Friday, March 24, 2023

In MENU This Week. RMB Starlight Classics, Vergelegen; Rigel Retreat BnB; Klein Constantia book launch, Meerendal La Romantica, Mykonos meze

This week’s MENU is a little later than we would like. The scribe went down with a nasty dose of Lurgy which meant that the words for the stories had to be delayed. But here it is with a good selection of stories for the weekend. The year rushes on and suddenly we are at the season when three of the world’s religions celebrate major events. We send all our readers our best wishes for Easter, Passover and Ramadan

2023 RMB Starlight Classics Concert at Vergelegen - Singing in the Rain

We were delighted when we were invited to the RMB Starlight Classics Concert this year, held again at Vergelegen; one of our favourite events to cover each year. Multi-talented performers at a great venue and some good food and wine to accompany it. We were welcomed by Joandra Griesel, Communications Manager at Rand Merchant Bank, and her team. Read on…

The Rigel Retreat AirBnb in Schapenberg, Somerset West

When we are invited to a prestigious evening event in the country, we try to find affordable accommodation for the night. Our budget on our pensions is small, so we are always delighted to find something good. We were invited by RMB to the Starlight Concert at Vergelegen and found a small but perfectly formed apartment on the Schapenberg, only 12 minutes' drive away. It was also a very easy drive on major roads. Read on…

A brief look at the Vergelegen estate

Vergelegen is one of the Cape's and South Africa's most historic properties. After Willem Adriaan van der Stel succeeded his father, Simon van der Stel, as Governor of the Cape in 1700, he claimed a 30,000 hectare piece of land for himself, just as his father had done in his time at Constantia. It was registered on 1st February 1700 and he used the resources of his employer, the Dutch East India Company, to improve the estate and build the famous manor house. Read on…

High Tea book launch at Klein Constantia

On Thursday 9th March 2023, Klein Constantia launched a new book about the history of this historic wine estate and we attended. Established in 1824, the Klein Constantia 146 hectare estate originally formed part of “Constantia”, a vast property established in 1685 by Simon van der Stel, the first governor of the Cape. Famous for its world renowned wines, and the revival of the famous 18th century sweet Constantia wine, known as Vin de Constance. The book is available for sale on the farm. Read on…

Meerendal's new La Romantica Restaurant

We were invited by Meerendal Wine Estate owner Herman Coertze to the opening of La Romantica, a new Italian themed restaurant at Meerendal. Durbanville is a great food and wine area; they believe in generous piled-high plates for reasonable money and they produce excellent wines. It took us only half an hour to get to Meerendal on the farming outskirts of Durbanville, driving down one of the most spectacular roads through the wheat lands and vineyards, the Vissershok Road off the N7. Read on…

Meze platters at Mykonos, Sea Point

Sunday evening was chilly and a bit wet, but our spirits were up as we had a reunion with a friend whom we have not seen for two months. We decided to go to Mykonos Taverna, a local Greek restaurant, and found other friends eating there too. NB - We were told that the Sea Point Mykonos is due to move soon to a new location in Sea Point, but we were not told where it will be. Read on…



All the stories we have published can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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