Feasts For All Senses

April 19th –

Our Simonstown part of the trip came to an end and we checked out of our Azure Retreat Airbnb house.
We had a splendid sky to bid us adieu and it had been a very enjoyable place to stay.

Having no complaints besides sheddy towels 🤪👌🏻

We ate the rest of our milk tart for breakfast that morning, so as we headed towards our next destination of Strand, we stopped at Kalky’s so Mike could try the fish and chips he wanted and I actually ate my leftover meal from the night before 😏

Both were satisfying 😉

It was around an hour drive to get to our friends place, where once there, we sat with cool drinks in hand, catching up on the last two years highlights 🤪

The men went out to buy some braai (BBQ) meat for dinner and from that time on it was a leisurely coming together of prepared items to enjoy for supper ☺️

One item on the menu was specifically South African and necessary to try… and that was mutton liver 🤪

I honestly wasn’t expecting to like it much, as liver isn’t something I’d ever been tempted to try before. Even though our friend said it had become a favourite of hers without her expecting to like it either 😉

The conclusion? It was good! Like a very flavourful meatball type thing and not at all how I’d imagined a liver dish’s texture to be 🙈

 

April 20th –

Our day began at ‘Schoon. Eat. With Purpose’.

It turned out to be a good place to start 😉

We discussed all the different details in the decor while awaiting our food and once that came, conversation ebbed as bellies were filled 🤤

We all very much enjoyed our chosen meals and drinks and there was also a lemon meringue to tempt me.

For those who aren’t aware, back when we lived in Europe and traveled more, I made a point of trying to test as many lemon meringues wherever we traveled, as I could.

It was a good tradition to start 😉👌🏻🍋

From there, we went to a place where they make chocolate, wine, meats etc. and we took a chocolate tour 😉

You sit with a chocolate map in front of you as a ‘tour guide’ explains the whole chocolate process and all the flavours unique to each piece of chocolate, simply due to where it the cocoa bean came from.
No sugars or flavours were added but each had a different taste and sweetness, until you circled back to the first chocolate they have you try, which at the start tastes quite bitter and by the end, tastes rather plain and sweet due to the other chocolates eaten in between.
It was short and sweet 🤪 and we then journeyed on the Babylonstoren, a massive farm that traces back to 1652.

Here you see an illustrated map of the property to give you a slight idea of the size and variety it boasts.

The shops intertwined with the gardens, all holding a great deal of items that are created via the farms own provisions, making it all rather impressive.
There was a place to create your own shampoos, face washes, scrubs etc. using their herbs, flowers and clay as well as many other shops housing fresh produce selections, breads and oils, sweets, meats and home goods.

The attention to detail was evident, everything being done in an elegant yet simplistic design… filling my mind with ideas of what to replicate (have Mike replicate 🤪) once home 😉

We walked through the gardens, where you’re allowed to pick any produce to eat while there, though we didn’t, as lemons aren’t the loveliest fruit to munch from hand 🤪

We did do some fudge sampling and we tried the white chocolate with thyme, pistachios and green olives.
I really liked it and the lady said lots of people describe it as a cheese like chocolate, which sounds perhaps funny but both are delicious on their own so I think it works 😉
They incorporated the olive into it, as that was their months theme, due to it being the current thing they were harvesting.

 

Leaving there, we stopped to enjoy some scones where they grow all the berries and fruit to make their own jam to go along with them.

The were very tasty and came with ‘clotted cream’ to go atop as well.
Sounds gross, tasted, creamy 😋

 

By that time, some rest at the house was in order, which was followed by a dinner of order-in pizza. Making for a comfortable and relaxed evening in, as all the dining out that occurs during vacation, was beginning to lose its appeal  👌🏻