Hello loves! Apologies for the delay but as many of you
know it has been a rough few months. My daddy passed October 8, 2015 and
it has been difficult to sit down, gather thoughts and write about the
wonderful times I have experienced. In all honesty I did not think I
would laugh as loud, dance as hard or be the same person again. And in a
few ways I am not but that is for another blog entry.
So what has inspired me to pick up where we left off? MY MOM CAME TO ZAMBIA! Mom and I planned the 4 week trip prior to my daddy passing and she decided it was still a good idea. We have seen quite a few places in both Africa and Europe and we enjoyed every moment of the trip! Naturally, Mom was introduced to Lusaka and Livingstone in Zambia. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Cape Town and on the way home we enjoyed Amsterdam and Belgium! In this entry I will focus on our Thanksgiving in Cape Town!
After 23 hours and three flights, Mom arrived on the early morning of November 22!
So what has inspired me to pick up where we left off? MY MOM CAME TO ZAMBIA! Mom and I planned the 4 week trip prior to my daddy passing and she decided it was still a good idea. We have seen quite a few places in both Africa and Europe and we enjoyed every moment of the trip! Naturally, Mom was introduced to Lusaka and Livingstone in Zambia. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Cape Town and on the way home we enjoyed Amsterdam and Belgium! In this entry I will focus on our Thanksgiving in Cape Town!
After 23 hours and three flights, Mom arrived on the early morning of November 22!
I picked her up and we arrived at my home in Lusaka a little after 2am. That meant she entered my home with no power since ZESCO ‘puts us to bed’ a litter after midnight with load shedding. Thank goodness for the new rechargeable fan I purchased prior to her arrival which also has lights! That illuminated the hallway for her to climb the stairs and put her luggage away for the night. It also provided a cool breeze! This fan was worth the kwacha I spent!
The next morning was cloudy and I could sense we may finally get rain! I went to the grocery store for basic brunch necessities while Mom showered and unpacked. I chopped, sauteed, baked and prepared a pretty delicious brunch for my Mom. We sat outside on the veranda. It was cloudy but there was a nice breeze. We put on music, poured mimosas and enjoyed a very nice brunch which consisted of fresh fruit, veggie omelet, fried potatoes and pesto bread. As timing would have it the rains came as we finished brunch. The storm knocked off our power but no worries. We moved inside sat around the living room with mimosas, listening to the rain, music and just talking for 2 hours. It was just REALLY nice. Welcome to Lusaka Mom!
After a few welcoming days in Lusaka it was time to go to Cape
Town! At first we just wanted to take out our friends to a nice
restaurant for Thanksgiving but they talked us out of that and into a
braii. We are glad they did! Ingrid, her brother Eric
(affectionately termed, The General), his wife, Carol (“keep it moving baby!”)
and their daughter, Bianca, warmly welcomed us into their home for the
Thanksgiving feast. After grocery
shopping the ladies spent the day sipping wine as we prepared the meat, salads
and fruit. We talked, laughed, (continuously) sipped wine, caught up, set
the table and then the men put the meat on the grill. Dinner was
amazing! No turkey but A LOT of beef haha The dinner truly reminded me of
Thanksgiving: we drank wine (did I mention that we had wine at
Thanksgiving?), cooked, bonded, talked and really just enjoyed each other's
company. We are truly thankful to have met such great people and to have
them in our lives.
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| (from top l to bottom r: dessert selection with red velvet cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes and fruit; beef sausage and chicken wrapped in bacon; greek salad; lemon and herb chicken; steak; cheeseburgers) |
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| Ingrid and Spurge wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving! |
The next day Ingrid had to work so Mom and I decided to make it
Friday Spa Day! We booked the Urban Retreat treatment at the One &
Only located on the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town (http://capetown.oneandonlyresorts.com/spa.aspx). The cost was R2300 (approximately $185) and
promised a nice lunch, a 90 minute facial and a 90 minute massage.
Additionally, we would have access to their 'relaxation room' before and after
the treatment to indulge in light snacks such as hummus, celery, granola,
cranberries, yogurt, tea and water assortment. The relaxation room also
boasted of sauna, revitalization pool and even warm floors. Very
nice.
We arrived at 12:30. The first part of the day was to enjoy lunch. Lunch was at Reubens (http://capetown.oneandonlyresorts.com/content/pdf/restaurants/Reubens/2015/ReubensMenu_Nov15.pdf) and wow what a culinary delight! And the wine list is divine!
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| Lamb bobtie samosas |
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| Salmon |
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| Pork belly |
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| AMAZING (but expensive) wine! |
It was a really great day! So much so, we didn’t want it to end! So after a few minutes lounging in the relaxation room, Mom and I dressed and went to the lobby of the hotel for refreshing cocktails. When Ingrid arrived, along with my friend Bethany (also working at the Mission in Zambia) and her best friend from home, we decided we would also dine there. But where? Ah across from Reubens was a delightful restaurant named Nobu. Nobu offers diners a Japanese/South American fusion menu (http://www.noburestaurants.com/cape-town/menus/dinner-2/#.Vn2ImPkrKM8). The food was not only delicious but there was plenty of it! Six of us shared our individual dishes around the table and we literally left the restaurant rubbing our bellies and humming with delight!
