Kalk Bay- Cape Town’s Fun and Photogenic Fishing Village.

One of my best friends lives in a gorgeous little apartment in Kalk Bay, a fishing village on the coast of False Bay here in South Africa and I love visiting. Sometimes the traffic gets really congested along the narrow beach front main road, so I always have time to soak in the scenic route and take a few photographs along the way.                                                                           Kalk Bay is a suburb of greater Cape Town and lies between the ocean and sharply rising mountains.  The place has a retro feel and is filled with quirky bohemian shops, antiques, crafts and superb restaurants. I love the year round holiday atmosphere, relaxed people and surfers that ride the breakers. This fishing village, with a natural harbour, is one of Cape Town’s trendiest seaside villages with a long fishing history. Visiting Kalk Bay is my time to slow down into ‘timelessness’, to laugh, chat and amble down cobbled streets with my best friend. We do pretty much the same things every time we meet...take a long lazy walk with the dog to the beach, clean up and go out to one of the many seaside restaurants where we can soak up the sun, feel the breeze and enjoy the community. It takes a while to get back to the apartment because we stop at almost all the arts & craft stalls, pottery, fashion and clothing stalls, antique stores, book stores, jewellery stores, curios and bric-a-brac shops all the way home. 

Finally its kick back time back at the apartment, With a cool drink and the warm fuzzy feeling of a day thoroughly enjoyed still lingering, the setting sun gently reminds me it’s time to head back home to my world in the vineyards.   

                                             

Just a little about Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is the most diverse and most planted white wine grape in the world. It originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced.  During the 1970s and 1980s, due to quarantine restrictions, plant cuttings were often smuggled into South Africa.

We harvested our Chardonnay in February this year. Our small holding can be found in the Bottelary Hills, Cape Winelands, South Africa.  We form part of the greater Stellenbosch region which produces some of the best wines in the world.

Although South African vineyards have been dominated by white grape varieties, the trend now is towards a balance between white and red.

A vine yields its first crop after three years and is fully productive after five. On average, the South African vineyard is replaced after 25 years although vines as old as 100 years can still be found.

A very ripe Chardonnay will have flavors more towards tropical fruits like pineapple, guava and mango. A barely ripe Chardonnay will have green apple and lemon flavors. Chardonnay pairs particularly well with fish dishes as well as soft cheeses.

Chardonnay can be rich or light-and-zesty depending on wherever it is oaked or unoaked. 

Winemakers in the Western Cape have experimented blending Chardonnay with Riesling and Sauvignon blanc. Chardonnay is also used in some of the base wines from which Cap Classique sparkling wines are made.

Next time you enjoy the fantastic pleasure that comes from your glass of wine, remember to celebrate all the lovely people who dedicate themselves to work the vineyards.

The Fairvalley slogan - "THE HANDS THAT WORK THE SOIL FEED THE SOUL" says it all.

The Most Popular Red Wine with a BIG BOLD Taste: Cabernet Sauvignon 

In March this year we harvested our Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietals perform very well under the climate conditions of the Stellenbosch region.  It is a full-bodied red wine with dark fruit flavours and savoury tastes. In South Africa, the Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon shows typical Cabernet Sauvignon flavour and aroma profiles of dark berries and tobacco with a well-structured and lengthy palate.

There is no hard and fast rule for drinking wine with food but Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely a wine that does better with food than without food given its acidity, tannins and alcohol. Try Cabernet Sauvignon with a charred gruyere burger, a mushroom pizza with tomato sauce, some marinated ribeye steak or sticky barbecued beef ribs.

Cheers for now!

THE MIDDLE EASTERN JEWEL OF QATAR - DOHA

Doha (Arabic: الدوحة‎,) is the capital and fastest growing city of Qatar. It is a totally multicultural and home to over 40% of the nation's population as well as expatriate communities from a range of origins. It is the economic centre of the country and most populous city of the State of Qatar. 

In May 2015, Doha was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, La Paz, Durban, Havana, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur.

SHOP...SHOP...SHOP!
Shopping abounds in the city.


