Giveaway! A free night’s stay at Maison d’Ail

I stayed at Maison d’Ail for the last night of my Garden Route Trip in Franschhoek and although I sampled quite a variety of guesthouses on my trip, Maison d’Ail had to have been my favourite. It was a pity that I only got to spend one night here and I would have loved to have stayed a bit longer. Maison d’Ail kindly offered to give away a night for two to my readers so they can experience why I was so blown away by the guest house. The entry to the competition is right at the end of this post. But first let me tell you more about Maison d’Ail.

I loved the name of the guesthouse before I even saw it – Maison d’Ail – House of Garlic. The owners’ names are Mr and Mrs Garlick – how cute is that!

We arrived all hot and sweaty from walking around Franschhoek at midday. I’m quite baffled by why everyone complains about Durban’s heat. The rest of South Africa is just as hot! We were welcomed into the reception area and the lady that greeted was sweet enough to see how tired I was, got someone to take our bags up to our rooms and offered me a free beverage (from their stunning kitchen) to quench my thirst.  

The first thing I did when we got to our room was pass out from travel exhaustion out so I can definitely attest to how comfy the bed was. I loved the look of the room. Everything was clean, white and crisp and the silver-grey colour scheme worked so well off that white. The view from our room was of the mountain with Franschhoek written out in white stones.

I love big bathrooms and while this wasn’t that big, it did have a huge shower – more space to dance around while singing in the shower. There were loads of things hidden in the cupboards that I did not have time to use like a bathrobe. One of the guesthouses on my Garden Route Trip didn’t even offer shower gel and shampoo and for the same price, Maison d’Ail provided us with bathrobes. There was a coffee plunger.

After my nap, I walked out the same way I came in, this time marvelling at the long light blue coloured pool. After my dip in the pool at Hermanus, this pool was just calling my name but I didn’t have time for it. For those that prefer the indoors, they have a little open library area where you can curl up on the couch and have some me-time with a book. There are also balcony areas to chill out in if you want some sun. Did I mention there’s free wifi?

I loved loved loved the kitchen and dining area. There is an inside dining area, a little couch area with a fireplace and the outside area which we settled on for breakfast. Breakfast was my favourite time at this guest house. We were spoilt with a huge buffet selection of juice, fruits, yogurt, cereal, pastries with cheeses. They were all plated ready to be taken to our table so we weren’t dishing up at the counter. I prefer hot dishes and this breakfast was your standard English breakfast but I liked the little differences – like the use of cherry tomatoes instead of a thick slice of a salad tomato.

Before we left, the owners came to say hello to us and we had a lovely conversation about our trip, Franschhoek and…um, chemical engineering.

Now that you know all about the place, here’s how you can enter. The one night’s stay with breakfast at Masion d’Ail is only valid during March and April and no flights or other extras are included in this prize. I'll be running the giveaway until Christmas. Enter using Rafflecopter by doing any one of the following:

• Tweet “I want to win a free night’s stay at Maison d’Ail with @SandiSplash. Enter here to win http://sandisplash.blogspot.com/2013/11/giveaway-free-nights-stay-at-maison-dail.html”
• Share this post on Facebook
• Comment on this post by telling me what you would get up to in Franschhoek if you win
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Disclaimer: Maison d’Ail is providing the free guesthouse stay to the winner of this giveaway. I fully paid for the Maison d’Ail stay detailed in this post.

Garden Route Trip Day 7: Franschhoek

The drive to Franschhoek was about an hour and half long from Hermanus and the majority of it was spent on a mountain pass, meandering up the mountains and looking out at all the vineyards in bloom. All the lush shades of green between hills and valleys was definitely a sight to behold. There's a number of look-out points on the way to stop and just absorb the beauty (with a lot of windiness).

Beyond the mountains lay Franschhoek and our first stop was the Franschhoek Motor Museum. Now this museum is made up of cars owned by Anthony Rupert. They've basically collected all these cars and housed them in this museum so that the public can get up close to them - all in once place. I wasn't too keen on this - I mean all cars look the same to me and their purpose is really just to get me from A to B.

But this museum was really something! They showcase cars of old up to the modern day super cars. Because of twitter I kept myself entertaining tweeting stories about the cars that my boyfriend told me about. I was more impressed that you can see the evolution of cars in this museum - basically, how the first cars became what I drive today.

