Thursday, May 26, 2011


This week has been a fun week of field trips. So far we have been graced by the presence of the Dooleys, visited Cape Point’s beautiful coast, and wandered through vineyards and wine tastings. Today my group, the Springboks, went to the vineyards. We entered Franschoek, South Africa and were greeted by the owner of the Haut Espoir vineyard and his son, James (who was adorable!). We walked up a long winding path stopping along the way to see the beautiful vines and the mountains in the background. We were taught about the different vines and how all leaves differ. Also, certain wines, such as merlot, need more or less sun, so they are strategically placed around the vineyard--which I thought was interesting. Our walk came to an end as we entered the wine preparation area, where our tasting began. We split ourselves into 6 teams and separated to tables. Each table had an assortment of 5 wines plus their signature wine- The Gentle Giant. We learned how to properly taste, smell, and look at wines. Then, we mixed our own wine and entered a competition for 12 wines. Our team came in second by half of a point, but it was a fun process! We learned how wines could balance each other and come together appropriately. Afterwards, we played with James and Izzy (the kids), took more pictures, and returned to the bus. We ate lunch in the cute little town at a French Restaurant, but had to split up tables so it wouldn’t take as long! We’ve learned here that checks can take almost as long as you wait for your food to come, so it’s easier to ask for it early and begin dividing it up. They do not split checks for you, so it’s been an obstacle to learn to split it amongst us. They will use separate cards, though, which is nice. Lunches and dinners, however, can be a long process, so we have learned to set aside time to be able to accommodate our groups and enjoy ourselves. Tomorrow, we are visiting Robben Island, and I am excited to see where Mandela was imprisoned and meet his cell mate!

Ilyssa Hanner

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