Safely ensconced in our Somerset West home for the next nine weeks and waking on Saturday morning to the expected clear blue skies and bright sunshine, there is only one place we head for on our first full day and that is the Vergelegen Estate.
We have been visiting Vergelegen now for seven years and I hope that we might be able to continue these visits for many years to come. It is what you would class as a gem. Beautiful location, historic, immaculately maintained and offering wine tasting, vineyard tours, picnics in the woods and of course, one of my favourite places in the whole world, The Stables Restaurant. For anyone reading this Blog, it's perhaps hard to understand such a statement but sit outside the The Stables with a fresh brewed coffee, a scone baked on the premises, a comfy chair and a view of the Hottentot Hollands mountains and you might just be able to understand. The sunshine and warmth contrasted to the Winter conditions back home is also a great ingredient to add to the already heady mix.
However, our first visit on this trip wasn't for coffee and scones, it was for a "Big Boy" breakfast, specifically for Paul and me, having promised this treat when we booked the trip early in 2016. It gets the holiday off to a great start and guarantees that we will be back several times during our stay.
I should point out that Vergelegen is very unusual due to the fact that it charges an entrance fee to all its guests, regardless of whether they are dining or not. For us wrinklies, it could be a deterrent but we determined that at R5 per person and because of what is on offer, we could stretch our budgets to meet this exhorbitant additional cost! For those readers unsure of the £/Rand exchange rate, the entry fee for four of us amounts to almost £1.30!! Yes, 30p each. What a rip off! Tee hee... Even worse, on a Monday, the "students of life" as we are referred to, are allowed into Vergelegen free of charge. Getting old truly does have some advantages. If you want to have a look in more detail at this wine estate, have a look at www.vergelegen.co.za and if you ever are visiting this part of the world, remember to put it on your list of places to visit.
The Stables - Our Holiday Starts Here
The Stables Restaurant at Vergelegen
The Beautiful Gardens
A Large Child in the Play Area!
The Original Homestead
Homestead From The Rear
We have been visiting Vergelegen now for seven years and I hope that we might be able to continue these visits for many years to come. It is what you would class as a gem. Beautiful location, historic, immaculately maintained and offering wine tasting, vineyard tours, picnics in the woods and of course, one of my favourite places in the whole world, The Stables Restaurant. For anyone reading this Blog, it's perhaps hard to understand such a statement but sit outside the The Stables with a fresh brewed coffee, a scone baked on the premises, a comfy chair and a view of the Hottentot Hollands mountains and you might just be able to understand. The sunshine and warmth contrasted to the Winter conditions back home is also a great ingredient to add to the already heady mix.
However, our first visit on this trip wasn't for coffee and scones, it was for a "Big Boy" breakfast, specifically for Paul and me, having promised this treat when we booked the trip early in 2016. It gets the holiday off to a great start and guarantees that we will be back several times during our stay.
I should point out that Vergelegen is very unusual due to the fact that it charges an entrance fee to all its guests, regardless of whether they are dining or not. For us wrinklies, it could be a deterrent but we determined that at R5 per person and because of what is on offer, we could stretch our budgets to meet this exhorbitant additional cost! For those readers unsure of the £/Rand exchange rate, the entry fee for four of us amounts to almost £1.30!! Yes, 30p each. What a rip off! Tee hee... Even worse, on a Monday, the "students of life" as we are referred to, are allowed into Vergelegen free of charge. Getting old truly does have some advantages. If you want to have a look in more detail at this wine estate, have a look at www.vergelegen.co.za and if you ever are visiting this part of the world, remember to put it on your list of places to visit.
Rog and I are lying in bed while I read your ramblings (your word not mine). Well what else would we do in bed!
ReplyDelete