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The Cape Town Wine Route Wonders
Just drive out to one of these delightful wine estates to find something quite magical about the art of viticulture and we dare you to say you didn't have a great time. The most trouble you'll have is trying to decide which wine estate to visit on which wine route - there's so many and they're all different. However, there's an art to this, especially in the busiest tourist times, so let us guide you round our particular favourites and show you how to pick the best ones for you to visit to ensure you make the most of your time and get to experience the best of the wine route wonders around. Once you get the bug, you'll want to return more and more often, until finally, just like us, a trip to Cape Town wouldn't be complete without a wine route trip. Nailing down your particular favourites can often lead you to a particular estate that specializes in these wines, but don't let that stop you finding a new grape varietal, or why not discover the skill involved in brandy making? What draws you up the driveway to discover Gateways filled with the most glorious flowers - Canna Lilies and Roses. Spectacular beds filled with wonderfully vivid colour, stretching into the distance just urging you to find what's at the top, all with a backdrop of soaring mountains. The estate houses themselves are usually the traditional Cape Dutch style houses, built in an H shape. Many of them are open and maintained as museums, of an age long past and we've spent many an hour wandering around the cool interiors, whilst the sun blazes outside in a clear blue sky. One example of these very gracious wine estates is Uitkyk, pronounced "Ate Cake". Tucked away down a short track leading from one of the main roads into Stellenbosch, this wine estate is worth a visit just for the handsome manor house alone, but why not try your hand at boules, sometimes known as petanque. Uitkyk supply the boules and a set of rules, all for free, whilst you enjoy tasting it's award winning wines. Better still, book a picnic hamper the day before your visit, sample wine for your lunch before finding the perfect spot under the trees to enjoy the awe-inspiring views, whilst whiling away the afternoon. Uitkyk is one of our particular favourites because it's rather off the beaten track of the usual wine route tours. A number of the extremely well-known estates end up with bus-loads of people all vying to taste wine and view other attractions and at certain times of the year, this can be extremely off-putting. Knowing where to go to find the best estates and the best wines, will save you a lot of time and stress, making your wine route experience truly memorable. Others that are memorable for their manor houses are Vergelegan, Somerset West Boschendal, Franschhoek Groote Constantia, Constantia, Cape Town However, these are all very big and very well-known, with a large number of cruise ships and tours prefering to take their customers to these wine estates. Choose your time to visit them with care, so that you miss the crowds and enjoy your visit. Not all the wine estates are old. One or two are ultra modern, like Eikendal, just outside Somerset West or Dornier Wines just of the beaten track on the road to Somerset West. Others like Spier in Stellenbosch, combine the very old with the very new, in a tremendous combination. Wine is not the only consideration at the majority of estates. Described by South Africa's wine bible, John Platter as "this manicured, riverside pleasure dome" Spier's latest attractions include "Moyo", an outdoor African eating experience with Arabian Nights-style tents and a treehouse platform, providing the most exotic setting for a bountiful buffet. During the chilly Cape winter nights, you're warmed by large brazier's and woolly blankets. Be warned - this is incredibly popular with tourists, so booking early is a must. Other attractions include an hotel, conference centre, open-air amphitheatre with a full season of music and the arts, five other restaurants, a deli, golf course, tennis centre, equestrian centre, wildlife close encounters and last but by no means least ... fine wines! If you only had one day to do a wine tour, you would probably not go far wrong in chosing Spier - there is literally something for everyone here! You would be forgiven for thinking that wine sometimes takes a back seat to everything else going on, but taste the wines made on the Spier Estates and you'll be in no doubt you're tasting an excellent quality wine. Couple that wine with a picnic from their Deli, the setting sun, swallows winging their way through the early evening sky, candles and the Cape Town Philharmonic orchestra playing Christmas carols and you have the makings of one of the most memorable evenings you could experience. Not what you had in mind when we said wine? How about Chocolate? Helen Palmer is the author of the website http://www.magical-cape-town-vacations.com, whose family's love of Cape Town was spawned some 30 years ago, when her aunt moved there to live. Regular visits and a genuine love of travel persuaded Helen to share her passion. To find out where the chocolate is, go to http://www.magical-cape-town-vacations.com/wineroute.html Get the newsletter, Cape Town Vacation Magic, keeping you up-to-date on the happenings in Cape Town - http://www.magical-cape-town-vacations.com/newsletter.html
MORE RESOURCES: Marriott in MiamiLast year for our anniversary I decided to take my wife to Miami. We had been there several times before and itrsquos a really enjoyable city with things to do around every corner. I made reservations at this upscale South Beach Miami hotel. It was a Marriott and is probably the most luxurious hotel we have ever stayed at before.The rooms were filled with an art deco splendor an A few years ago we stayed at a Best Western in Wilmington NC near Cape Fear. We love the movie and wanted to see that actual place plus friends had informed us of how nice the place was in the spring. So stayed there for a weekend. Very nice place. Not much for vegan friendly restaurants even though a lot of people there seem to be into eating healthy. Virginia Beach RestaurantLast year I took a business trip up to VA for the company I work for. They put me up in a decent Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel. I had to go speak at a convention and this hotel was close to the meeting. It was really boring. Experts going on and on about how they will improve production and streamline the process. It just meant more software and hardware to