Visiting Stellenbosch Wine country....Day 6

We woke up this morning to mist over the mountains and a temp of 20 degrees, that's a drop of 14 degrees overnight,  quite astonishing.  After breakfast we were collected for our Wine tour, along with two young German girls, we made our way to our first wine farm.

The Lanzerac  wine farm is set in a stunning position surrounded by huge mountain range. We started off by sampling 5 wines that were paired with 5 different types of chocolate. After our wine  tasting we wandered around the grounds and came upon a wedding taking place in a stunning  location. 












We then moved onto our second wine farm  named, Neil Ellis,  this was smallish  farm but the 5 wines we shared with our German friends tasted were very good.












At the third wine farm, Camberley,  we decided that it would be a good spot to have a light lunch, sitting under the dappled light beneath the trees. The Camberley is a boutique wine farm with owner living next door.

Moving on, were reached our fourth wine farm, Boschendal, this was huge place with a high class restaurant,  a farm shop selling local bread,  cheeses,  meats and of course  a large selection of wine.














Our final stop was a Zorgvliet wine farm and this was the one with the most spectacular views of all. From the old Dutch colonial house, to the the huge pond with herons feeding and a horse paddock where Mandy made friends with a small pony.

All in all a superb day out with good wines, good food and some incredible  scenery, highly recommended. 

Stellenbosch..Day 5

Leaving Cape town , we drove East towards our next destination, the town of Stellenbosch.  On the way we passed the huge township that stretched  for miles along the highway. 

We arrived in Stellenbosch and were met by Amanda, the property manager.  Our first task was to sign in at security by having our fingerprints  read and saved by a biometric scanner. This gave us entry to all doors.....eat your heart out Star Trek.












The view from our apartment looks out onto vast vineyards with a backdrop of a dramatic mountain range. One slight problem  was that the temps were hitting 40 degrees, so after a late brunch at the Open door cafe it was time to unpack , grab a shower and settle in.











In the early evening we took the chance to explore the old town, because of the heat  it was only wise to make regular  pitstops  to take on liquid refreshment, these included...Bootleggers,  The  happy Oak (where they sprayed mist over the punters ) and The Bohemia. 

V & A Waterfront, Capetown....Day 4

 On a warm morning we made a slight error of walking down to the V&A waterfront,  we were pretty knackered when we got there, even at 9 in the morning it was still very hot. We headed for an air conditioned shopping mall to rehydrate and cool down. 

We decided to stay cool by visiting the Two oceans aquarium,  we managed to see the penguins being  feed as well as watching 2 divers feeding the rays. 

 We the stopped  for lunch at Vovo Telo, where the food was divine but the helpings were huge. With temps  hitting 30 degrees we thought it wise to return to the Anchor bay for a siesta. 











In the  evening we returned to the waterfront, our first port of  call was a German berhaus where we watched 2 talented guys on guitars singing some great tunes. After a bite to eat we made our way over to the Ferrymans tavern where there was some more superb  live music, a great finish to our time in Cape Town.

Table mountain and Kirstenbosch..Day 3

We made an early start and caught an Uber taxi up to the cable car station at Table mountain. We arrived early enough to have breakfast on the mountain  before exploring this iconic mountain with its dramatic  views over Capetown  and the surrounding area. 











We the made our way over to Kirstenbosch  botanical gardens,  our first stop  was at the Mayo  restaurant  for lunch. After we had eaten, Mandy “let it slip" that Rob had a landmark  birthday approaching. The staff then brought out several sets of drums and a energetic dancer  who dragged Rob onto the dance floor, luckily Rob has natural  rhythm  ????.......so he did not let the side down ! Sadly, Mandy filmed the whole  sorry incident.











We then spent some time exploring  this  wonderful area  of outstanding  natural beauty of the gardens and its bird life.












We the headed back to the V&A waterfront in  Capetown,  our first port of call was the Alfredo restaurant,  which is  an old favourite of ours where traditional  groups of musicians  put on a great display. 

 We returned to our guest house and sat on the balcony and  watched the sunset over the Atlantic ocean with 2 new friends, Germans , Rob and Gabrielle 

Doha to Capetown...Day 2

At 02.00 at Doha airport we boarded a Qatar  A350 Airbus and flew to Capetown, South  africa which took 10 hours.

We met by our driver at arrivals and took the 20 minute drive into the city, it was a treat to be met with blue skies,  warm sunshine and temps in the high 20's. 

 We were dropped off at our accommodation,  the Anchor bay guest house and shown around by the owner, Bert. The veranda has superb views across the City to the waterfront. 











We unpacked  and then strolled down to the sea front and had cold drinks  with fish and chips  at a Sotano tapas bar at the  lighthouse followed by a walk along the seaboard.

Time to Travel. Day 1.

On a fine, Sunny day here in Cyprus, it was time to get on  our travels again. Our friends,  Sheena and Bryan kindly  dropped us off at Larnaca airport. We then boarded a Qatar airways flight for the four hour journey to Doha Hamad international airport in Qatar.

A New car, a visit to Nata and a 46th Wedding anniversary

We celebrated a new addition  to our Cypriot family when Mandy picked up her new car, a Toyota Rav. Our first trip was up to the Kolios  winery,  on the way home we stopped off at the Periklis  taverna in Nata for coffee and cake.

We then returned to Pissouri to help our friend's, Sheena  and Bryan's  celebrate their  46th Wedding  anniversary with a lunch time drink at the 1911 club.

Celebrating Mandy's Birthday at The Muse

To celebrate Mandy's birthday we made our way over to "The Muse" restaurant in Paphos. With it stunning views and fine food it was the ideal place to join friends to celebrate  Mandy's birthday.

Winter weather in Cyprus

The weather here in Cyprus  since  the turn of the year has been very poor, day after day of heavy rain, high winds, hail and electrical storms. The one positive  is that the local reservoirs are full. The are also reports of heavy snow on the Troodos mountains.

There was a break in the weather on Wednesday and that gave us chance to walk along Pissouri Bay. There was quite a high sea and the stormy weather made the beach a lot sandier.

New Year's Day

And so another New year arrives and here at the "New Life Planned in Cyprus" blog we would like to wish all Family, Friends and Visitors a Very Happy and Healthy 2019.

In the afternoon we walked down to the 19911 club, the place was packed. There was curry and chilli to eat, music from Ben Mills and lots of singing and laughing.