This weekend is almost definitely on the ‘Best weekend of 2012’
list. From Friday evening onwards, it
felt like a flurry of good food, great wine, fantastic company and the
obligatory Sunday afternoon nap.
The freezing weather in Cape Town, and undelivered promises of snow on
the ground, didn’t deter us from venturing out of the city and into Franschoek on Saturday morning. As a
fairly-recent Capetonian, I have fast discovered that ‘festivals’ of any kind
in these little towns surrounding Cape Town aren’t something that I enjoy. We
went to a certain unnamed olive festival a few months back, and somewhere
between the traffic, lack of and poor state of the toilet facilities, broken
ATM’s, drunk students, drunk everyone, overpriced food and limited seating, I
lost interest in attending such events.
Very chilly day.
As you might know, it was Bastille Day in
Franschoek this weekend, which is the annual celebration of the towns French
Heritage, so we departed from Cape Town early to miss the crowds flocking into
Franschoek to partake in the French festivities. The reason for our visit was
not in fact to attend any Bastille Day events, but rather to visit the lovely La Petite Dauphine farm nestled just 2kms
outside the village. La Petite Dauphine is a working fruit and wine farm
offering guest accommodation, and wow, it is beautiful!
We found a warm spot in Café Bon Bon – a large almost ‘barn’ shaped
building with stunning home-like furniture including a mini-library, lounge
area with cozy leather couches, beautiful rugs and a big crackling fire to keep
us warm. To our surprise, Hendrick, the resident Rooster was also in attendance
to make us feel at home.
The story goes that the farm was once home to a family of ducks. A passing Lynx took a liking to the little ducks and slowly decimated the group, much to the dismay of the family. The farm owners decided to buy a chicken from a nearby township to offer as live bait in the hopes of capturing the Lynx and releasing it higher up in the mountains. On the night in question, Hendrick was released into the pond area as live bait, but the lynx had already moved off the farm never to be seen again. Hendrick now resides inside the restaurant! He is a fine specimen and reminds you of his existence by happily crowing at any given moment.
Hendrick.
The story goes that the farm was once home to a family of ducks. A passing Lynx took a liking to the little ducks and slowly decimated the group, much to the dismay of the family. The farm owners decided to buy a chicken from a nearby township to offer as live bait in the hopes of capturing the Lynx and releasing it higher up in the mountains. On the night in question, Hendrick was released into the pond area as live bait, but the lynx had already moved off the farm never to be seen again. Hendrick now resides inside the restaurant! He is a fine specimen and reminds you of his existence by happily crowing at any given moment.
Hendrick, showing us what he's made of.
The breakfast menu at Café Bon Bon is limited, but perfectly adequate,
and very tasty. Our group was slightly under the weather from the night out
before, so many comfort options were ordered including French toast dripping in
syrup, lovely fluffy omelettes and warm health bread toast with sticky
jam.
I would really urge you to visit the farm if you haven’t been already.
The staff and management are really friendly and happily regale stories of
Hendrick for those willing to listen. Franschoek is also worth a walk through on
your way home.
Enjoy it,
Lisa x
Visit La Petite Dauphine on Excelsior Road in Franschhoek or ring them
on +27 21 876 3936.
There is something very ominous about the sound of a cock crowing, perhaps it's the historical/biblical connection that makes me shiver. When I hear a cock crow I see St. Peter's face! It also reminds me of the ruddy cock at Excelsior-also Franschhoek, who would crow at 5am every morning of our holiday making a longed for 'sleep in' out of the question. But then, I have memories of spending a school holiday in Tulbagh with a school friend, at her home, in the valley. It had such a quietness about the place, a rugged beauty, a slow pace, and a cock that crowed at daybreak reminded me that..I still have another day here.....to play. Thanks for taking me back Lisa!!! Peace Pinkie
ReplyDeletePinkie, we look forward to your comments each time we post! Thanks so much for your interest and taking the time to read - we both appreciate it so much.
ReplyDeleteThis particular rooster was definitely working on African time - he was crowing at 11am!
Lisa
Now that's a considerate crow!!! Pinkie.
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