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February 17, 2006
Stellenbosch and the wineries!
I went with a group of friends from my program to a nearby town called Stellenbosch, which is at the heart of nearby winelands. We stayed at a great hostel, called the Stumble Inn (aptly named for the state in which most of its travellers arrive after their days' activities), and toured 4 wineries in the area. We also checked out the town's night life, which was lively considering that the University of Stellenbosch was getting ready to begin classes today.
This town posed an interesting contrast to Cape Town; apparently it was an Apartheid stronghold for a long time and remnants of this past are evident. If you cross over one main road, suddenly the shops are not nearly as nice and no white people are on the sidewalks. Cape Town is definitely far from harmonious, but Stellenbosch definitely had a stronger flavor of Apartheid legacy. It was, however, a very charming town with great wine. I bought a few wonderful bottles, which I'm hoping to save until I get home to share. We'll see if they make it back!
The winelands:
Winery shots:
[Me "nosing" the wine]
The tour we went took was great; the guides were very informal and made it a lot of fun, particularly for people like us who aren't snobby about wine (because we don't know very much). I will come home an expert, however, because I joined the Wine Cultural Society at UCT, where I will learn the ins and outs of wine tasting. Be prepared to be impressed with my soon-to-be-acquired wine knowledge!
The trip was great fun and we still have at least one other winery to check out, called Spier. Apparently it's an all-day activity and is supposed to be fabulous.
Posted by jcg24 at February 17, 2006 09:11 AM
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Comments
Jac is a wino, Jac is a wino, ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaa ha.
Posted by: Jac's Dad at February 17, 2006 11:16 AM
jacqui you're so hot!
Posted by: Lis at February 17, 2006 04:03 PM
it looks like you're having an amazing time!! i'm excited to hear all about it when you get home! as for now, i'll keep myself updated by reading here, my mom says "hello". and i want you to know i'm very excited about the penguins! enjoy your time in Cape Town!!
Posted by: betsy at February 18, 2006 07:53 PM
Take notes on the wine, if you have time. You won't regret it if you plan to take wine snobbery to the next level!
Posted by: Tom at February 19, 2006 07:24 PM
I bet they've got some fantastic designer drugs down there!
Posted by: henry skene at February 20, 2006 04:37 PM
I think the "nosey" picture is my favorite. :)
Posted by: Andrew at March 3, 2006 12:18 PM
Hello Jacqueline good to see things are going well.
Posted by: T R at March 3, 2006 01:49 PM