Statistically Home

And we are back!

Days gone: 33
Continents: 4
Inside an airplane: 60 hrs and 30 min
Sitting in airports: 39 hrs and 30 mins
Food & Wines: Too many to count.

Fun with friends and family: Priceless!!

To each and every one that was in any way part of this adventure, there is no way we can truly thank you for the memories and love. Thank you!

See you next time!

And remember:

"Live the life you will always remember."

Frankfurt Airport

Got up at 3am and we got to Frankfurt Airport very early for our 7am flight.

Was very sad to say goodbye to Gaby and Roland since we always have such a great time with them.

See you again soon!

Birthday dinner

For his birthday Kenn wanted to cook with Roland. Of course I made sure I give that to him, and had the best Osso Buco ever!

Yum!

Happy birthday Kenn!

Pfeffingen

Had some of the most unusual wines yet from all our trips here. A family owned winery very proud of some really good wines. 

The birthday is still going...

https://www.pfeffingen.de/

Winzergaststaette

For lunch we stopped at Winzergaststaette in the town of Burrweiler. We say outside and had a great time. It truly is a beautiful time of the year!

The birthday tour continues...

http://www.winzergaststaette-burrweiler.de/

Mesmer

Kenn's birthday trip continues...

First stop on the birthday tour, is his favorite winery in the area. Mesmer. 

And we are off to a good start!

https://www.weingut-messmer.de/

Birthday Breakfast

Kenn's birthday started out with a great birthday breakfast and a champagne toast.

Now off to the wine tour!

Happy birthday!

Drei Birken

We had a wonderful dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in the Odenwald. 

Everything was so fresh and delicate. 

http://www.restaurant-drei-birken.de/

Michelstadt

We took a day trip out to a very pretty historical town. Walked around the city center looking at buildings older than the US and had lunch outside on the square. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelstadt

Gaby's Big Party

What a great night!

Music brings people together. The band was so good. Reputedly one of the best in the area. And that might just be true!

There was great food, wonderful wines and so much love in the air. We started at 6 and finally left around 2am. 

Of course we toasted a great night with Champagne after we got home. It was a long fantastic celebration.

Party Prep

We arrived early to make sure everything was set up and ready.

It was very beautiful and it had everything ready to be a great night.

Jacques

The ladies went grocery shopping. The guys went to buy wine.  

We went to this charming wine store in Weinheim where you can taste any of the wines! You just ask and the owner will open it and give you a taste. Interesting concept, specially early in the morning!

https://www.jacques.de/?campaign=Google-Places/237_Weinheim

Germany

Made it to Germany!

Spent all afternoon and evening just visiting and relaxing and eating and drinking. So much fun.

These are wonderful people.

Istanbul

It is 4:15 am and we are in the airport in Istanbul. This is a 24hr airport so everything is open. 

Since we are in Turkey, we decided to try a Turkish Coffee. Yeah... that was interesting. Was like trying to chew through coffee flavoured mud. Now we know!

Off to Germany in a few hours. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_coffee

Leaving Africa

It was a very sad morning leaving. Very.

Enough said.

Ouma's Treat

As a treat for Ouma's birthday on the 13th, we took her to the casino for the night. This is, according to her, the best thing you can do for her as a treat. 

She had a blast gambling, and actually left with more money than she started with. 

We stayed at the hotel on property so she could play as late (and early the next day) as she wanted to. 

Happy early birthday, Ouma!

https://www.suninternational.com/grandwest/

Another dinner at Sunset

We took the parents out to dinner at their favorite neighborhood restaurant.

One of those beautiful evenings.

Hermanus

How did we get so lucky to have the most perfect day to go whale watching?

It was warm and beautiful. 

The whales were all around us. It is just a little tough to catch them on camera!

Hermanus itself is a charming seaside town that knows what it is. Little art stores, coffee houses and all kinds of interesting places just adds to the charm. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermanus

Family

It was a fun-filled day full of love, laughter, family, friends and fun. Lunch was a Louisiana Crawfish Boil and they devoured this 'American Import' dish!

After dinner some of us went to the mountainside to go watch the sun set over the bay.

All in all, a splendid day!

The Blue Peter

We went to one of our favorite little places. The Blue Peter on Bloubergstrand. 

The idea was to go have a drink and move on. 

Many hours later we have listened to a great band, danced with strangers, heard a street person walk up and sing Italian Opera, had friends come over to join us and watched Table Mountain with the sun setting in the ocean. 

One of those days where the photos do not do justice to the memories we made. 

http://www.bluepeter.co.za/

The Birthday Dinner

So many photos of many happy smiling people. The food was so good, the wine kept flowing and the room was filled with laughter and conversations of old and new friends.

Happy Birthday Ouma, Gaby, Kenn and Coen!

Setting up dinner

We arrived a little early at Cavalli to help with the setup for dinner. The room looked so pretty and with the landscape around it was like sitting in a painting. 

As the sun started going down, the view got even better. Everything had a warm tint of gold. 

This was setting out to be a great birthday party. 

https://cavallistud.com/restaurant/

Dinner at sunset.

For dinner we just dropped into a local seafood restaurant. The view of sunset was breathtaking, and the place was cozy and fun. Spend a great time with the owners hanging around at our table. 

https://www.oceanbasket.com/

Indochine

We stopped at Delaire Graff for lunch. We ate at a restaurant called Indochine. It is South African food with distinct eastern influences. It was so perfectly tasty. 

Our view was down the valley overlooking vineyards and farms. 

So much yummy!

http://www.delaire.co.za/dining/overview/

Vrede & Lust - Again!

Introducing more friends to our favorite wine farm. 

https://www.vnl.co.za/

Vergenoegd

Last farm of the day was Vergenoegd. Yes, the wines were good, but the best part was that we were there in time to see the daily Duck Parade!

What a delightful spectacle that had us all smiling. The ducks work in the vineyards eating the bugs. 

http://vergenoegd.co.za/

Lovane

At Lovane we had a wine and chocolate paring. It was very tasty, but why is there never enough chocolate?

http://www.lovane.co.za/wines/winery/

Middelvlei

Lunch was at the Middelvlei wine estate. It was a sampling of a traditional South African braai. 

During lunch we had a wonderful red wine, and afterwards went into the cellar and we able to sample a young one straight from the oak barrel. 

http://www.middelvlei.co.za/