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| Miso soup |
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| Tuna shashimi new style served in a yummy ginger, sesame and soy sauce. |
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| Oysters |
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| Shrimp spicy garlic. The sauce was DELICIOUS! |
If you find yourself in Cape Town, take note of both restaurants!
Of course Mom and
I are in Cape Town and we must do wine tasting!
As always, it was a beautiful day when Mom, Ingrid and I ventured to
Stellenbosch and decided to find farms which were new to our pallets. Even though we started late
(recommendation: start wine touring by 9
– 10am … we started at noon, oops) we managed to sip sip sip at three wine
farms: Simonsig, Warwick and Uitkyk.
We were hungry and decided it was best to start the tour on a farm with good food so our first stop was Simonsig. Cuvee is the name of the signature restaurant if you prefer to enjoy more than just cheese/bread plates. The food was delicious! Ingrid and I enjoyed the braised beef short rib with parmesan gnocchi, confit turnips, edamame & carrot while Mom enjoyed the line fish of the day which was salmon. We also enjoyed sides of the crispy potatoes and garden salad. We trusted the suggested wine on the menu – all of which were delicious! After we were adequately satisfied (meaning our bellies were full enough to consume copious amounts of wine) we walked over to the tasting area. The area was full but our server kindly set us up a table outside in the garden right in front of a live band. The wine tasting was reasonably priced and we were able to select 5 for tasting. Our server provided a cold glass of the Kaapse Vonkel to ‘cleanse our pallet’ in preparation of the tasting. It was delicious! My selections were Kaapse vonkel brut rosé, Chenin avec chêne, Gewürztraminer, Redhill pinotage and the Merindol syrah. All of us left with a bottle of the Syrah! It was by far our favorite on the farm.
We were hungry and decided it was best to start the tour on a farm with good food so our first stop was Simonsig. Cuvee is the name of the signature restaurant if you prefer to enjoy more than just cheese/bread plates. The food was delicious! Ingrid and I enjoyed the braised beef short rib with parmesan gnocchi, confit turnips, edamame & carrot while Mom enjoyed the line fish of the day which was salmon. We also enjoyed sides of the crispy potatoes and garden salad. We trusted the suggested wine on the menu – all of which were delicious! After we were adequately satisfied (meaning our bellies were full enough to consume copious amounts of wine) we walked over to the tasting area. The area was full but our server kindly set us up a table outside in the garden right in front of a live band. The wine tasting was reasonably priced and we were able to select 5 for tasting. Our server provided a cold glass of the Kaapse Vonkel to ‘cleanse our pallet’ in preparation of the tasting. It was delicious! My selections were Kaapse vonkel brut rosé, Chenin avec chêne, Gewürztraminer, Redhill pinotage and the Merindol syrah. All of us left with a bottle of the Syrah! It was by far our favorite on the farm.
After Simonsig we ventured to Uitkyk wine farm. “Uitkyk” means “look out” which is appropriate as one can enjoy the gorgeous views which includes Table Mountain in the distance. At this farm we enjoyed a glass of Methode Cap Classique sparkling wine, again, to cleanse our pallet. After which we enjoyed 5 wines for tasting. I enjoyed their Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage, Claronet and Shiraz. The wine was surprisingly good and I walked away from the farm purchasing a bottle of the Chenin Blanc and Claronet.
Our final farm was Warwick. It was 4:30pm so we had a good thirty minutes to enjoy all the farm had to offer in terms of tasting. Let’s get to it! We enjoyed six wines at the final farm: Cabernet Franc, The Black Lady (Syrah), The Three Cape Ladies (Pinotage 40% Cabernet Sauvignon 30% Syrah 30%), The First Lady (Cabernet Sauvignon named after First Lady, Michelle Obama), Professor Black (Sauvignon Blanc) and The First Lady (Rose). Mom loved the idea that a bottle of wine was named after First Lady, Michelle Obama, so naturally we left with a bottle of The First Lady. At the end of the tasting Mom looked at me, straight face, sinister smile, slow blink and says, “I am drunk!” LOL well I would say wine tasting was a success!
This was my 20th time in Cape Town and both restaurants, Reuben’s and Nobu, along with the spa experience were new to me. I promise you it will not be the last time I enjoy a day at The One & Only! Of course Thanksgiving was different as we missed Dad quite a bit … but we were surrounded by people we love and that love us. God is truly good. Cape Town, as always, was a great time with great food, weather and people. Crossing my fingers and hoping to return in February 2016!
Follow up entries will detail our adventures in the aforementioned destinations! Stay tuned!
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