The Laurie Local

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  • Day 6 – Addendum

    So after our foo foo afternoon tea Jules and I got ready and went to a recommended restaurant for dinner.  It was excellent.  The exchange for the US dollar is unbelievable…it is so cheap here we cannot get over it.  Cath…we got a wine called Rall, which is a reserve and only made 7 barrels!  We talked with the owner for a long time regarding this winery… always great to talk to the owner whenever one can.  He grew  up in Stellenbosch and knows all of the locals and can be picky for his wines.  It was great and did I tell you that it only cost $45…so of course we got two!

    We were going to settle in for the night and Jules realized that she forgot her Blackberry at the restaurant…so away we went back to the restaurant and Jules thought it would be good idea for a shot…not really sure where she got that idea or why…but we did one.  We asked our driver what he would choose since we do not “do” shots and he picked Bell…not good when some one that you do not know picks you a shot…so whiskey it was…oh boy!
    Paid for it today…but that is for the post tomorrow.
    Love and miss you all…we are 25 minutes from the New Year and will most likely be asleep before the New Year rings in.

  • Day 6 – Table Mountain

    Day 6 – Table Mountain

    SA’s most celebrated geographical landmark, and there surely are a lot of them, Table Mountain dominates the Cape Town skyline from almost every direction. It is reckoned to be the most climbed massif but Jules and I opted for the more leisurely route and took the cableway up and down.  The hike was just not going to work with my new sandals purchased at the over priced Graff Winery (see day 4 comments).  The views are 270 degrees of the penninsula and I will let them speak for them selves…

    Back at the hotel, we were quite civilized with an English afternoon tea.  Although the English may comment of the lack go formality by many of the participants, it was actually pretty good.

  • 5th day – Cape of Good Hope

    5th day – Cape of Good Hope

    We set off at 9:00 for a full day traveling to the Cape of Good Hope.  Mom and dad, this was so much prettier than the Cape Horn in South America.  This is a 90-mile round trip with some of the best ocean scenery I have ever seen.  We had the same driver as yesterday, Rayner, and he was great again.
    The drive down the coast is one beautiful bay after another with amazing cliffs and towns along the way…

    One stop included Hout Bay, which is a fishing harbor.  Greg, we found a new way for you to feed the seals in Booth Bay…you just have to put the fish right in your mouth and the seals will jump right up and get it…wonder if Jules will ever kiss you after that???
    We continued on to the Cape Point Ostrich Farm.  These animals are pretty stupid and Rayner said that if they are infertile they are sent packing to end up as dinner…he says it takes like beef…not chicken.

    The next stop was to the Table Mountain National Park, which encorporates the entire bottom of the penninsula.  It is nature reserve set up in 1938 and encompasses 7,750 hectares of land and 40 kilometers of coastline.  There is a lot of wildlife but the main viewing animals are the baboons.  This reminded me so much of Alaska with looking out for the bears…
    The Cape of Good Hope is pretty spectacular with the two oceans coming together…

    After that we had lunch at the Blue Marlin, which overlooked the Indian Ocean and then to the penguin colony at a beach called The Boulders. They are adorable…

    The last stop was a viewing of Muizenberg Bay which is an enormous surfing spot on the Indian Ocean side of the penninsula due to warmer water but this is also where shark attacks happen.   Our viewing point is from a shark lookout point.  Rayner and I tried to convince Jules to go and do a caged shark dive but she has decided to pass…I am not sure if she is more afraid of the shark or the cold water?
    All in all…it was incredible and we are quite lucky to have had such a great guide for two days.

  • 4th day – Wine country

    4th day – Wine country

    Nothing like heading to wine country at 9:00 am…Cath we did you proud and missed you all day for this excursion.  
    First stop is the town of Stellenbosch.  This is the second oldest town in SA, founded in 1679, and is the heart of the Winelands.  There are over 200 wineries and all day, Jules and I thought we were right back home in Napa Valley.  Our first stop was to Waterford Winery and it was beautiful.  Jules went for it with starting off with a 7 tasting and I lagged behind with only a 3 tasting…as previously noted…I would pay for that last bottle of champagne the night before…ugh!  They are known for pairing their wines with chocolate and it was delicious.  SA does not have the insane liquid restrictions as the US for flights so we picked up a great cabernet reserve for when we are on safari.

