Bonjour champagne and sunshine; Epernay, France.

After a painfully long wait to go through customs at Charles De Gaulle airport, we had another wait at the Europcar counter before fetching our cute, shiny black Fiat 500 mini, & escaping to freedom on the French roads. We jumped on the highway out of Paris towards Champagne, & within an hour & a half, we arrived in the gorgeous country town of Epernay. 

We parked up & headed off in search of somewhere we could grab lunch. Walking through a lush green park that featured fountains & glorious garden beds, we found a bright yellow corner restaurant that offered a decently priced set menu & some respite from the French sun. Our meals were tasty & generous, however they were also meat heavy - rich & filling, so we agreed on the fact that we wouldn't need dinner! 

We paid up the bill & returned to the car, setting off to find our next Air BNB accommodation. After we managed to slightly get lost, we worked it out & pulled up outside a house in a friendly neighbourhood. Our host Emilie greeted us & showed us to our room before she ducked off back to work. We decided to dump our bags & head off to find a champagne house Sean had heard about. Driving south for a good thirty minutes, we arrived in a town called Grauves, & shorty at our destination, Champagne Pierre Domi.

We pulled in & were greeted by a friendly Frenchman who showed us through to the tasting room. He didn't speak much English, nor us French, however we managed to communicate that we would like to taste a few of his wines. We tried three different drops, firstly the Grand Reserve Brut which was my favourite, the Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay which was Sean's, & finally a 100% Pinot Meunier which was interesting & tasty. We decided to buy one of our favourites each, & we were shortly back in the car, & back on the road towards Epernay.

Heading North this time, we ventured to a hillside town called Hautvilliers, which is allegedly where Dom Perignon produced his first batch of what he called 'the best wine in the world!' The town was cute & small with loads of nooks, crannies & flower pots. We stumbled upon another cellar door called G.Thibault, which offered a beautiful view over Epernay & beyond. 

We went inside & were sat at a table whilst the two ladies running the place were literally running around trying to serve the masses. We finally decided to taste a Grand Vintage, Brut Reserve & a Brut Rosé. All three were okay, but unfortunately not as great as Pierre Domi! We paid for our tasting along with a half bottle of the Rosé & headed off again. 

Arriving back home right before Sean had too much bubbles to be able to drive, we quickly got changed & headed off to find oysters for dinner. We indeed found them at a fishmongers in the centre of town. After communicating with the fishmonger with the limited English he knew, the end result was a dozen oysters, & after picking up our bottle of duty free veuve clicquot, we found ourselves in a small park in the centre of town next to the oldest monument in town, a stone door! We dived into our delicious, fresh oysters & clinked our flutes together, toasting to the fact that we were in France & treating ourselves!

After hanging about until around 8, we walked home jolly & a little drunk, got there & headed straight to bed. It was so hot we couldn't sleep without the curtain & window of our attic room open, however even at 10pm the sun was still out & bright, birds were still chirping & kids were still playing! It was a bizzare change from an African winter but eventually we somehow managed to drift off!

The next morning we arose at 8:30, had quick showers & set off on foot towards Avenue De Champagne, the main road in Epernay where many champagne houses line the streets with golden gates & white stoney yards. Our destination was Mercier, & after 20 mins of walking we made it through the doors. We went on a tour of the caves in a small train, listening to the history & methods of Mercier. Following this was a tasting, & we received three coupes to try; the grand brut, the vintage & the rosé. All were very good, yet still not as great as the first place we visited, so we passed on buying anything, & then it was back to the house, back into our Fiat, & back on the road to be in Paris to meet Bridie & Tam by mid afternoon!

Cape Town Peninsula, Scaling Lion's Head, & Magical Madame Zingara's - South Africa

The next morning we decided to head out for a takeaway coffee and scout for some Saturday vintage markets, in luck we found a few okay ones to scavenge around and I went home with a new dress! After a quick lunch at home with a view of Table Mountain, my friend Cristina whom I met in Bondi had organised for her boyfriend Charl to drive us around the peninsular as she was away in Italy! 

Jumping in the nice Audi we hit the road and to my excitement I was seated next to a giant, drooling chocolate Labrador named Bullet. We took Bullet all the way to Simonstown to meet some friendly, intrigued penguins before stopping off in the afternoon at the Workshop - 'The smallest pub in Africa' for a few beers. 

