Friday, May 06, 2022

Big Skies Guest House, Gordon's Bay


We were invited to the Elgin Cool Wines festival to write about it this last weekend, so accommodation was a priority for us
Sadly, our tickets arrived just the day before, when all the affordable accommodation in Elgin had been taken
So, thinking laterally, Lynne looked at Gordon's Bay, just 15 minutes down Sir Lowry’s Pass and found Big Skies,
which is only two roads from the sea front

They have eight rooms and prices are good
They also have very admirable facilities; in fact, they had thought of everything to make our stay easy
The furniture and decor are a little dated, but it was very comfortable, with an air conditioner and en suite bathroom with shower

Spot the bathroom door; yes, it’s the door with the coy Victorian gent and lady in brass
There is a fridge and a tea and coffee station with supplies

Small but completely fit for purpose and good hot water
and we had a TV where John was able to watch some Rugby in the early evening

In the hallway, a small cooking station
with an ice machine, microwave, kettle, glasses and crockery and cutlery should you wish to prepare some food

There is a small lounge, also with a TV, perhaps for rainy or windy days not spent on the beach

Not one inch of the property had been wasted
and there was an outdoor barbeque and some picnic tables and benches

Some local brochures and some amusing signage in the hallway

Upstairs is the breakfast room which has views of the sea over the rooftops

Breakfast was included in our booking, but is usually a very reasonable extra charge per person
The breakfast buffet had almost everything you might ever want, including a toast machine
The tea and coffee station has all sort of options but, if you want real coffee, you can ask for a plunger

The bar seemed popular with the guests in the evening

and from it you get a view of the swimming pool below

Another seating area.  We walked down to the sea front at 6.30 to get some fish and chips at Trawlers (a separate story)
which took us right past the local police station which is on the next corner
There were several security company cars in the area, so it seemed safe to walk at night

and we were able to park safely overnight in the front yard

Juice, muesli and cereals, also a selection of yoghurts, jams and fresh fruit. We both had juice, fruit and cereal



Lynne had the full English Breakfast which was fresh and well cooked
We did hear another guest say "I am not English so NO I do NOT want baked beans!" Which were very good

John opted for an omelette which came filled with raw tomatoes and bacon. Sadly, it was rather soggy





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Thursday, May 05, 2022

Meze Supper at the Greek Fisherman, Sea Point

We feel the loss of La Mouette, the fine dining restaurant that used to occupy this lovely heritage Sea Point building
on Regent Road, but are glad to see that The Greek Fisherman, which was in the Waterfront, has now moved here
The upstairs is now a separate bar

We were shown, initially, to a table next to the fountain, but moved before our food arrived, as it was dripping on us a little
We ordered a beer while we waited for our food. It would be good to see them offering some craft beers
We had a very pleasant and attentive waiter named Ken, and the restaurant was very full and busy

We love good Greek food and decided to stick to their Mezze dishes
We began with the very good creamy Humus and the Taramasalata dip, made from fish roe
Of special note is the Pita breads, light and very good, not the usual stodgy lumps. You get one with the dips

Lynne chose the grilled calamari and was delighted that it came with good crisp chips
Lynne actively avoids frying anything at home (other than onions as a base of a dish)
we know that it can be unhealthy and we hate the smell of frying oil that fills the house,
so chips are a rare treat when we do go out to eat

John loves sardines and was happy to see them on the menu. Fresh and grilled, he did enjoy them

We ordered the Biftekia (beef mince done on skewers) and they were nicely moist and full of flavour
we also ordered the Tyropita, small filo pies stuffed with cheese and dill
They came a bit late (3 to a serving) and sadly missed their photo shoot, as they were wolfed down quickly!

The bill including beer and service

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Freedom Day Street party in Regent Street, Sea Point

Sea Point came alive on our Freedom Day public holiday. Regent Road was closed off to cars from Church Road down to Solomons Road. And it was such fun. Perhaps not for people trying to get home at 6, who had to divert to Kloof Road or Beach Road, but residents came out in droves, both during the day and until 9 at night. We decided to go at 6 and see "what was occurring". We started at the Church Street end

There were all sorts of businesses on the street, like this popular Lamb Spit roast
R150 for Lamb and Chips and R120 for lamb on a bun

The Mojo market was pumping and people were happy sitting out on the pavement enjoying the passing parade

Two venues selling draught beer, one was craft beer from Lowland Spring, the other was Heineken

and the bars inside MOJO were busy

Seating on two floors

Outside the Clarensville, a good Reggae Band

and people could bring their dogs too, as well as children in prams

As we went further down the road and it became darker, it began to be quite crowded

and certain restaurants like Kama (our favourite Sushi place), Sundoo and 3 Wise Monkeys were really popular

Another band outside Spar was keeping people happy

Some were bopping along and many of us were singing along!