    The next visit was to Delaire Graff Estate.  This could be one of the most beautiful wine farms I have ever been too…to bad the wines did not live up to the estate…they were ok and have to say that two we wanted to try were sold out…but we passed on any purchases of wine but did purchase some scarfs and a pair of sandals in their boutique store.  We also passed on making any purchases in the diamond room.  This winery is owned by Laurence Graff who is chairman of Graff Diamonds International and he spared no expense when he transformed the property to an unbelievable spectacular place but they should have just stuck to wine making.

    For lunch we headed to the town Franschhoek.  This is a settlement started in 1694.  These lands were granted to French Huguenot families by the Dutch East India company and helped to master the wine making in SA.  This was a quaint town with shops, galleries and great restaurants.  

    The day finished with one more winery stop at Fairview Winery in Paarl.  This winery is known for the pairing of wine and cheese and it was really good.  We picked up a bottle of chardonnay for the safari.

    All and all the day was awesome!!!

  • 3rd day – Cape Town

    3rd day – Cape Town

    The day was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky and Jules and I headed out to visit the waterfront.  After walking a little bit with only one or two bad turns (JB here – we were lost…which became very evident when we had to cross a highway and go around several round-abouts which were made for vehicle transportation, not foot transportation.  Our tourist side shoulder bags kept us safe) we made it and it was like Faneuil Hall on steroids.  The place was huge and packed!  The location is known as the V&A Waterfront and is all outdoor cafes, crazy nightlife and shopping till you drop, which for Jules, can be a very long time.  It has 2 ocean aquariums, we passed on both, life-size statues of four Nobel Peace Prize winners – Luthuli, Tutu, De Klerk and Mandela (pics to follow), a clock tower that dates back to 1882 and a ferris wheel…yup…we did the tourist thing and went aboard.

    Here are some view pics on board –

    Here’s Jule’s with her new friend (JB: infamous side bag mentioned earlier- new hat will be purchased at the safari lodge after seeing this picture)

    We had a great lunch and proceeded to drink the afternoon away…sitting on a back deck…listening to live music and chatting with some locals. (JB: we attempted to chat with an extremely drunk local white woman who at times showed all out rage toward us mixed with unrequited love for Laur’s white top.  I got to hold a local child, which soon resulted in the local drunk woman insisting on holding child, which was a scary sight to behold.  Laur then said that we were going to the deck at the next restaurant over to dance at 2pm with 10 drunk middle-aged woman who were dancing to a band playing Purple Rain. We went to the deck, but thankfully we absconded from dancing) 

    Upon our long overdue departure we listened to some local music – (Laur knew all the words to their songs)

    The night ended with a bottle of champagne back at the hotel…for one last one which I pay for the next day.
  • 2nd day of our adventure…all travel

    2nd day of our adventure…all travel

    This is all we got…after 30 hours of travel…
    The hotel is beautiful…Mount Nelson Hotel.
  • 1st day of our adventures

    1st day of our adventures

    This all started with a casual turn, and maybe too many martinis, of Julie’s head and a casual question to me…would you want to go to Africa?  And that’s all it took was for us to win the auction at the American Alpine Club’s charity event and here we are…about to travel for the next 30 hours to end up in Cape Town, South Africa.

    The itinerary includes 5 nights in Cape Town, 5 nights at the Zulu Nyala Game Lodge and then 2 nights in Zambia at the Victoria Falls.
    Jules and I will be able to check this trip off of our bucket lists.
    Our flight to Atlanta was uneventful…which is exactly what one wants.
    We have boarded the flight to Joburg…yes…that is what it is called…and Jules is in her pod.  Pic to follow…if I can work the technology…God help me.

    Ok…so I lost all of my data that I typed on the plane…whatever… But business class was unbelievable!!!  The food, pillows, blanket and bed were awesome.  (Julie here… Laur who lost 90% of what we posted spent 4hours of our flight teaching a woman how to use the touch screen…. I fault Laurie for her lack of technical skills and not the 80 year woman, as touch screen is an ageless skill – I decided to dress as a truck driver on the top (as you can see above)  and an out of shape 46 year old on the bottom with black stretch pants – yes I do own a full length mirror for all you young ones with greAt bodies – I picked comfort over age appropriate).