Working up an appetite we curved further around the beautiful coastline, via their house to drop off Bullet and further inland to a suburb called Observatory. The rain was bucketing down and we were relieved to finally find our destination, disguised like a normal house, we entered a bustling, quirky and warm Italian restaurant; Ferdinando's. Greeted with big smiles, Charl and Cristina are friends with the owners who fell in love in Ibiza in 2008 without being able to communicate due to differing languages. The pizza was scrumptious, the cocktails were tasty and the limoncello was a treat as we clanged our glasses and set back off into the rain to find home. 

The next morning, being Sunday and sunny Charl collected is from the house at 11am and we drive around the cape's coast until we reached Hout Bay market. A creative market with with food, wine, music, crafts, jewels and vintage goods! A few Bloody Mary's later it had reached the early afternoon and Charl dropped us back home for a hot bath, a delicious home cooked meal, a bottle of red and bed! 

Monday morning sprung around quickly and we were well rested and ready to hike up Lions Head. The walk up took us a little short of an an hour and rewarded us with spectacular 360 views of Cape Town. We spent some time up here breathing in the fresh crisp air, soaking up the sun's rays & and taking in the serenity before descending back down the mountain and home again. We then ordered an uber, drove about 20 minutes around the city side of Table Mountain until we reached Kirstenbosh gardens. We spent the next hours frolicking through kilometres of gorgeous gardens and green grass at the foot of the mountain, until the rain started to fall and sent us home. Heading back to Ricks for dinner and to meet Jess, we devoured a few cocktails and shared some tapas plates.

 

Our last day in cape town was spent packing, with a brief break to head out to Latitude 33 for a tasty coffee and a browse along Long St. We also walked to the suburb of Bo-Kaap, a colourful display of houses that highlights the cultural contribution from the 19th century Muslims.

That evening we treated ourselves to a show which was said to be very impressive; Madam Zingara's. Arriving at 6 we were served tasty fish canapés, bubbles and vodka slushy cocktails. We were then seated around 8, with a table of strangers we soon made friends. The acts were quirky, funny and entertaining. We were presented with a 3 course meal whilst midgets made jokes and a strong man held up a bicycle while his partner was riding it like a hamster. The show finished around 11 and we ubered home and into bed. 

The drive to the airport was no more than 20 minutes and we arrived in good time to board our flight! Via Qatar, 20 hours of flying time and a two hour transit we finally arrived into France at 7:30 Thursday morning!!! Bonjour Paris! 

Swimming with Sharks, Trekking Table Mountain, South Africa

Our heads were heavy when the alarm sounded at 4:30. Still pitch black outside, Sean, Katie, Holly and myself stumbled into a van after loading our luggage onto the truck. The van dropped us to a bigger van, full of sleepy foreign faces and we drove until the sun had risen. We arrived in Gansbaii at around 8am and were welcomed with a coffee and a breakfast spread. Riyan, our driver and guide for the day then briefed us on what the morning was to bring us! Excited, nervous and still a little sleepy we all jumped onboard the boat and headed out to shark alley.

The water was rough and we were skipping waves and crashing down hard against the deep sea, before the 25 minutes was up my head became heavy and shrunk between my knees. Within moments of arriving at our destination I was vomiting off the side of the boat whilst trying to squeeze into a saturated, cold and uncomfortable wet suit. The first five people jumped into the choppy ocean to set their sights on a great white. The men slushed fish insides in a bucket making a broth which spills into the ocean and attracts the scary predators, whilst dangling a tuna head as the visual bait. 

Each time the large fish swam by it was quite easy to see from the boat so with the direction they hold their breaths and go under for the viewing! Before too long we were up, and I was eager to get in the icy water to distract myself from the sea sickness and violent shivers. Within moments of emerging ourselves in the water an incredible, graceful and captivating creature came into view. His eyes flickered as he was looked at us beyond the cage, it was exhilarating! We had a few more turns of heading under into the deep blue to get a good look at these incredible great whites as the swiftly swam by before getting back on board to let others in. 

I headed straight back over to the other side which I claimed as 'sick bay' to patiently wait as my teeth chatted from the cold and I heaved over the side. Fortunately we all had another turn in the water and this time they even came closer.. It was such a beautiful experience being so close and not at all did I feel threatened or scared.. Simply awestruck and grateful. 