All through the trip, our restaurant choices were based on walking through the main street of the town and checking out their menus before settling on a spot. This was no different. We parked on the main street and walked through the quaint town. I imagine this is what France would be like - old buildings emanating history, cafes' seating areas overflowing onto the pavements, and trees, plants and flowers making the little establishments and pavements look so pretty.

We spotted Reuben's which we decided to save for supper that night as this was the only one open on a Monday from a lot of the more famous Franschhoek restaurants. Most of the cafes have a french bistro style menu and we decided to go for something a little different at Essence. We enjoyed sitting outside and embracing the unique Franschhoek ambience while munching on a rump strips sandwich and a crumbed chicken wrap.

We still had a lot planned - like wine tasting - so we hurried to Maison d'Ail where we spent the last night of our trip. I think the exhaustion of travelling hit me as I passed out on the soft comfy bed as soon as I got there!

Once I woke up, we realised that a lot of wine farms offering wine tasting close on a Monday and also close early! We opted for Grand Provence as it was open until 7pm when the sun is just beginning to set. We arrived at Grand Provence slightly disappointed because the last cellar tour was at 3 so all we had was the wine tasting. We chose the 7 wine tasting option for R50 per person where they brought out the different types of wine offered at the farm. They gave us more than enough to sip on while we enjoyed some sunshine in the outside garden-like area. Although I would have preferred the cellar tour, the "waiter" brought us wine, explained it and gave us enough time to sip and enjoy it before the next one came out. I also thought the setting made it quite a romantic event for just the two of us. Bonus! We asked about tasting some of their other wines before buying and ended up tasting 10 different wines in total. We left very drunk and with the wines we liked packaged to take back home.

As the sun started to set, we eagerly rocked up at Reuben's asking for a table, only to be told that they were fully booked. We had to resort to The Lounge Bar at Le Quartier Francais (The Tasting Room was closed). While sipping on some champagne to celebrate a great road trip, we tried a lot of their fancy tapas style foods. Some of the deliciousness were the crois-dog, pecking-style guinea fowl pancakes and my favourite: suckling pig and bacon crumble. I must say that everything I had was delicious - a far cry from my reviews of similar restaurants in Joburg. We even received some complimentary cinnabon ice-cream - not at all how you imagine it to taste - it wasn't too sweet and simplistically put, it was more like a vanilla ice-cream with shards of cinnabon folded in.

With all that wine and champagne, we had a restful last night back at Maison d'Ail. The next morning, we were blown away by the breakfast selection of fruits, yogurts, cereals and pastries - all beautifully plated on a buffet table to take back to where we were sitting. The hot breakfast was made up of the standard stuff and I asked not to be given a tomato. I immediately regretted it when the food arrived as the hot breakfast is served so differently with fried cherry tomatoes which I love!

The owners (Mr and Mrs Garlick) came over to say hi and we surprisingly were able to have some really interesting conversations with them. But alas, our Garden Route Trip had come to end and we had to head on back to the airport and pretty soon, back to normality.

I reminisced about the trip all through the short drive to Cape Town International airport. At Avis, I realised I had even become attached to the little Figo which held all my sea shells from the beaches we visited along the Garden Route. The Slow Lounge was filled with an air of sadness about leaving behind a week of excitement, spontaneity and pigging out on tastiness. On the two hour flight to Joburg, even the plane felt sad for us - moving unsteadily from the turbulence and even created a bumpy landing for us. Since I've been back, all I can say is that I really miss the fun times had at the Eastern Cape and Western Cape this week. It is definitely a trip I can recommend to all.

Garden Route Trip Day 6: Hermanus

Another early start on our trip mostly because our guesthouse kindly offered to serve us breakfast at 7:30, earlier than usual so that our food could settle in time for our whale trip. 78 on 5^th does 2 plated courses of breakfast. The first was muesli, yogurt and fruit drizzled with honey and served in a little dessert bowl accompanied by freshly squeezed orange juice. This guesthouse was priced at pretty much the same as all our other accommodation but I really appreciated the effort in making a plated hot breakfast that wasn’t just bacon and eggs. We had an open egg omelette on a slice of toast topped with homemade tomato and onion sauce, shaved smoked ham and mature cheddar cheese – all grilled in the oven.

