Home from Home - The Vineyard Hotel, Cape Town

THE VINEYARD HOTEL
CAPE TOWN
home away from home!

The Vineyard Hotel has become an old friend.  Since leaving Cape Town for Sydney, 8 years ago, it has become a comfortable and welcoming  'home away from home' when visiting Cape Town.

Situated at the foot of the majestic Table Mountain, surrounded by 6 acres of beautiful gardens and alongside the Liesbeek River, this hotel began life as the home of Andrew and Lady Anne Barnard in 1800.  The house was later sold and turned into a hotel and when Rudyard Kipling came out to the Cape in 1898 and stayed at The Vineyard for a while, he loved the surroundings and described the hotel as "a quiet place surrounded by oaks under the shadow of Table Mountain."  An abundant bird life and two famous tortoises - Herbert and Gloria, are happy inhabitants of these beautiful gardens.

In case he should get lost!!

Now celebrating 115 years,  this hotel is incredibly busy and has a very high occupancy. 

The staff are happy remain here for years and always give us a warm welcome. They remember where we like to sit for breakfast and book us into our favourite room.   It is this familiarity and friendliness that brings us back here, visit after visit.  

Nombulelo has been working at the Vineyard for 30 years!

The food could be another reason!  The breakfasts are legendary and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings at The Vineyard, is a very popular meeting place  for many Capetonians.  

The 'Vineyard bread' ... delicious

Omelets made to order with a variety of fillings

My lunch today - grilled Kingklip!

There is a cool and shady terrace overlooking the gardens and the mountain where one can enjoy a coffee, a drink, lunch or dinner in the summer.

The Vineyard has a very high occupancy and this hotel caters for everyone - families with young children,  conferences, the elderly travelling alone and more.  The buzz, casual friendliness and a very relaxed atmosphere make this hotel hard to beat.  There are, of course,  other beautiful, glamorous 5 Star hotels in Cape Town,  but the Vineyard with it's emphasis on friendliness, and customer service is in a league of it's own.

The pool, gym and Spa

The Liesbeek River - the 'River Walk' meanders along this little river and the bird-life is amazing.

No More Bottled Sauces, Clear-outs and house washing

NO MORE BOTTLED SAUCES, CLEAR-OUTS AND HOUSE WASHING!

Settling back into life full-time in Sydney has been easier than I expected.  Unpacking suitcases stuffed with clothes and trying to fit them into cupboards already full,  forced me to begin a clear out.  

I love a clear out and try to re-cycle anything I no longer need.  The de-cluttering process feels good and especially when one has no choice but to tackle the piles on the floor.    At the end of it all, the hangers face the same way, pants all together, shirts and dresses all together, jumpers in neat piles and shoes neatly together in pairs. Such a pity I can't keep it up as I am rather untidy...   

This led me to thinking about built-ins versus the revered 'walk-in-robe'.  We had a small version of the latter on the farm and I found dust to be a huge problem.  Also.. unless one is very very tidy and continuously adhering to colour-coding rules,  the whole thing can look very messy.

Very colour coded!

Ralph Lauren's walk-in robe!

I have decided to go for built-ins in the new house which still looks great and can hide lack of colour-coding or messy jumper stacks when necessary.

The clothes done,  I was soon on to other things.    I decided to check all the herbs and spices and their sell-by dates. The offenders ended up in the bin.   When last did you check the sell-by dates of your herbs and spices?  It was pretty scary when I discovered cinnamon and a few others   dated 2010...The sauce bottles in the fridge were next - some more scary discoveries - toxic horse-radish sauce, three year old mint jelly - all gone now and a sparkling empty fridge... I chucked the lot!!! 

Good idea

A good way to re-cycle!

I have always had an aversion to bottled sauces, mainly because most of them contain vinegar which I cannot tolerate.  Staples however,  like mint jelly and horse-radish were always on hand for others to use.     

Instead of mint sauce in a bottle what about making a homemade mint pesto?    It's far healthier than the bottled version and much more delicious.  It's also really quick if using a hand-held blender.

The same goes for home-made horseradish sauce.   

Friends and I  were talking yesterday about this very thing and decided that there are many more delicious fresh ways of enhancing what we eat instead of sauces in bottles, quick-mix sauces in packets, instant soups, curry mixes etc.  

Gremolata is the most delicious and easy way of enhancing everything from fish to beef.  Mr R-I chops up the most delicious gremolata for his Osso buco! It's great to make it up fresh every week and keep in a screw-top jar in the fridge! 

Gremolata

Zest of one large lemon

2 cloves of garlic (small)

2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper.

CHOP

I have also shown him how to make the salad dressing and he does a pretty good job!  He is now a two-trick pony!

1/3 Lemon juice

2/3 Olive oil

1 clove garlic - crushed

1 heaped teaspoon Maile mustard

1 Tbsp Pure maple syrup

Salt and pepper

Whisk or shake up in a bottle.

Salsa's and caponata's are also fresh, tasty and healthy and there are hundreds of variations.  Fresh herbs are so much more vital and delicious.  

