Oh man, what a weekend we just had! Beautiful scenery, amazing people and delicious food and drinks. What else could a girl ask for? Due to Women's Day on Friday (why isn't this celebrated in the states???) we didn't have classes, which allowed us to leave for Stellenbosch Thursday night. At 6 o'clock we loaded into our hired shuttle and began our 45 minute journey to the winelands. Classic SA style, we had told the company that we were 10 people (8 girls and 2 guys) and they sent us a van with 8 seats. Situations like this is just something we have learned to accept with a sense of humor. After making it to our hostel, The Stumble Inn, the manager told us that instead of paying for the more expensive triples and doubles that we had initially booked he could put us in a "dorm style" bunk room for significantly less and promised to not put anyone else in that room with us. So naturally, being poor college students, we accepted. And naturally, being 8 boisterous girls, we pushed all of the bunk beds together to create one super structure of a bed. Welcome to Camp Stellenbosch! Thursday night we went to Trumpet Tree for dinner and drinks and I shared a "pizza" with my vegan friend Kayla. A pizza without cheese might not sound very appetizing but I promise it was one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten. Living in Cape Town for a little over a month now, I feel as though I have a pretty good grasp on how to dress for the weather and although I have been very chilly at times, even sleeping in my Patagonia puff jacket one night, I blame that entirely on the fact that my room in my flat is inexplicably cold compared to everywhere else. Stellenbosch at night snapped me back to the harsh realities of winter in New England. None of us packed appropriately for the unexpected, bitter night time cold and Thursday night definitely opened our eyes to that. But we didn't let that hold us back and we endured the walk to the bars that are frequented by students there. Because Tulane isn't in a "college town," that hasn't been something that I have missed at UCT, but I have to admit it was kind've nice being in one in Stellenbosch. The next morning after snuggling in "the structure" as we warmly referred to it as and filling up on a yummy breakfast at a deli down the street, we were pumped to start our wine tour. Unfortunately, our tour guide/driver Gabriel was not equally as pumped to have us. Granted from his perspective he probably saw a group of obnoxious Americans that he would have to take care of all day..but he was unnecessarily rude and certainly did not do anything to hide his feelings of distaste. So I took it as my personal goal to make good ol' Gabe like us by the end of the day..and I THINK I succeeded, unless of course he finally learned how to fake a smile. So Gabriel aside…the wine tour was outstanding. We started with a tour of the cellar at the Simonsig vineyards, followed by a tasting of 5 wines. We then drove to our second vineyard where we had 6 tastings and a CHEESE TASTING. I am very confident when I say this…I have never eaten so much cheese in one sitting, let alone in one day, in my entire life. My stomach was definitely not feeling great after this and I definitely did not need the lunch that they served us after so thank goodness the lunch that was included in the tour lacked any characteristics of being "appetizing." After recovering a little on the ride to our next vineyard in Frankschoek, we were greeted by a stunning view of the vineyard with snowcapped peaks and mountains as the backdrop. A great photo-op that we all took full advantage of, accompanied by my personal favorite wines of the day. We ended the tour on an estate with a picturesque table setting straight out of a magazine and 6 more wine tastings. I wish that I had written down the names of all of the other vineyards we went to but unfortunately I was too engrossed in how much fun I was having to think about anything else. A more pleasant Gabriel behind the wheel, we made it back to our hostel with just enough time to build a bonfire and have quick little cat nap. After this full day of "liquid warmth" along with 3 more layers of clothes, we were a bit more prepared for the temperature change once the sun tucked behind the mountains. At dinner that night, you would have thought we were celebrities because everyone was staring at us..I guess packs of 8 girls don't frequent Gino's too often because we were treated with complimentary champagne and then sangria. After a long night out meeting numerous University of Stellenbosch students, the wine consumed all throughout Friday finally caught up to all of us and made for a pretty miserable car ride back to Rondebosch Saturday morning. Worth it? Definitely. Nothing a little sleep, movies and advil couldn't fix ;)
Now back to reality! Professors at UCT loooove essays apparently because I feel as though I have been endlessly writing papers since school began. Writing essays is easily my least favorite thing and I would trade taking 3 tests over an essay any day of the week so unfortunately I have not been enjoying my school work as much as anticipated…bUT all of the fun that I am having outside of the classroom negates any pain and headaches that I am forced to endure otherwise. And the way that I look at it..maybe by the end of this I will be a professional paper writer (or at least conquer my hatred for the process).
Ta-ta for now!
L
 |
| the structure |
 |
| cellar tour |
No comments:
Post a Comment