The VILLAGIO Mall, located in the Aspire Zone in the west end of Doha has over 200 stores, a food court, ice rink and movie theatre.








The interiors are Italian-themed and there is a 150-meter long indoor canal with gondolas...rather impressive! I bought all sorts of things, including my yoga mat at Carrefour hypermarket, a huge store which stocks almost everything you can think of.

Doha is home to many sports complexes and has been the host city of a number of prestigious international sporting events. Doha is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. I was fortunate to fly over to watch someone very special to me compete in the 2015 FINA World Cup Swimming event. I got to meet some celebrity swimmers, great people and enjoy a truly memorable experience!



WHERE TO GO FOR A RELAXED EVENING OUT IN DOHA

Souq Waqif is a great place to eat, shop, and enjoy one of the most popular sites in Doha. The souq is noted for selling traditional garments, spices, handicrafts, and souvenirs. In my opinion, you will not have experienced Doha authentically if you have not spent time hanging out here with a couple of friends at the end of a long day. There is a great vibe in the evenings. There are dozens of restaurants and Shisha lounges.

أنا أحب قطر

Can’t wait for my next visit!

TRUNKS OF LOVE

THEY SAY AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS and I can only add that experiencing elephants will be something you will never forget.

My trip to Botswana, Africa, was one of the highlights of my travels. To be so close-up to nature and completely surrounded by the wild is magical, almost surreal. You feel emotions well up inside that are hard to explain or contain. 

Watching a large herd of elephant rush down to the river’s edge to bath and play is just overwhelming and the experience leaves you breathless. The interactions between elephants are so human and heart-warming. As with any little clumsy creatures, the babies can keep you entertained for hours. They are infinitely adorable! Take a look...

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

"A Diamond Is Forever" is the catch phrase used by the De Beers mining company to market diamonds, and Ian Fleming’s 1956 James Bond novel and movie, 

Diamonds Are Forever.

The De Beers advertising campaign in the 1940’s is one of the most successful ever created. It turned the diamond into a symbol of LOVE, and the more expensive the diamond, the more love. They used Hollywood to get momentum, giving diamonds to movie stars to wear on screen and in public. Credit for making diamonds into such popular tokens of love and eternity goes mostly to the early days of Hollywood and the first legendary movie divas like Mae West, Greta Garbo and Rita Hayworth. 

Around 1950, they started using the "A Diamond Is Forever" tagline in their print advertising, and it accomplished their goal of positioning diamonds as something you buy and never get rid of - much like the romantic vision of love.  LOVE, ETERNITY, ROMANCE, FIDELTY, PERFECTION, SUPREMACY  are some symbols that are now closely connected with diamonds. People were convinced that a diamond engagement ring was essential, and that the quality of the diamond correlated with the love the man had for his woman. Unlike precious metals, diamonds consistently continue to increase in value as engagement rings are constantly being purchased, but are rarely resold.

                How can we forget Shirley Bassey's title track to James Bond's movie Goldfinger

Let Love Sparkle on !!!

PHOTOGRAPH LIKE MONET

DON'T JUST DUMP IT ....TURN ON YOUR IMAGINATION Photographers are encouraged to be ruthless in deleting any shots that are ordinary or simply not good enough to be proud of. I, however, feel that we can challenge ourselves to take our most awful boo-boos and change them artistically to create something totally new. I have created some great 'backgrounds' and 'modern art' doing this. I invariably discard them at some stage, but the time spent fiddling around with adjustments is therapy in itself. This week I pulled my car over to take a photograph of a lovely sea view but was almost blown away by gale force winds. Before jumping straight back into my car, I took a quick snapshot of the leaves on a tree blowing around in a frenzy. The picture was a disastrous blur, but when I looked more closely I suddenly saw what looked like my very own Monet of sorts!
Claude Monet was a famous French painter whose work gave a name to the art movement Impressionism, which was concerned with capturing light and natural forms.  Monet's Water Lily Pond

Erika's photo unedited and uncropped - just as it turned out

You get the gist of it...whatever you create you attach whatever meaning you want to it...then leave it behind and move on to create again.