South African Winelands

Tasting at Simonsig.

Simonsig tasting facility - beautiful.

The drive to Franschhoek.

Statue at La Motte.

Cheers from a gourmet lunch at La Motte.

La Motte tasting room and art gallery.

Fermentation tanks at Klein Constantia. 

We knew that there is a great deal of excitement around South African wines. South Africa ranks 7th in the world in wine production and the quality gets better and better with each vintage. Wine has been made in South Africa for 300 years and a late harvest wine from Constantia was a favorite of Napoleon Bonaparte and is mentioned in the writing of Dickens. The country's signature grape - pinotage - makes interesting, full-body red wines. We had no idea that this excitement translated into a blossoming food and wine culture. The wine farms (what wineries are called in South Africa) are as beautiful as they are impressive. Steve was awestruck at the investment made in relatively small production wine farms. We visited the wine farms in Stellenbosch, Franschhoek Valley and Constantia, including Simonsig, La Motte and Klein Constantia. We enjoyed gourmet lunches (Steve tried Springbok) which cost less than 3 pizzas and a bottle of water in Switzerland. While the world is now starting to catch-on to these wines, happily the pricing of these wines is still accessible for most wine lovers. 

South Africa's Garden Route

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Monkeyland - fantastic stop for the family.

Breakfast at Bitou River Lodge - really nice.

Bitou River Lodge came with dogs, cats and ponies.

Dolphins accompanied us on our whale watch.

A day in the life of a sea. 

It was difficult to leave the beauty and comfort of Camp's Bay, but our South African friends advised that a trip up the Garden Route would be worth the drive. The Garden Route is a popular and scenic stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa. We left Cape Town and enjoyed the drive, getting to see both coastal and in-land parts of the country. We stopped in Kynsa on the way, then checked into the Bitou River Lodge - a lovely 6 room inn on the banks of the tranquil Bitou River. Equipped with dogs, cats, ponies, and easy access to Plettenberg, it had something for everyone. Cindy, the lovely host, helped us make arrangements for dinner at Enrico's, a eatery sitting on the beach with fantastic views and equally fantastic food, and whale watching the next day. A trip to Monkeyland, a refuge for pet monkeys abandoned by their human owners, was a hit with the entire family. The Brydes - a shy and little understood whale reaching 50 feet in length, cooperated as much as these shy whales do. Never fear - the Bottlenose dolphins were out for some fun with our boat and swam with us most of the way. The seals were out in force in both number and smell. Even better - we only got mildly seasick and didn't have to join the other passengers in feeding the fish our partially digested breakfast!We enjoyed viewing them and watching the complex social life on a seal colony. It was a fantastic adventure out of Cape Town and we relish the opportunity to experience this part of South Africa's paradise.

Zambia and Victoria Falls

Livingstone, Zambia.

Greeters at Zambizi Sun hotel.

Guided tour of Victoria Falls.

Activity along the shore; really close to the Falls.

Spray from the Falls.

Despite the rain gear - we were totally soaked.

View of Victoria Falls from helicopter.

Livingstone International Airport.

Having spent a fantastic week touring Cape Town and the Cape area, we headed to Livingstone, Zambia, to celebrate Steve's birthday. We stayed at the lovely Zambezi Sun Lodge. We immediately took a guided tour of the falls. Victoria Falls is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and is the largest sheet of falling water in the world. We visited during the high water flow season - the falls were absolutely incredible. At over 1 mile wide and 360 feet tall, the water thunders over the falls creating a plume of water spray rising hundreds of feet above the falls. Despite wearing rain gear, all of us were completely soaked. We were joined on our tour by two couples from Johannesburg and had great fun marveling at the power and beauty of mother nature. It is difficult to appreciate the width of the falls when viewing from the ground - the spray created by the falling water limits the ability to see. We were told that a helicopter ride over the falls is a must - so we treated ourselves and are glad we did. Seeing the falls from above creates a different feeling of awe.

We celebrated Steve's birthday with a wonderful dinner at the Royal Livingston Lodge, where we sampled African cuisine and lovely wines from South Africa. Like the other peoples of Africa we've met, the people of Zambia are friendly and welcoming. We were sad to leave and would love to go back.

Grandparents Vittone Come to Switzerland

Jan and Gordie made it over for their first visit at the end of February. The first place we had to take them was, of course, Italy to see Settimo Vittone. We spent the weekend in the Turin area again, staying in the most spacious and modernized (unusual for Europe) farm house in wine country. We took the morning to explore the town of Alba and happened upon a unique church in it's architecture. Upon further investigation, it was designed and built by a man named Benedito Vittone. I think I must start some geneology investigation. My dad and I were certain that our creativity and brilliance must come from him (wink)! We enjoyed the farmer market, buying all sorts of yummy olives, cheeses and sausages. On to a wine town for tasting and a huge plate of pasta. More vineyards, snacks, dinner, gelato.... you get the picture. Before heading home, we made a stop in Turin for a walk around the town, pizza, gelato. Then we dieted until we got back to Switzerland that night. The rest of the time we spent doing more of the typical local sites including Chamonix and a trip to Gruyere for cheese and chocolate tasting at the Cailler Chocolate Maison. Their next trip is planned for Christmas 2011!

The Brown Girls Join Us For Ski Week

My dear friend from Dubai, Jenny Brown and her daughters Hollis and Crosby, spent a long weekend with us in the Port du Soleil ski area on the border of France and Switzerland.  We had some good old fashioned fun!

Steve was 'super dad' taking care of six girls. He managed train rides with 4 kids to our ski town, boot fitting, ticket and ski instructor arrangements, ski rescues (Crosby headed off a cliff!), and a really fun "Mommy Free" night to boot. Jenny and I are still hearing about their evening without us. In fact, they wanted us to go out again the next night! Instead we all headed to the thermo baths for a good long soak under the star-studded night.

The kids took ski lessons each morning with two young and super fun instructors. They all improved dramatically over the four days-- as you can see from their shiny medals. While the kids took their lesson, the adults took some time to ski to France and back. We all enjoyed lunch on the hill each day, then spent the afternoons skiing together as a group. Snow was lacking, but by the last day we got a nice new layer so the kids got to try 'powder'. Our last day, was a drive back home with a sledding trip in the Jura mountains. We had to make good use of our new snow! The time went too fast, but hope that they'll be back next year for a ski week reunion!

Turin and Piedmont Wine Country

Feeling settled and ready to explore further, coupled with a lack of snow at our local ski hills, we decided to venture out again and head south to Italy. Steve has been talking about getting to the wine region of Piedmont in Italy since arriving, so we finally decided to spend a couple of days there. We decided to use Turin as home base and stayed in a nice hotel at the center of the city. We spent a day in Barbaresco and Barolo tasting wines and walking through the picturesque small Italian villages. Kate took a liking to the 2007 Barbaresco's and the breadsticks. Our pasta intake was impressive. The next day we walked to the main square and toured the Egyptian exhibit at the local museum. It was an impressive collection and well displayed. We collectively thought of our friends in Egypt and pray that that country finds peace for its people and that the country's treasures are kept in tact. We again are reminded of how blessed we are. On the way home we stopped in at Settimo Vittone, the pre-immigration home of Maria's family, and at Chamonix to pick-up some cured ham and walk around one of our favorite ski villages. A fantastic weekend and a location we will visit again.