We heard that Latitude was selling large gin cocktails and beers; we were thirsty, so beer it was

We met friends who live in Sea Point and Green Point and stopped for a chat while we enjoyed our drinks and then, at 8, we went seeking something for dinner. We decided to try The Greek Fisherman which has moved from the V&A Waterfront and taken over the La Mouette/Europa building. (See our article about that)

Will this happen again? We hope so, but then we don’t live on Regent Road, so we wait to see what the neighbours think. We are sure that the businesses involved, who have been very quiet during lock down, had a great day. We chatted to two local police officers on our way home at 9 about how well behaved it had been. There was some discarded rubbish, but not much, plenty of bins had been provided and used

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Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Breakfast at Lourensford

 














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In MENU This Week – Muratie’s Summer Wine Down, Massimo's, Dias Tavern, Irish whiskey, Raw juices




Ancient oaks and Groot Constantia manor house

Eight working hours in the week. That is what we have lost to “load shedding”, and that is just this household. Multiply that by all the businesses and homes in South Africa and one cannot begin to calculate the cost of the mismanagement and corruption in our government over the past twenty years or more. And that is only related to electricity supply. But the good news is that we have had some good meals, in restaurants and at home and one superb event on one of our favourite wine estates. We tell you about some of them here.

Muratie’s Summer Wine Down

The good news is that many Cape wine farms are reporting that 2022 has had a great harvest (it has been a long slow cool year with a little heat excitement at the end) and that it will be a good vintage. We love harvest time and being invited to harvest celebrations, so accepted when we were invited by Rijk Melck to attend Muratie’s second Summer Wine Down on Saturday 9th April to celebrate another fruitful harvest. The last two years have seen a very long period of trials and isolations, so it was so good to see peoples' unmasked faces and have a good laugh at life and its twists and turns. We have survived. So far 
Read On….

Pizzas and pasta lunch at Massimo's

When we heard that Massimo's in Hout Bay had been voted the best Pizza place in Africa we decided it was time we went. Neither of us is a huge fan of Pizza but we do enjoy it when it is really good. And we had never been to this renowned restaurant. We made a date with friends who live in the area for lunch this week. And they don’t just do Pizza, but Spuntini (Italian tapas style dishes) Salads and Pasta. They do daily specials and there is a Kids menu and a Vegan menu, and we discovered there is a wicked dessert selection. 
Read On….

Lunch at Dias Tavern after a long break

Lynne's Goddaughter Nicolette was visiting us from Holland and brought her Portuguese friend Catia who has never been to South Africa but her parents had worked in Mozambique and Angola. Catia is a Professor of Economic History at Leiden University in Holland, with her speciality being the VOC, so she has an interest in our varied history and culture. We mentioned Diaz Tavern (known locally as The Portuguese Embassy) and they were really keen to go. So lunch it was. 

Read On….

Tasting O'Connell Irish Whiskeys with Hector McBeth and Daithi O'Connell

Hector McBeth of WhiskyShop invited us to a tasting of premium Irish Whiskeys. collated by Irish whiskey negociant Daithi O'Connell. The tasting was held at The Gin Emporium in the V&A Waterfront, which also houses WhiskyShop, where Hector McBeth sells a very large selection of excellent Scotch whiskies, Irish whiskeys and others from all over the world. The building has the most amazing views and Lynne would have loved to have moved in! She has an affinity with water. Apparently, it was the show house for the developments in the Waterfront and has now been converted into business premises housing the Whiskey Shop and Gin Emporium. What a location, on the edge of the yacht basin. 
Read on…

Raw Berry Juices

Recently, we were brought a sample pack of juices by a colleague in the food industry. There is an assortment of juices, some pure fruit or vegetable, others blends of fruits and/or vegetables, all cold-pressed. They claim significant health benefits; we were more concerned with flavour. We have been trying them with lunch and have enjoyed most of them. Our qualification is that we did not enjoy all the flavours, but that is down to individual tastes, such as our mutual dislike of cucumber. Most of them were very good, with very concentrated flavours; they could also be enjoyed diluted 50% with water. You can see the whole story at https://therawberrypress.co.za/.

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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