be a really chilly day. One thing to remember about Kalk Bay is what ever the weather is where you are it will be the complete opposite there so as luck would have it we arrived and as we got out of the car it started to pour with rain. 

The nice thing about running in the rain in Kalk Bay is that most of the pavement is covered so we darted across the road and straight into Olympia Cafe, a place I haven't been in years. Olympia is the place to go in Kalk Bay for delicious baked goodies. We had some wonderful cappuccinos, an almond croissant and one of their pasta de natas which is a little piece of heaven with every bite. If you don't feel like sitting down or you just driving through pop around the corner and you will find their bakery which holds just as much freshly baked magic.

The sky started to clear and we took a walk down the main road enjoying all the antique shops and locally made clothes and jewellery. Something about Kalk Bay just makes it so unique that it brings you back time and time again. On the sea side of the road you find a whole line of restaurants with the most incredible view of the harbor. Brass Bell and Cape to Cuba are both ones we've visited more times then we can remember and they never disappoint. 

After exploring some of the shops we decided to drive along to Simon's Town and see what we could find. Simon's Town is where you will find one of the naval bases so there's a lot of history and interesting tourist places - one to stop at is definitely the statue of Just Nusance, the only dog to ever be enlisted into the Royal Navy.

While we were there we stopped for lunch at a place that Pieter recommended, The Salty Sea Dog. Now this little place doesn't look like much from the outside and almost seems a bit like a take-away joint but we sat down inside and had the best calamari I've had in my entire life and the service was great. I would definitely recommend popping in here.

So if you're ever feeling blue or the sun is shining and you need something to do, a little exploring is always the answer.

*A little tip for the busier seasons is to park outside Muizenberg Station and hop on the train - a return ticket is really reasonable and it's a fairly safe line to use. It also gives you the best view of the famous St James beach huts. Plus parking is always hard to find on a busy day in Kalk Bay.

Hanging out at De Warenmarkt

One of the best parts about living in Stellenbosch is trying all the new places that spring up. I think De Warenmarkt on the corner of Ryneveld and Plein Street is definitely going to be one of our new favorite spots.

We met one of our friends there for a glass of wine last week and surprisingly it was only the 3rd day they were open. De Warenmarkt is made up of a number of gorgeous gourmet food stands that range from coffee to cheese to the most incredible wood fire breads - banters beware.
The wine list is a bit on the limited side at the moment considering it is a wine bar but has some really lovely wines - We enjoyed a Steenberg Savignon blanc 2014 (R180 per bottle).

The setting is funky and modern and there is a huge fire place in the center of the room which was nice and cosy for a chilly winters evening. Our waiter told us that most of the food vendors close around about 7 but there were a few that served a little later which was fantastic because it gave us just enough time to get some breads and make up a small cheese platter to enjoy with our glass of wine. Call me old fashioned but I just can't drink wine out of a stemless glass like the ones they use, it doesn't taste right and you drink it far to quickly...especially in Stellenbosch where wine is such a big part of the culture.

We really loved hanging out at De Warenmarkt and can't wait to enjoy beautiful Summer evening there.

Wonderful food and wine

The perfect wine needs the perfect glass right?

De Warenmarkt is open Mondays - Saturday

For more information have a look at their website (link above) or their Facebook page


Reading on Facebook Chef George Jardine (Jordans Restaurant) has big plans at De Warenmarkt - I will definitely update this post when we get around to trying some of the amazing things on his menu

Is there any body out there?

Last night my mom was telling me about an article she read about bloggers and how people are actually making this their profession. People are actually leaving their 9-5 jobs to become full time blogger - sounds like a dream.
I'm addicted to blogs and have a whole bookmark tab full of my favourites. People I have never ever met but I know what colour their bedrooms are and I've watched some of their children take their first steps. I know their favourite foods and where in the world they call home. I know the things that make them smile and their deepest saddest secrets and I cry with them most of the time...most of the time while I'm at work which means I have to try extra hard not to look like I've zoned out of this World completely to one that is just me and a computer screen.

I will never have a whole lot of groupie readers waiting for my next post and caring what I put on my toast and I'll never have TV interviews and more tweets then I  have time to read. It's funny how we can make our own little Worlds so personally impersonal.

I may never make peace with the fact that even after rereading a piece a million times there are lines that will never make sense to anyone but me or words that the Oxford dictionary will never be able to figure out. It's just not my strong point.(Did I mention I have a journalism diploma?scrap that one)
So while we may not all be food critics or wine critics or the best parents in the world it's all ok because at the end of the day all we really want is a little place in the World to say what we really care about and have someone on the other side agree.