Just short of mid day the motor started back up and headed on into dry land. Thankful to get off the boat I ran for a hot shower feeling frosty and still sea sick. We were treated to a tasty lasagne lunch and a cold beer... Which my stomach rejected before loading back into the van and heading to Cape Town... Our final destination in Africa! 

We were finally dropped at our new hotel; Ashanti, just after 4pm, eager for another hot shower to wake us up and refresh us before our final group dinner. We met the group in the foyer at 6 and walked just two blocks onto long street to dine at a local restaurant; Arnold's. Sean and I opted for delicious game to celebrate the last night on 'tour'. I ordered a tasting plate of ostrich, gemsbok or oryx, crocodile curry, warthog ribs. Sean ordered a gemsbok wellington. After a massive day we were super keen to get to bed and get a good nights sleep! 

We woke around 9, packed up our bags and checked out of the Ashanti lodge. Opting for Uber as the safest and cheapest means of transport in Cape Town we caught one to our air BnB that we had booked online and a short drive away. Pulling up and knocking on the door, it was a little disconcerting when we had no answer.. And no wifi.. And no phones. Fortunately a friendly neighbour offered to call them and when there was no answer he took us inside for coffee and wifi. Half an hour later and still no response we banged vigorously on the door one last time and were extremely relieved when the door opened!! (She had been in the shower). We dumped our bags in the quirky, colourful and clean house and took up the neighbours generous offer to drive us into town for our Robben Island tour. 

Just in time we met Chloe, Jess, Katie and Hollie at 1pm in line and jumped on the ferry to take us to the island! The ride was about 45 minutes, crammed with other tourists we set off through the harbour passing by lazy seals and distant whales! We were then ushered off the boat and onto a bus to drive around the extremely small island which has been transferred from a place to dump victims with leperocy, to a jail that housed nelson Mandela as a political prisoner for 18 of his 27 year sentence to now a museum. 

Extremely insightful and interesting, it was a really good tour which was hosted by a former political prisoner himself. We were taken into several different quarters and had a brief look at the small village before getting back on the boat and back to the main land. Just shy of 6 we all decided to have an underwhelming meal and some beers down on the waterfront before calling it a night. 

After a beautiful nights sleep in a comfy big bed sean and I woke to our sunny little house which greeted the big beautiful and bold sight of table mountain! After a quick coffee and some tasty eggs in town we ubered to her base ready to climb the beast! It took us about an hour, sweating it out as the winter's sun was shining down on us! It became steeper as both the incline and view was stealing my breath! Finally reaching the top the view was absolutely epic, What a beautiful city!!! We explored all of the different viewing points which varied with mountanes landscapes to infinite Oceans to sprawling cities!!! 

Jumping on the cable car for the decline it was just as thrilling as it circled around and within minutes we back at the base. Heading back to our house on foot for a quick shower, we set off to a restaurant named Rick's Amercain Café to meet the girls and take advantage of happy hour cocktails and cheap tequila! A delicious evening of berry mojitos and tapas plates, followed by a funky cafe by day/bar by night we had one final drink and farewelled each other one last time. 

Stellenbosch - wine not?! South Africa

We drove for a wee while through the gorgeous green mountains of SA, until we reached a small village named Citrusdal. Pulling into our lovely campsite in the backyard of a B&B, we were greeted with countless citrus (mainly orange) trees, & also two cute dogs that looked Maltese. We set up camp in the upper level of the owner's backyard & played with the dogs for a while. 

Sean discovered a series of rock formations above the property so we decided to climb all the way along. It was more than worth it as the panoramic views from the highest points were brilliant. We climbed, jumped & trekked some more before climbing another giant hill to meet Chloe, before descending towards the Orange trees in the hope of securing a few delicious pieces of fruit. We scored a few delicious, tangy oranges & a few easy peel mandarins. Stoked with our efforts, we returned to the house & were soon into a cold Windhoek lager.  

Everyone chipped in to help prepare our last camp meal, & the end result was delicious Kudu steaks & beautiful vege kebabs with a couple more salads. Stories were shared around the fire as we ate, & after most had gone to bed, Chloe, Sean & I were up late playing cards & finishing our bottle of gin from Swakopmund. By the end of the night, we were pretty tipsy, & sleep was thankfully easy to come by once we crawled into our tents for one last time. 

