Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and Waterford

          We spent our morning wandering the streets of Franschhoek; it feels just like Napa or Sonoma with quaint little shops and lush vineyards on either side.  We were all planning on riding the wine train but we had some miscommunication with the hotel and did not allow for enough time to ride the train, eat lunch, and get to our wine safari on time...not one to miss a meal OR a train ride, we opted to just ride the train to the lunch destination and bypass the winery stops (bypassing wine?? Who are we?? I know, crazy!!).  Little Guy could not have been more excited to ride first on a bus, then on a train, THEN on a tractor!  Talk about the trifecta.  The wine tour company was so accommodating and made sure we got everywhere we needed to be on time, even making a quick u-turn to grab us when we got confused on the pick up location- we love these friendly South Africans!  We all enjoyed a light lunch, even Mr. Wyatt Bear got in on the action, and then headed home to get ready for a open jeep wine safari.  

          Our wine safari took place in the Stellenbosch region at the Waterford Winery.  Lyndsay's friend from the travel world and his partner who live in Toronto joined us since it's his brother who owns the winery and they were the ones who lined it all up for us (see why we travel with the Harshman Family?!?!).  They were great fun with interesting stories to share about the winery's history and staff.  Highlights from our time at Waterford included the friendly dog that ran along side the jeep for the whole tour, the water fountain that Little Guy conveniently found a way to get soaking wet in (I wasn't in charge...) and the chocolate and wine pairing we did at the end.    We loved the safari and the wine SO much that we all went in on a case to have shipped home...Daddy said I was in charge and he wanted a few bottles...and then he found out later that between the cost of the bottle and the shipping rates, it better end up being some of the most delicious wine we've had to date.

          We decided after a very tiring day and the fact we didn't even leave the winery until after 6, that we would do easy bar food for dinner...the hot dog was raved about, but our definition of a hot dog and Le Quartier Francais' definition are a little different so we had the chicken skewers.  

          I can't believe how fast our vacation is flying by.  With something to see or do all day long, it seems like we've seen so much and yet there's so much more to explore.  Tomorrow we head out to the Capetown Airport and fly to Sabi Sabi for our last safari before heading home.  Good night!

Bread and Wine

          Doug picked the boys up super early this morning to head out for a golfing experience.  We'll see how everyone is holding up after 18 holes, two of the foursome aren't much for golf.  We were left to pack up all the gear and say goodbye to our Capetown villa...until next time, we'll miss you!  We arrived in Franschhoek at Le Quartier Francais and were immediatley excited about our upgrade.  Our original bed and breakfast lodging had flooded so they had transferred our reservations to one of the top 100 hotels in the world, score!  We had a fenced in courtyard that was PERFECT for Little Guy to play in while I unpacked the luggage and then we headed over to meet Jodie and Sarah for some swim time before lunch.
          We met up the boys post golf for a lunch and afternoon adventure at Bread and Wine.  We've decided Americans could learn a thing or two from the South African restaurant world- this place had a kids corner set up outside right next to all the seating so your kiddos could play blocks, trains, trucks, or dolls while mommy and daddy enjoyed a meal, brilliant!  The boys were all over this and it was nice to know that Little Guy wasn't being forced to sit through another long lunch.  I was even more excited that they specialized in a house made fresh lemonade, it was exactly what I had been craving!  We had another amazing meal (shocker!) and then spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the garden, sampling the wine, and admiring the orchid green house.  It was sad to say a final goodbye to the Thompson family, but we're still hoping they come visit us stateside.
          No day would be complete without an intimate dinner reservation at Ryan's Kitchen...we decided to book babysitting with the hotel since this was a TINY restaurant not too conducive to our little boys and their energetic ways!  We felt a little sorry for our babysitter, but we warned her to bring a flashlight and a book since both boys were sleeping in our pitch black room...she didn't bring anything and ended up just sitting in the room while we were gone, but the boys did great and never woke once while we were gone.
          The setting for dinner was amazing, it was literally the living room/family room of a little house and you watched the kitchen as it prepared dinner.  There were four or five small tables, we were the largest group.  The chefs were unfortunately not as inviting to us as the hostess made it seem, but we still enjoyed a very entertaining meal with genius plating techniques.  We hoped into the kitchen after dinner for some group shots and Daddy ended up pretty embarrassed when he got close to who he thought was his wife, but it ended up being Lyndsay...apparently we are VERY easy to mistake from the back.  Some of our crew rounded out the night with drinks at the hotel bar, but it was bedtime for us!  Tomorrow we're hitting up town before taking the wine train to lunch and then heading out on a open jeep wine safari!

Tastes So Good

Mr. Wyatt Bear has been grabbing for my spoon for some time now and today I couldn't hold him off any longer.  After two spilled cocktails due to flailing baby hands, I let him munch on a banana and he LOVED it!  There's not a whole lot I am comfortable offering him since we're on vacation so far from home, but banana seemed safe enough.  He was so excited he gummed a chunk right off which confirmed my choking fears so we switched to mashed banana from the spoon- he didn't prefer the latter.  I think we have a good eater on our hands!

Table Mountain and The Pot Luck Club

          The boys headed out before we were even awake this morning to get a jump on their three hour hike...I think I am secretly relieved I had the babies as an excuse to miss that wake up call.  We headed out around 9 and arrived at the base of the mountain on what had to be the clearest morning we have seen so far in Capetown.  Little Guy was once again very excited to ride another version of a choo choo up a VERY high mountain.  The gondola up gives spectacular views all the while spinning so you don't miss any angle...I was a little queasy by the time we reached the peak.            Table Mountain is a site to be seen from the ground, but nothing compares to literally being above the clouds while you walk around on the top.  I was slightly (alright, terribly!) terrified that Little Guy would find a way to climb up and over the edge, but we were able to keep him safe in part to the help from Gigi and the Ergo.  I love baby wearing and I love it even more when other people are baby wearing my kiddos!  We spent a few hours at the top (there was some miscommunication about when we would be meeting up), had a random run in with people who know Scott and Lyndsay from Seattle (small world!), and had to forgo the group photo when rain started to pour down and lightening was striking- apparently seeing your hair stand on end while you can see lightening and hear thunder is a very dangerous situation!  By the time we made it back down the mountain, the rain had stopped and we were ready for a nap!  

