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Published: August 21st 2016
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Schreduderhuis 1690-1720
Walk back into history, Stellenbosch Village Museum A change of pace today as we slowly visited sites around
Stellenbosch.
For a few hours this morning we visited the
Stellenbosch Village Museum, walking around on our own, looking at the restored historic
Dutch Cape houses. The Museum is perhaps unique: within a small space were four houses, each from a different historical period (1680-1870), each successive house bigger than the last. In each house a docent gave a little talk and answered questions. They were dressed as housekeepers according to the period they represented. The rooms in the houses had many artifacts, such as four-poster curtains and beds, dressing tables, commodes, toys, office tools, tea sets including samovars, and fully equipped kitchens. Being a cook in any of the houses would have been horrible under layers of clothing in front of deep fireplaces the length or width of the room during hot weather most of the year. The earliest house had dried herbs hanging from the roof crossbeam, and the latest one had a newly invented shower that closely resembled our camping showers made of a bucket and a hose. No indoor toilets in any of them.
After photographing the church, the manse and the theological seminary - all brilliant white
Butchery
So much more common in South Africa than in Canada in the hot sun - I decided this would be the opportunity to buy toothpaste (I had underestimated). Following Duanes’s hesitant directions, I found no pharmacy, but I did pass a butchery - this was my chance to see inside. I stepped across the threshold into the spicy, meaty fragrance of a traditional shop. A woman, probably the owner, was just inside working at a computer, and she looked up expectantly. I said, “I am a tourist from Canada.” And she said, “I can see that.” Undoubtedly my blue sun hat and camera gave me away. She exclaimed that her son lived in Merritt, BC, indeed that he was the golf pro and restaurant manager. While she looked him up on YouTube and Google Images, I snapped my photo. After suitable admiration of her son, I asked for directions to buy toothpaste. She sent me off to a shopping mall a couple of blocks away where there was a Checkers, a big grocery chain. (Not sure, but I think I was short-changed, and I had the same impression in Johannesburg – unwilling to make a fuss over a dollar either way.) By now I was late for the bus, so
Good times at Dornier Wines
Perfect weather for a delicious lunch I rushed through the hot streets.
Out in the country a bit, we came to the
Dornier Estate for wine tasting and lunch. We sat on the veranda, and a nice young woman poured small tastes of three whites and two reds (using the same glass every time – not right). She served the Chenin Blanc Bush Vine I had enjoyed last night and explained the “Bush Vine” designation meant it was grown naturally, not trellised (similar to the vines we saw in Santorini in Greece). The grapes are smaller and the flavour more concentrated. The final wine was Pinotage, developed on this Estate from Pinot Noir and Heritage grapes – full-bodied, smooth, and delicious. I ordered Pinotage to accompany lunch, which was an abundance of light dishes: charcuterie, mini-pizzas, eggplant slices rolled around feta cheese and red peppers, cabbage salad with exotic mushrooms, Caesar Salad, spring rolls with onion marmalade, and calamari with tomato jam.
For a couple of hours before our next wine tasting, we visited the
Afrikaans Language Monument, erected during the time
Afrikaans was being forced on the populations, a policy that led to the Soweto massacre of students. To our foreign and somewhat disdainful eyes, it
Afrikaans Language Monument
Graceful curves and soaring heights looked rather ridiculous – thrusting pillars fulfilled an interpretation of greatness. To my mind it looked more sexual than an Indian temple that is frankly meant to be sexual. Interesting encounter with the past.
The Fairburn Winery had a very commercial wine tasting operation. In a large hall, big circular wooden bars were staffed by efficient women who poured little samples. We were given a wine list, complete with prices, with about eight of their classic wines and a similar number of their newly developed wines. We were invited to select six for tasting (again using only one glass!). Running through them at speed was not particularly enlightening; however, we chatted amongst ourselves and picked our favourites. Duane gave us an additional 25 minutes to wander and visit the store. I flopped in a large soft chair and closed my eyes in the cool quiet alcove. Refreshing!
Our last push was to
Cape Town, our last destination. How thrilling was our first glimpse of
Table Mountain! Flat-topped mountains are not rare here, as we have seen on our journey, but Table Mountain sits separated from others because it used to be an island. As we drove into the Cape Town
Western Cape view
Landscape of harmony traffic, the mountain transformed from a blue haze to a solid mass to a green, bush-covered reality. Like all of Cape Town, our
City Lodge is situated at the foot of the mountain, plus we are right by the harbour.
Dinner: chicken wrap, salad, orange juice, and a glass of port courtesy of Betsy, bought in Barrydale.
View map of route to the end!
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Isabel Gibson
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The right change and other matters
I was shortchanged once in Guatemala - if you can call it that when the vendor just looks at you stupidly when you ask for your change. Since I was supposed to be learning Spanish, I went through it, slowly and painfully. This costs so much; I gave you this much; you owe me such and so. It wasn't a matter of even a dollar, but I wasn't going to give up just because I couldn't communicate it. When I finished he gave me a big grin. And my change. As for your ruminations about the serving class - yes, it is easy to look at all forms of earlier privilege and think how nice they were, forgetting what it must have been like to provide that luxury.