We woke the next morning to an absolute body shock, fog had thickly rolled over the valley, & the morning was incredibly brisk. We packed up as quickly as possible, had a lovely pancake breakfast, & were glad to be on the truck by 9am for our last drive. The journey to Stellenbosch was picturesque, & ended up taking no time at all (only about 3 hours.) We made it to Stellenbosch by lunchtime, & we soon pulled into our home for two nights, 'Stumble Inn.' We would later learn the appropriateness of the name after our pre planned wine tour the next day! We were assigned a lovely, if a wee bit chilly, double room near the front of the inn & we were quickly settled in. 

Craving a coffee, we set off to the happening block in town, & discovered a funky little wine cellar & bar meets café, 'Brampton Wines.' After ordering real coffees we were delighted to find the tables were completely made out of chalk board, & multi coloured chalks were provided on each one! We enjoyed our coffees which were the best we'd had since Swakopmund, & drew up a pretty mural on our table.

Paying up with the promise to return later that evening, we headed in the direction of the local mall. We had to pick up funky wigs for the next day's wine tasting as it was Katie's birthday & wigs were the chosen theme. We found a short pink wig for me & a multicoloured Mohawks for Sean at a cheap Asian store. After browsing a few other stores for a good hour, we decided to purchase tickets to see Jurassic World in the cinema. The movie had come out while we've been on the road & Sean was dying to see it! 

We headed home for a shower & a quick change, & swiftly headed back out without running into anyone from the group. Walking back up into town, we ended back at Brampton's Wines for dinner. I ordered a soup which was okay if a little tasteless, & Sean ordered a delicious Malay chicken flatbread. We accompanied these with a nice bottle of the wineries own Chardonnay. We paid up, satisfied, & headed back in the direction of the mall & cinema. 

The movie was fantastic. Fun, exciting & very far fetched, we enjoyed it thoroughly. After the film, we decided on one more drink at another bar we had stumbled upon earlier in the day. The tiny garden bar was intimate, perfectly cluttered & the local beer was delicious & cheap. After one pint of ale we were ready to call it a night, & after a quick walk home, we were in bed, lights out, ready for the next fun, & booze filled day! 

Arising at 8 the next morning, we headed out to find a local coffee shop people raved about online as the best coffee in Stellenbosch. We found it, & were devastated to learn that it was closed, so we moved on to the next place which was a massive two storey building on a corner. The interior of the coffee shop reminded me of what the grounds looks like inside, very funky with paintings, plants & a bakery inside. The coffee we ordered for takeaway was amazing, silky smooth & strong. Definitely the best coffee we'd had on the trip thus far & it made us even more excited for the day ahead.

Before long we were back at Stumble Inn, chucking on some nice clothes for the day, & also our ridiculous temporary hair. We met the rest of the gang & we departed on a shuttle bus at 10am. Our first stop was the fancy Tokara estate in the hills. The wines were okay, their house made brandy was quite tasty, & it was a decent start to our tour. Our next stop was Zorgvliet, a picturesque winery (or farm as they call them in South Africa,) where we tasted a few more okay wines, the reds being their strong point.  We then took the opportunity to snap a few silly photos of us all with the mountains as the back drop. 

Finishing up at Zorgvliet, it was onto Frankenschouek where we were to have lunch at a small café. We had preordered what we wanted at Zorgvliet, so the much needed food was quick to arrive. After devouring our basic lunch, it was onto the next farm, Dieu Dionne which was up on a hill with more gorgeous views. Their wines were good, the stand out being the 2012 Shiraz. So good that we were all coming back for more! 

Wrapping it up in no time at all, we bundled back into the shuttle & were en route to our last stop, Fairview Estate which was much anticipated as they provided a free cheese tasting. We pulled into Fairview after a half an hour of driving, & strolled into the tasting room. We tried a few mediocre wines before being offered the chance to taste the variety of cheeses they produced. They had set up tastings of about 7, with the blue & the cheddar being the standouts. We went back to tasting wines which were all pretty disappointing, & we were soon leaving Fairview Estate, not before meeting their two resident goats who lived on site in a pen. 

We headed back to Stumble Inn, & we all literally stumbled through the doors. After a game of pool & a beer, we soon departed our hostel to head towards Brampton's yet again, this time with most of the group for trivia night. Our team name was 'Carmen Mii,' & we didn't do too badly coming fourth. We ordered the Malay Chicken flatbread once again, & after a few more drinks we were more than ready to call it a night so we stumbled back to guess where, & were shortly in bed. Our next morning's time of departure was a painful 5:30a.m, so we were definitely after as much sleep as possible!