          The boys took the kiddos home and the ladies (plus Brad) ventured to Green Square Market for some shopping...I scored some awesome "real" Ray Bans and a great new hat- spoiler alert, the sunglasses never made it home from dinner, bummer!  

          We kept our shopping brief and headed home to get ready for dinner at the Pot Luck Club.  Lyndsay had made these reservations months earlier and they were a hard ticket to get even on a Monday night...we planned to spend a few hours perusing the little shops and centers around dinner, but everything closed at 4 so we just munched on chocolate and drank wine.  Dinner was amazing, I am really proud to say I ate every single thing we ordered.  In a tapas restaurant I can be good for eating maybe a quarter of what is served but tonight I sampled every dish and they were all divine!  I especially loved my cocktail and apparently so did Mr. Wyatt Bear as he knocked it from my hand twice.  We jokingly say we're eating our way through South Africa, but I think the joke is on us, because we can all barely move after every meal.  We're packing up tomorrow morning and heading to the Winelands with a lunch reservation at Bread and Wine...

Garden Route Tour and Food Barn

          Today we started out our journey bright and early with a walk down to grab breakfast before heading out on our garden route tour...well nothing opens early on Sunday and everything opens even later on Sundays during the winter holidays, so we settled for fresh air and exercise before loading into our tour van.  We ventured out past University of Capetown, the hospital that pioneered heart transplant surgery and the beautiful lookout point that had us all unloaded for pictures before we hit up the penguins...yes penguins in South Africa.  The penguins are quite the site and since I was lucky enough to see them four years ago, I stayed back in the van with our sleeping babes- they are still trying to get this time change down and naps are coming at the most odd times.  

          After the penguins we headed to the Cape of Good Hope.  It's here you can see the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans meet and the blue colored ocean is unlike anything you've seen before.  We grabbed a few group shots, including one with the Contra Costa Times, before heading to the lighthouse.  Daddy, Scott, and Brad hiked the hill while the mommies, Gigis, and kiddos took the tram- Little Guy was jazzed to be riding a choo choo up the mountain.  It was such a windy day that we decided it was probably safest if Gigi stayed at the base of the stairs with Mr. Wyatt Bear.    I made the mistake of telling Little Guy I hoped the wind didn't blow him out of my arms...he was terrified I would drop him in the big water, so he didn't enjoy the lighthouse as much as the rest of us.  We didn't see any baboons, which was a relief for most of us, but Gigi felt gypped.  

          We had to quickly wrap up our windy sight seeing because we had lunch reservations at the Food Barn.  This was something we were all looking forward to and we were not disappointed!  The food was delicious, the atmosphere was so quaint, and the champagne washed down my meal perfectly. The icing on the yummy cake was the the fact we were being treated to lunch by the tour company since we had had such a debacle of a time with the car seats, even better!  After nearly three hours at the restaurant, we hit up the local shops and deli before heading home.  We had to make sure to stock up on wine since Capetown does not sell alcohol on Sundays and we were fresh out.  The little kids did a great job hanging at lunch- there was an awesome playground and abandoned tractor to climb on as well as some prepared videos on the Kindle (Mommy thought ahead!).  

          We headed home with full bellies and decided to stay in for the night so the kiddos could get some rest and the adults could enjoy a glass of wine and some time to just sit back and visit.  We can't wait for a chance to work some of this food off with our trip tomorrow to Table Mountain!

Capetown- The Waterfront and a Braai

         We arrived in Capetown on Friday (12/6) evening after QUITE the adventurous transfer...apparently Little Guy gets carsick and we didn't know this until we started our four hour transfer drive and he threw up everywhere...like all over his car seat, his shirt, the floor, his toys, his mama, his daddy, and everything in between.  He's never thrown up before so he had no idea what was happening and it was just a total sad disaster.  We ended up on the side of road changing clothes twice (and throwing them away which killed me!) and trying to clean as best we could with a roll of paper towels and a bar of soap (talk about the worst day to have run out of baby wipes) all the while trying to catch a domestic flight that was getting closer and closer to taking off.  Spoiler alert, we made the flight, but just barely and with a quick stop in the snack bar for some individual wine bottles for some our in flight enjoyment.
         When we landed in Capetown we had a little confusion with our transfer time so we had some time to kill in the airport...it was a long day, but by the time we made it to our most amazing Capetown villa, all was forgotten.  We arrived to a prepared lamb dinner complete with a stocked fridge and two resident dogs, Sophie and Ginger...Wesley was in heaven to be in a house with dogs!  We mustered enough energy to bath Little Guy (he had after all spent all day lingering in the scent of throw up) and then it was off to bed.
          We spent Saturday the 7th exploring the water front, complete with lunch at Cape Grace and plenty of market shopping to fill our suitcases.  Capetown is an amazing city that just feels welcoming- there is so much history and since Nelson Mendela had passed away just a few days earlier, there were so many touching memorials and notes of remembrance to see.  Later that night we had our friends the Thompsons over for a traditional braai.  I met Doug last time I was in South Africa and I was so excited for him and his family to meet my hubby, boys, and my mom.  We had the best time eating on the ivy covered veranda and watching the kids play in the garden.  We ended the night cheersing to a great vacation and the hope that we'll have a chance to show the Thompsons California on day soon!