Wine Country

Monday I went to the wine country and saw both Franschoek and Stellenbosch. The first is a town that claims a strong French heritage due to relocation of many French Huguenots who took refuge there after being granted farms by the dutch government. I went to a museum about this, which was interesting for me since it is part of my heritage, though our ancestors went west instead of south. This museum also has a monument.











Then we went to the Boschendal Estate which has very typical architecture of the region (though I'm sure it was one of the nicest houses of its time). We had a nice lunch there, but my hosts do not drink alcohol, so I did not taste any wine.






















After that we went to the Spier Estate, which has a training facility for dogs that will chase of cheetahs without harming them (since they are often killed by farmers in this region), a famous restaurant, a hotel, and beautiful grounds.











The wine region is most striking because not only does it have lush hills covered with pretty vineyards, but it has high mountains on either side of the valley. I didn't get a good picture to show the perspective - but it is quite beautiful. Mom, count your blessings that the university in Stellenbosch teaches in Afrikaans, so I can't teach there - because I would love to live in that town. A beautiful small town in this amazing valley only 45 minutes from the city and the beaches. Of course - I'm about to move to a beautiful small valley town near vineyards that is only an hour from the ocean and just over to a nice city - so I can't complain :)