What does one do in Franschhoek? Eat and drink mainly.
So tonight we went out - to a restaurant in a winery a few miles from where we're staying. The winery is called Freedom Hill - the hill having been named by Nelson Mandela as it was straight in front of him on his release from prison some 20 years ago (he wasn't actually released from Robben Island - he had been transferred here). Getting to the restaurant we discovered that on a Friday night we were the only customers, normally I'd take that as a bad sign, but as it's winter here and looking at the restaurant we didn't worry - we were right not to. The menu was fantastic with almost too much choice including our favourite way of starting a meal - mezé (or tapas in this case but with a lot of middle-eastern influence). For mains we both plumped for the "venison" - which here means "antelope" instead of deer - and in this particular case meant kudu - two thick steaks each, served with sweet potato purée, cape gooseberrries, roasted beetroot and parsnip. Heaven! We had their own wines - the Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon being excellent. The waiter - Able - is from Malawi and is a die-hard supporter of Arsenal and is not only very friendly but also very knowledgeble about the food and wine on offer - we spent a very pleasant part of the evening chatting with him about his home, local history and (shock, horror) football! If anyone is interested - http://freedomhill-live.co.za/
Tomorrow should be - more eating and drinking if all goes to plan! Hard life....