There is a definite place for bottled herbs and spices but using fresh whenever possible is so much healthier.  Has anyone bought bottled chopped garlic or ginger?... .it has an awful flavour and the odour of the garlic so much more offensive.  I don't however think I will be able to persuade everyone not to reach for the "T Sauce" when eating a pie!

On the new home front in Bowral, things have been moving slowly along.  We had a meeting last week while sitting alongside the newly poured slab.  Everything plumbing wise is now 'set in stone' and I found myself wondering whether all of the decisions regarding plumbing items and their positions are in fact correct.  Too bad if they're not!  

We spent the weekend with some of the family  in Mollymook and the weather was unseasonably warm.  

I did a big clear out there as well -  again chucking out old sauce bottles from the fridge and grocery cupboard.

  I also washed the house!  This is possibly the most fun I could have!   Coastal homes have the problem of the windows and screens getting coated with salt and moisture  and a wash-down with the hose nozzle twisted to emit a jet-force of water is the go!  Washing the whole house and decks takes me about 30 minutes and is often fraught with irritations like the hose knotting, getting caught behind something or the nozzle flying off and leaving me drenched. I usually ask for help but managed alone this time!  It is  very satisfying seeing the dirty water streaming off the windows and down the walls! 

Till next time and wishing you all a lovely Autumn/spring where ever you are! 

Cooking & Art classes in France

LA CREUZETTE

An experience of a lifetime!

I don't think it's very often that one is able to declare with certainty..."That was the best week of my life"!...  Facing a couple of raised eyebrows from the family I was sticking to my story after an unforgettable experience at La Creuzette.

La Creuzette is a beautiful 18thC Chateau sitting in a very large walled garden on the outskirts of Boussac.  Boussac,  is a small town in the middle of rural France - in the Creuse Department,  in the Limousin.  This is a beautiful, unspoilt rural area of France - about 4 hours from Paris by car, and two hours by train.

The owners Louis and Hardy have lived there for the past 12 years.  Originally from South Africa,  Louis a very well recognised artist,  who also lectured in Art in Cape Town and Hardy was in banking.  At the time they owned a small house near Boussac which they visited during holidays.  It was when they discovered that La Creuzette had come on the market,  that they decided to sell up in South Africa and move to France.

They arrived in Boussac in the middle of winter,  to a huge 'house' which had no heating.  The Chateau had been  a summer holiday destination for the previous family and heating was never installed.  Louis in particular, suffered in those first weeks,  while Hardy who is terribly practical worked on getting the heating going.  After a tricky start,  they tackled the renovation and soon the Chateau was open for business. 

Accommodation is sumptuous!  All the bedrooms are en suite and the beds are made up with exquisite Antique French sheets.  The rooms are serviced each day and nothing is spared to ensure 5star comfort!

Residential courses are on offer at La Creuzette,  offering art, cooking, French lifestyle, and so much more.   Louis and Hardy are the most generous of hosts and upon arrival,  one is made to feel so welcome.  Tradition dictates that Louis is responsible for the first dinner at La Creuzette.  

The cheese course and Louis' signature!

Louis and Hardy have, over the years collected the most exquisite tableware - china, crystal and French antique flatware.  Louis likes to present this first meal in a very formal and lavish way and the food is absolutely delicious too!

Entry into the formal dining room - note the candles!

Louis loves decorating the dinner table and every night is a different theme and colour scheme.

Food is a very important part of the La Creuzette experience.
Hardy is a very accomplished cook and the meals are nothing short of spectacular!  I enrolled in art courses for both of my stays with them and I believe that the cooking courses are even more wonderful!  

Hardy

The food is healthy - using the freshest seasonal ingredients and served in abundance!

The art component of the La Creuzette experience is divine.

There is a wonderful studio  and everyone has their own station.  Louis adores opera and is very knowledgeable and while we sit and work on our paintings/drawings,  the music surrounds us, pealing out of the open windows.   It really is so uplifting!  

Louis in his studio

 Louis is a wonderful teacher and entertainer.  He often reduced us to helpless laughter.  He  shows enormous patience and understanding while supporting our various artistic endeavours.  

This building houses the Summer Kitchen where most of the meals are served. The studio is upstairs.

 In between cooking, eating and the art,  visits to local gardens, brocantes and villages are on the agenda.

Hardy teaching us about French cheeses

A magnificent garden nearby - Priory d' Orsan

Sunday is Brocante day!

 

There are also excursions to the nearby town of Aubusson where the "Aubusson" rugs originate from.  We were taken into the workshops where antique rugs are repaired.

The town of Aubusson

I know this has been a very long post but I honestly had to stop myself from writing more and adding more and more photos.  It is a trip of a lifetime and Louis and Hardy also offer tailor-made trips for special birthdays - from a couple of days to as long as one would like.  I believe there have been substantial decor and garden face lifts to La Creuzette of late and I cannot wait to see it all.  Happily I will be visiting Boussac in May and will most definitely pop in for a 'hello'  and a look!   Visit their website here