purchase.Afte Old Town San Diego HotelThe first time we went to San Diego was back in 2001. We got a room at a hotel near Sea World in San Diego. It was a discount hotel that had low prices low amenities but was located near some great attractions and areas of San Diego. Eating vegan in San Diego is easy. Lots of restaurants to choose from and a variety of options. Columbus Ohio Airport HotelEverything I remember of Columbus OH is gentle rainy days and drinking vegan coffee with my wife at our Port Columbus International Airport hotel room. It was several years ago and we were in Columbus looking for a home with hopes of moving there. Most of the days were rained out and little property that we really liked. The rain gave us very little things to do in Co York Open HouseAbout two years ago we biked up to Carlisle PA to check out some of the local bikers. It was a great time. I booked us a stay at this Carlisle PA hotels that was close to a lot of the festivals. Carlisle restaurants are lacking in vegan food though. We hardly had any vegan places to eat at during our weekend trip. Baseball Spring Training FloridaLast spring a friend of mine invited me down to Sanibel Island to hang out while his wife was in London. I had some vacation time so I took it plus I hadnrsquot seen him in a long time. I booked a Fort Myers hotel at the Best Western and called him up. He informed me that some baseball teams were training in Fort Myers so he headed over to my Best Western rooms My wife reminded me of a trip we took 2 years ago. She had just gotten laid off from her job of 8 years so I thought I would cheer her up by taking her to south Florida for some rest and relaxation.We stayed at this Sanibel Island rental properties called Sanibel Siesta. Luxury condos that you rent and itrsquos on the beach. Really nice Sanibel Island accommodations with some nice vegan restaur Super Motel 8I remember this one time we got stuck in Orlando after a Disney World vacation. Our car broke down and we ended up staying at a Super 8 in Orlando so we could hit the repair shops in the morning. I had never stayed in a Super Motel 8 before but it wasnrsquot as bad as my friends made it out to be. Our cars was fixed that day and we were able to leave Orlando and the Super Motel 8. Wichita Kansas HotelsThe first family reunion I ever went to was my last family reunion. Each year on Cinco de Mayo my distant relatives all get together and celebrate our family history and catch up on everything. My father had never wanted to go to these things when I was younger and I never understood why. When I got the invite on my 28th birthday I was intrigued and so was my wife. She wanted Naples Florida ResortAbout a year ago a friend of my wife asked us to stay with her at this great resort down in Naples Beach. We stayed at the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club which is luxury and comfort for the well to do. We spent a weekend there with her friend visiting the sights and just walking the wonderful beaches of Naples. If you have the cash I would definitely recommend this hotel. Honolulu Hawaii HotelHonolulu is a beautiful island surrounded by beautiful beaches and great restaurants. We went to Hawaii back in 2003 for vacation and stayed at a great hotel called Honolulu Airport Hotel. We thought dining in Honolulu would be hard since every movie we saw always showed pigs on sticks being a local favorite but oddly enough Honolulu has more vegetarian friendly restaurants t Harvard Square Hotel CambridgeLast summer we went to Cambridge Mass to visit an old college friend. He wanted us to come up and he even paid for the plane ticket for us to see him but wouldnrsquot let us know what the trip was for. He reserved a great room at a Cambridge inn called Mary Prentiss Inn which was also the name of the street it was on. It was a nice Inn. Kind of felt like a Bed an Hotel Downtown ChicagoWhen people tell you that Chicago is the windy city they arenrsquot joking. A couple Octobers ago we were stuck at Ohara International waiting for a connecting flight to DC to visit family. We never made the flight that day due to bad weather so we had to find a place to stay in Chicago and wait out the storm. I was lucky to book a Chicago hotel suite at the Whitehall Hote California Wine Country EventLast year we took a wine country tour through central California but the thing is we donrsquot drink. The footage of the rolling hills and lovely climate enticed us to take a visit out to Wine Country to see how beautiful it can get.I booked a stay at a Paso Robles Bed and Breakfast called Villa Toscana. With only 8 suites therersquos lots of privacy and a sense New York City Hotels Conan OrsquoBrienBack in 2003 we were up late watching some Conan OrsquoBrien and saw the ad for ordering tickets to the show. I went to the Web site and ordered the tickets. This was in the spring of 2003 and the closest date we could get was December of 2003. We were excited about going to the show and booked a stay at a budget New York hotel called Riverside Tower Hot One anniversary I took my wife to a vacation rental spot in Key West called Keys Luxury Resort. They have two properties that you can select from depending on what your taste is. We chose the Coral Hammock Vacation Homes since we werenrsquot much of boaters and wouldnrsquot get much use out of the docks at Oceanside Condos and Marina. The Coral is set up like a little community with condo rent Trump Resort MiamiA friend of ours in Miami recently purchased a new condo in Miami after making a killing on some stock market trades. He invited us down to Miami for the house warming party and I was highly impressed. The resort has Trumps name attached to it so you think world class amenities and feature but itrsquos beyond what I thought would be. This Miami condo was loaded with appliance Marathon Florida HotelI recall a vacation once where we stayed in the Keys. We stayed in Marathon which is on the way to Key West. We stayed at a Marathon hotel called Key Colony Bay Hotel. It was a nice little accommodation in Key Colony right by the water. If you get a chance you should stay there. St Martin Beach ResortDuring a 3 day stay on the St Martin island we stayed at a nice resort called Grand Case Beach Club. Itrsquos one of those resorts thats fenced off so people canrsquot just walk into the resort. It was really nice with first class accommodations all around. We did have a hard time finding a place to eat. Some of the restaurants there would make us vegan dishes while at |
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