Chapman's Peak Sunday Drive

 

One of the things we really love to do together is go to new places so a few weekends ago we decided to take advantage of the wonderful Autumn weather and finally take a drive along Chapman's Peak.

 

This is one of the most beautifully scenic coastal drives you'll ever experience. It starts in Hout Bay and reaches all the way to Noordhoek (or visa versa but because we drive on the left hand side I'd recommend starting in Hout Bay - far less scary) and consists of 114 curves!!!! It's an absolutely stunning drive with the rock face on one side and the sea on the other.

 

Chapman's Peak is also known for it's horrific rockfalls but when the sun is out it makes for the perfect day out - there are even a few spots that are safe to stop at have a picnic.

We were both really blown away by how beautiful it was even though there were recently terrible veld fires which left a lot of the plants burnt, but the magical thing about nature is that the regrowth had already started leaving wonderful patches or vibrant bright green amongst the burnt bushes.



 

 

 

 

There is a tariff to use the pass but is definitely worth going. The Pass is occasionally closed for safety reasons when there is bad weather.

The littler loves of our life

Shortly after we got married we decided that our house could only truly be a home if we had something furry to love (this may have been a plan to prolong the need to start having babies but I somehow think this back fired).

Living in a tiny apartment complex not knowing where we will be in a few years a kitten was almost out of the question and our goldfish Messi- of course, just wasn't fulfilling our cuddling needs.

So the search began. We decided after a lot of research a guinea pig would be perfect for us and searched high and low from one end of Cape Town to the other looking for one. After a long hot day in the car with very little success we were about to give up hope when I found a lady online who was looking for a home for her 6 week old litter.
We couldn't wait to go pick one out and we knew the minute we saw her that Bijou needed to come home with us. She was so soft and tiny she almost looked like a little hamster.
It's absolutely amazing how much love this little guinea pig has bought into our lives, she has so much personality and a little noise or squeak for everything. Our fridge has it's own personal burglar alarm now because every time you open it she thinks she is getting a snack and goes bananas.

Little did we know that Bijou had a huge surprise waiting for us. We noticed that this little piggy wasn't so little anymore and almost over night she had doubled in size. Not knowing what was wrong with her we rushed her off to the vet who told us she was just a little bloated - a very expensive trip to be told she had gas. So we took her home and watched what she ate and just assumed she was a healthy growing piggy, only for a few weeks later to feel little kicks from inside.

HOW EXCITING!!!!



Joey is one on the babies we decided
to keep because obviously Bijou needed
a friend if she'd gone as far as making
her own.

Bijou grew and grew until you literally needed two hands to pick her up out of her cage, and like any pregnant mommy she really didn't seem to comfortable. We had no idea when these babies would arrive or what to do with them or even if she would know what to do. Every morning we would sneak through the bedroom door and hope to find these tiny gifts but day after day nothing happened until the 25 of March when 3 teeny tiny pups had joined their mommy.

It has been so awesome to watch something you love grow and all 4 of these guinea pigs are absolutely precious. It really is the best feeling after a long day at work to come home and see their little faces peeping through their cage to greet you (Pieter has a lovely face to).....even if it is just to say 'Bring me food Salad Slave'.

 

Bijou and her 3 little babies

 

The Story of Us

So we got married a little while ago....although it feels like a long while ago - which I guess is a good thing because hopefully after a very long while we will still be as happy as we are now.
Anyway, we made a DIY wedding website to tell all of our guest the details of the wedding and personally I think we did a pretty great job at it.
My favourite part was sharing with our guests the way Pieter and I met, we each wrote down what we remembered from the very first day we met and it was so special.
Even though we only had a small wedding with the people who are most special to us there are many of them that didn't know we met online so it was a really cool way of telling them our story.

If you'd like to read it you welcome to check out the website

*One of the best websites I found for everything and anything when we were planning our wedding was offbeatbride.com they had lots of unique ideas and helpful links.

Re-Loved

I've been thinking a lot lately that it's time to look at our blog again and write a little more about the things that we love to love.

A lot has happened, a lot has changed, new towns, new jobs, new homes and we have gotten married so life has really opened up a whole lot of other adventures for us over the past year. Our poor little blog has been forgotten about and it's time for it to be re-loved.

