A Fine Time in Franschhoek

Farmland on the outskirts of Franschhoek.

We recently spent two absolutely delightful days exploring Franschhoek (literal translation: the French Corner), reputed to be one of the most picturesque wine valleys in the world. We count ourselves fortunate, as it is only a stone's throw away from where we live. I am not going to elaborate any further, as time is short right now and I do so want to get this post up before bedtime, so for those of you who are interested in finding out more about this South African gem and the history of the French heritage that is still manifestly in evidence today, please go to http://www.franschhoek.org.za/about_franschhoek

I am going to jump right to it and share some of the sights we took in...as usual, between us (my husband and I), we took well over 300 pictures and so, once again, I have had difficulty making my selection. In any case, I will probably need to devote more than one post to this trip, in order to do justice to this idyllic spot. Regular readers of Driftwood Ramblings will know that it is impossible for me to get straight to the point (verbosity is my middle name). I always need to ramble, so in keeping with this trend, the first few pictures I've selected will show you a little of the splendid scenery and sights we admired en route to our destination.

I am unable to convey, adequately, the scale and beauty of these magnificent mountains cradling the lush, grapevine covered valley below. I took so many pictures and found it impossible to select one that would do the scene justice. In the end, I went "eeny meeny minee mo!"

A protea field gracing the foothills of the beautiful mountain in the distance.

By now, those of you who know me, know that I cannot resist exploring old tumbledown ruins...

This one was well-boarded up so I had to content myself with straining over a barbed-wire fence to get these pictures (I took several!)

The garden must have been glorious in its heyday! It was still so beautiful the day we stumbled upon it.

Arum lilies growing enthusiastically amidst a tangle of weeds and other wondrous aged specimens (honeysuckle caught my attention with its heady perfume). The birds were singing ecstactically, convinced they'd finally found paradise.

We cannot resist turning off the beaten track to explore the little by-ways...you never know what exciting things you'll stumble upon!

I wish I were able to share more, but if we don't move on, we'll be stuck at this spot all day. So, I'll skip right ahead to where we stayed and then start showing you around the outskirts of Franschhoek itself...

We spent the night at the Protea Hotel. We we upstairs, overlooking the pool.

Our room was bathed in sunlight when we checked in, mid-afternoon.

There's that smiling man again! After we'd off-loaded our overnight bags,  we headed straight out to do some sightseeing...but not before enjoying a cup of coffee and a pancake at one of the many local restaurants.

I do so love a good pancake!

We stopped to photograph this baboon family enjoying the vista below on our way up the mountain to take a few pictures of the Franschhoek valley.

Historical Franschhoek is the denser housing in the mid-distance. We will take a walk through the village itself when I post next.

This is one of the newer housing developments on the outskirts of the historical village of Franschhoek.

Picturesque farms dot the landscape.

Ascending the lovely pass. We stopped at several places to take in the view below.

Evening was setting in and, with it, the haziness increased.

Franschhoek is completely surrounded by beautiful towering mountains.

The fynbos is at its best tight now. These fat protea buds were caught in the early evening glow.

Looking down the pass (at this point, we were about halfway up).

We stayed to watch the sunset, but because it was very hazy, we were not able to get any worthwhile pictures.

Next up, I'll take you on a walk around the village itself. It really is incredibly pretty and well-worth visiting, so please do come back and join me.