Friday - bike ride day :) We had this booked for the afternoon but because we're still acclimatising to the time difference we are falling asleep about 9.30 pm and waking up about 6.30am, so we had plenty of time in the morning. This is not customary for us, as most of you know, to have such a surplus of free time between breakfast and lunch. Also, the clear blue sky and bright sun tempted us out without any delay. We decided to go to the Mumm winery in the morning. This was absolutely exquisite and we were sorely tempted by the stunning terrace setting to have a tasting after the tour. However we had to get back for the bike ride..........
A rep from the bike tour company collected us and when we arrived at the bike shop we met our two companions -Julie and Allen from New York, and our local guide Paul. We were soon on our way, through quiet lanes and picturesque spots, surrounded by vines as far as the eye could see -and lots of roses. Rose bushes everywhere - they're so pretty and really stand out in the brown/beige/green landscape.
We did have a quick rain shower - but hey, we're British so we coped!!
The first stop was a winery with a tasting room that resembled a large saloon bar and the guy behind the bar was very chatty and knowledgable. Doug and I tasted 5 wines -1 white and 4 red. This in itself is amazing enough as D doesn't usually like red wines-but these were $30 - $40 a bottle, so I guess the quality won him over! But the other thing is he also liked the only white on offer - a Sauvingnon Blanc - which he had sworn to hate for all eternity! We ended up buying one of those bottles - a snip at $23 - eeek!!!
Then it was back on the bikes to the next place.
It was completely different - down a side road, in the rolling countryside, past a few farm buildings and the ubiquitus rose bushes and we were brought to an unassuming breezeblock building, with some picnic tables outside under some trees, right on the edge of the vines. Another couple were already in situ and half way through their tasting - they would go on to get very involved in our trip, route, accommodation choices and where we were going to eat in San Fran 3.5 weeks hence!
So the guy who ran this winery was a wiley, charismatic guy - very genial. It was very rustic and laid back - no where near as commercial as the last place. We sat in the shade -as it had become quite bright and sunny once more, and chatted and tasted and discussed, and laughed and bantered and compared our opinions of the wine. The warm breeze played all around and I have to confess that everything felt all good in the world. :)
We then made a bit of a wobbly start again on the road but soon regained our composure to cycle back- about another 6 miles to the end of the route.
A thoroughly enjoyable day.
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