On the plus side with so much change there are a lot of things we have to share so here's hoping for many more posts to coming and hopefully a few people will enjoy reading them.

We haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list

So lately we have been so busy adventuring we haven't even had a chance to tell you all about them. So we going to backtrack a little and post a few recent adventures over the next few weeks.

We were so blessed to have gone on the biggest adventure of our life time a month or two ago when we visited Amsterdam, the UK and Paris. We could keep you busy for hours with the pictures and stories but all of that will come in good time.

We finally visited the Constantia wine route as well as some old favourite and went to a Kirstenbosch Sunset Concert which I think will be a yearly tradition from now on because it’s so much fun and one of the most beautiful places in Cape Town.

And there’s also the odd spot we've stayed this year that we never got round to share.

“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.” 

― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 

Madam Butterfly

So last night we got really cultured and went to the beautiful Madam Butterfly opera at the Artscape Theater in Cape Town. What an absolute treat! 

I was lucky enough to have won tickets on Facebook through 021 Magazine (definitely worth following in you live in Cape Town - they often have very cool give-aways) so off we went all glammed up to watch the opera. Even though it was pouring with rain it was an unforgettable experience.

Madam Butterfly is an opera by Puccini about an American navel officer who marries a Japanese lady and then abandons her. It really is a beautiful opera and what made it even better was that the entire opera is has subtitles from Italian to English of a screen above the stage.

If you are planning on having a drink or something to nibble before hand keep in mind that is it slightly price and if you want to be part of the cool crowd you'll need a fur coat - we do highly advise against it though as PETA's worst nightmare may just well be the opera.

Follow the giant strawberry

I'm going to let you in on a huge secret because it's just far too good to keep all to ourselves. If you ever find yourself peckish in a Saturday afternoon and you want to treat your taste buds you want to listen closely now...

Mooiberge Farm Stall is famous for the huge strawberry and brightly coloured animals and scarecrows they have in their strawberry patches (as well as the best strawberries). BUT their new treasure has to be The Farmers Kitchen. This little cafe/restaurant is a real hidden gem which you so often miss as you speed along the R44 between Somerset West and Stellenbosch.

The menu includes a number of very unique dishes, many of which include strawberries and they have some very decedent baked goodies - the chocolate brownies are to die for!! We'd recommend you don't sit next the cake shelf because the smell is absolutely intoxicating -this lead to us buying half the tray on our first visit.

The menu is full of amazing treats; our personal favourite is off the lunch menu - Bobotie Tartlets. This traditional South African dish is topped off with a softly poached egg and the combination is amazing!

Another perk to this trip is if you go over the weekend you can pop into the amazing Root 44 market and wander around for hours.

Phone: 021 881 344
e-mail: info@thefarmerskitchen.co.za
Hours: Mon - Fri: 08:30 - 17:00

             Sat - Sun: 09:00 - 17:00

Cape of History

For years I have wanted to visit the Castle of Good Hopes, those walls hold so many stories and one can only imagine what has happened on that soil hundreds of years ago.

Last week we had to go to Cape Town to apply for our Schengen visas and decided that such a gorgeous winters day in the Mother City could not go to waste so we decided visit the Castle. We got there just in time because at 12pm sharp they have The Key Ceremony on the front lawns and it really is worth watching. You can see this at 11am, 12pm and again at 14pm every week day.

We bought a map and tried to figure out where what was and deep down inside hoped to run into one of the many ghosts that inhabit the Castle but there was no such luck that day. Instead we spent the afternoon wondering through old passages and up and down narrow stairways enjoying the view from the top of the bell tower. The map was a bit tricky to make head or tails of but the majority of rooms had a piece written about them outside.

Normally when you visit a castle or historical building you get a sense of the past and what happened many years ago so this visit was slightly disappointing as many of the rooms were being used for some political conference. There were tents and cameramen spotted all over the lawns and it really detracted from the history. There are 2 museums at the Castle, one is a military museum which was very interesting and the other the William Fehr Collection which is a collection of old paintings and furniture. 

We got in for an absolute bargain with our student cards - R15 per person - Adult rate is R30 and Children R15.
The Castle of Good Hope is open seven days a week (Monday to Sunday) and only closed to the public on Christmas Day(25 Dec) and New Year(01 Jan).

