Kanonkop (pronounced ka-NON-kop) is an esteemed wine estate producing only red wines. Established in 1910, it is certainly not the oldest wine estate in South Africa (Groot Constantia, est 1685), but it consistently produces some of the very best wines that the country has to offer. Situated about 50km from Cape Town, it is right at the centre of the beating heart of South African wine production that is the postcard-beautiful town of Stellenbosch.
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Every so often I have visitors from South Africa come to stay with me – usually family or close friends. One of the benefits of having said visitors is that sometimes they can be persuaded to mule some South African produce over the Atlantic for me. Any ex-pat saffa will tell you how awesome it is to be presented with treats such as biltong, Nik naks, Snacker bars, Strawberry Whirls, Klipdrift brandy and the like from our homeland and while I love all of these, my personal preference is for a bottle or two of fine South African wine. Continue reading
Directly translated, ‘bitterballen’ means ‘bitter balls’. There are so many jokes I could make here, but I’ll refrain as it’s not in my nature to take the low-hanging fruit (oh dear, and I tried so hard). Does this description sound appetising? Well, I’ll let you decide. Continue reading
This place is an absolute goldmine.
I stumbled upon this place online somewhere while doing research for my first trip to Belgium, three years ago. An old mate of mine and I decided to take a long weekend and drive across to the Abbey of St Sixtus in Westvleteren to get some of the famous beer that the monks there brew. I was looking for a good beer shop with a wide selection that we could stop at on our way back, before crossing back to England. Continue reading
I consider myself extremely lucky to be in the somewhat envious position of having an old friend who actually lives in Holland, so I was able to pop over to Den Haag (The Hague) for a few days to visit him and enjoy the local fare whilst there. Even better, my other half, K, has a good friend who is currently studying in Leiden, so she was able to visit her old friend whilst I did the same.
If you didn’t know, Leiden and The Hague are only about 15 minutes apart, and are both about one tank of petrol away from Maldon, where we live together in England. That in mind, we decided to take the car and Europe for the long weekend (in the UK, Good Friday and Easter Monday are public / bank holidays).
Maldon, Folkestone, Calais, Gent, Antwerp, Rotterdam, The Hague.
ROAD TRIP!! Continue reading
fat gary 