🎼 Take it easy 🎵🎶

Mid day break means time to start typing early 😀 I am currently sitting poolside on my lounge chair in the sun, while Brenda is across from me enjoying our shady patio. 91 degrees with a breeze is feeling fabulous 😎🏝😍



No alarm this morning was a delightful way to wake up. We thought maybe we’d have the breakfast area all to ourselves, but I guess everyone else around here are late risers too. It had said continental breakfast, and they put out quite a nice spread. Lots of juices and fruits and some little breads and pastries. A whole yogurt and granola area and then the egg, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes warm options. And if that didn’t interest you enough, you could get made to order eggs. Not quite as gourmet and tasty as our Cape Town mornings, but we definitely had plenty to eat.



So I think in my tiredness last night I didn’t really say much about Stellenbosch. Besides being a university town, it’s also a quaint little tourist place. Walking up and down through the shops, it kinda has the Door County vibe. Lots of outdoor cafes, art galleries, curio shops and cute guest houses. Our hotel is smack in the middle of one of the main drags, so super easy to walk everywhere.



So after breakfast we got ready and decided to go check out the Stellenbosch Botanic Gardens. They are part of the university and while it didn’t appear too large from the outside, we figured for the 75¢ entrance fee, it didn’t really matter. But turns out they were larger once you got inside, and it was a really nice green space to walk through. I think there might’ve even been more flowers and color than the garden in Cape Town. Definitely got my 75¢ worth 😎



Break time...had to move out of the sun since it was a bit too warm (ok, let’s be real, it was a bit too sweaty🙈). And since it’s 1:45 in the afternoon, seems like the perfect time to break open the Ben Prins...now if only we had the tools for that. Luckily the nice gentleman behind the bar was more than happy to help us out, loan us some glasses, and say maybe he’ll come join us later 😀 We opted to open that bottle since it’s the larger of the two we purchased, and that’s way too much weight to be adding to our luggage for tomorrow’s flight. Oh the sacrifices one must make for travel.



After the Gardens, we popped into more of the shops and did our part yet again for the economy. And that’s when we landed back here and I started typing. Full circle moment as now I must bid you goodbye as the sun is calling. I’ll check back in later 💁🏽‍♀️

Sun break. As I was lying there in the sun trying to come up with a title for this post, I realized I never actually just sit still and relax on vacation 🤷🏽‍♀️ (And I just got an amen from Brenda on that one 🤣). So maybe this lazy day isn’t such a bad thing for me after all 😎 I also had to leave the sun as Brenda was making me jealous over here in the shade with our bottle of wine. I have since caught up and passed her 🙊 And let me say we had no problem at all drinking that entire thing (even with its 19% alcohol content) 😳 😝 It’ll be gone by 4:00pm. So I should probably not be typing and drinking 🙈🤣💃🏽

Ok, a bee just committed suicide in my wine. But that won’t deter me from finishing the glass 😆 I am enjoying my alcohol far more than he did 🤣 But we just missed that 4:00pm window and didn’t finish the bottle until 4:35. I’ll still count it a successful day. As Ian said yesterday, “a day without wine is like a day without sunshine.” Thankfully we had both today 😎🍷😍



Oh yes, and I should probably say that I’m not sure how the posting will go after today. Tomorrow we fly to our first safari camp 🦁🦓🦏🐘🐅🦒 we’re supposed to have WiFi, but no guarantees on how consistent or strong it will be. Hopefully I can still post, but I may not be able to get photos loaded. I’ll do my best and we’ll just have to wait and see.

The rest of the afternoon continued at the same leisurely pace. Then I decided to do some accounting (since I track every cent, or rand, I spend) and we began the process of packing up for tomorrow’s flight. To make life easier, we decided dinner at the hotel would be a great option. And if we are remembering correctly, Ian may have mentioned they do a good dinner here too. I’ll let you know afterwards 😉

Back from dinner and I am oh so happy to report that it was a fabulous choice. We got to dine outside under the grape vine covered trellises. Our waitress was the cutest, chattiest little lady who gave us the complete rundown on the menu. First up we had some homemade bread with herbs. It reminded me of a cornbread consistency, only way yummier. Then the waitress brought over these little tofu squares that had this wasabi sauce on them. Not sure why we got those, but they were tasty, and surprisingly not spicy, so no complaints here. Finally we were ready for the meals we ordered. Brenda had a cauliflower gnocchi with chicken & broccoli in a creamy cheesy sauce. I went for the chicken burger with guacamole, which turned out to be the size of my head and far too messy to pick up and eat. But man was it good...especially since the chicken was obviously cooked over an open flame (that would be a braai...thanks Ian 😉 or a bbq for my American friends). With no room left for dessert, we headed back to finish up packing and get to sleep early.



Thought for the day as we had spillage while pouring our wine: Brenda noted...“messes can wait, life can not!” Cheers to that 🥂 Hopefully we'll catch you from Thornybush Game Reserve tomorrow.