Contact Details:

Telephone:            +27 21 787 1260

Tour Bookings:     +27 21 787 1249

E-Mail:                    casteel@mweb.co.za

Gates open:                               09h00 daily (last entry 15h30 - close at 16h00)
Key Ceremony                          Monday-Friday (10h00 & 12h00)
Firing of Signal Cannon:          Monday-Friday (10h10 & 12h10), Saturday (11h00 & 12h00)

Stairway

Key Ceremony

Model train at the Military Museum

The most handsome man in the World

Sweet dreams are made of Cheese

Not so long ago we decided to take a post-Mothers day trip to Fairview and the new buzz about town The Spice Route.

What a treat! My Skoonma and I absolutely love cheese,any cheese and when you combine it with wine you have a winner (and possibly our favorite pass time).

This wasn't our first trip to Fairview but visiting out of season is definitely a more relaxed option - being the tourist hot spot it is November - March is always busy. The tasting fee is very reasonable and offers you 2 options, one includes cheese and wine and the other simple cheese- which makes it a fantastic outing  if you're taking younger people along or people who just aren't big wine drinker. That being said their wines are fantastic and very well prices. They have a number of very unique wines and Spanish cultivar which is something different for the South African palette but absolutely divine. Don't forget to ask your wine assistant which cheese pairs with which wine because then these two worlds come together you have something really special (it also give you a sneaky excuse to make your way around the cheese counter again). We walked away with a basket full of tasty cheeses and a bottle of the Goatfather-the bottle has such a quirky label you almost don't want to drink it. You can also stock up on lovely baked goodies like breads and croissants to go with your cheeses but defiantly get there early because they sell out of the good stuff very quickly.

Cheese, Wine and all things nice at Fairview

Once we had finished enjoy everything Fairview has to offer we hopped in the car with our massive Cheese-hangovers and headed towards The Spice Route. It's not a far drive and in fact they are neighbors. You can't miss the beautiful estate that has managed to capture one of the most magical views Paarl has to offer.
The Spice Route is made up of a number of different restaurants, tasting rooms as well as an art gallery. The Beer and Biltong tasting at Barley and Beer offers a 100% South African experience and afterwards you can actually visit the brewery and see the entire process. Not being the biggest beer drinker and still suffering from the cheese endued stomach coma we opted for biltong platters which although it was well price they were pretty stingy with the pieces.
We didn't have much time left that day so instead of having another wine tasting (we will definitely be back some time) we decided to try the chocolatier which offered a delicious MoocaHotChocolate. We also ordered a gorgeous piece of cake but once we'd had our first bite released the filling was actually mouldy-not very impressive and the staff did very little to try and fix the situation which put a bit of a damper on the experience, it was fairly over priced compared to other artisan chocolate that in my opinion are far better and I wouldn't rush back.  They also have a very interesting chocolate tasting and tour but unfortunately they close promptly at 16:30. 

The Spice Route has so much to offer you could spend a whole day enjoying it. 

DV Artisan Chocolate

CBC Brewery

Things to live by

Little Oasis in the big city

Company Gardens (Cape Town)

Not even there 5 min and the pigeons
are happy to see us

We went to Cape Town to have a look at the Company Gardens in the center of town. A garden in the center of town that has a relaxed atmosphere? Who would have thought that if they haven't been there before. Parking was a little bit of a problem but it is a popular part of town so we were mentally prepared for it....woosa! The effort is well worth it. 

The gardens are beautiful and full of life......families having a picnic on the lawn while surrounded by doves that gets the attention of the little ones.Romance is in the air as couples relax on the grass, holding each other in their arms while the time slows down and they notice how lucky they are. Groups of friends relaxing and listening to music. The professional photographer making the sky twinkle like stars in the day light. The air is filled with laughter, smiles and appreciation for the atmosphere/beauty that mother nature provides.

The Company Gardens has a little restaurant that provides delicious meals for reasonable prices, it is not fine dinning but it is nice comfort food. The Company Gardens is surrounded by 5 museums, the South African Museum, SA Museum Planiterium, SA National Gallery, Slave Museum and the Jewish Museum. Unfortunately all the museums were closed when we were in the area because it was a public holiday.

It's a big World

United Kingdom

South Africa

United States

Germany

Russia

Netherlands

Brazil

France

Ireland

Morocco

Colombia

Romania

Greece

Poland

Turkey

Vietnam
Malaysia
Panama
Singapore
Colombia 
Finland
Spain
Italy
Serbia
Zimbabwe
Israel
Ukraine
France
Saudi Arabia

So many people from all over the World visiting our blog. Thank you so much for taking the time to let us share our wonderful adventures with you.