And then it was off to the most excited part of our trip – whale watching! Although November marks the end of the whale season in Hermanus, we still managed to see quite a few whales close up and some calves jumping around in the waters closer to shore. We spent about 2 hours on a rocky boat with Whalewatchers. The tour guide explained how the whales come in to the bay and gave us a good overview of whales in general. They even went searching for whales so that we could get the best views and photos.

We were originally going to have lunch at Bientang’s Cave, known as one of the best spots on land to watch whales from. Having just marvelled at the whales so closely, we opted for Dutchies instead. It’s a beach café/bar so you can refuel here after spending time at the beach. I’ve been having so much seafood on this trip but the menu wasn’t very exciting so I opted for a seafood platter for lunch. I definitely did not make a bad choice! I am not a big eater but I wiped that platter clean and would have had more if there was.

Since Dutchies is on the beach, we took the liberty of walking along the blue flag beach. The waters were freezing cold! It’s hard to imagine that the same Indian Ocean brings in the warm waters in Durban.

For the first time on our trip, we actually had a pool to swim in and relax for a bit. I realised when I was back in Joburg that this time was meant to be for horse riding on the beach. As much as I wanted to see and experience everything, I realised that I was on holiday to relax and chilling on the pool loungers was a great way to do just that.

We planned on going to Lizette's for supper for Vietnamese - African fusion cuisine. Unfortunately, it was closed so we settled on Geckos – a bar at the new harbour. Set on the edge of the harbour, the sunset setting was the perfect accompaniment to the singer providing live entertainment. I left that night feeling so happy that I chose to spend the entire night being entertained by a live singer without the worry that I need to get home for a good night’s rest before work the next day. Ah, the dream of freedom…

Garden Route Trip Day 5: Swellendam and Hermanus

We woke up really early to say goodbye to a very dreary Knysna. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the 450km drive to Hermanus as I do long trips like that from Joburg to Durban all the time and it’s really tiring.

Not too far from Knysna, we drove into Wilderness and managed to find our way to a residential beach. There were a couple of people standing on the shore fishing and a few others standing on the rocks for a photo shoot. Now I’ve seen so many beaches on this trip but this was a stunning beach. The waters here just gush in pretty quickly and before you know it, the waves come crashing to your dry feet and the water’s almost halfway up your legs.

After picking up some shells, we hit the road again for a few minutes until my boyfriend drove in to a look-out point along the N2 – of the same beach we just standing on! Looking at the beach from up high, it looked so tame in comparison to the strong current we experienced earlier. From up high, we could see all the way down the long stretch of beach and the river mouth feeding into the beach. With the bright sunshine, it’s amazing to see the different colours from far into the ocean though to the shore and where it meets the river. It was definitely the best view of the garden route along the N2.

We headed off again and this time the dreary weather gave way to rain so we didn’t stop anyway else for a very long time. After battling against the sleep that was tempting me, we stopped in Swellendam for lunch. There aren’t many restaurants in the area and we eventually settled on a very quiet place called The Old Mill restaurant. Granted, the entire area is very quiet – it’s like everyone prefers to stay indoors. The Old Mill had a beautiful outside area that feels like Spring. We settled on a burger and a pie and hit the road again.

Finally, we arrived at the offramp to Hermanus and while we were still 30km away, it was still exciting. After all, I was most looking forward to this part of the Garden Route trip. But the excitement was delayed by road works where we drove for about 15km on a gravel road in a little Figo. It appears that new roads are being developed and old roads need to be re-tarred. So if you are heading to Hermanus from Knysna, try using the next offramp to avoid the off-road drives.

I was so happy with our room when we arrived at 78 on 5^th. It was clean and white and spacious. It’s a mountain-facing room which I wasn’t too happy about earlier. I since realised that Hermanus is quite flat so unless you’re living on the beach, the sea-facing rooms generally look out to other houses between you and the beach. The view of the mountain was amazing and the heated pool was right outside my door.

While there were a few hours of sunlight left, we decided to check out the old harbour. Spectacular views again around the bay except this time the rocks are so big and flat that you can walk on them and feel like you’re at the edge of a cliff.

Supper was at the fancy La Pentola. Situated along the waterfront, it has stunning view of the bay. What I like most about this restaurant is that you don’t have to sit at the window to get the best view. As in proper fine dining, portions here are small so feel free to have all 3 courses.

This day ended with me walking to my car frozen! Even in summer, the winds are cold in the Western Cape so be sure to carry a jacket in case you need it. 

Garden Route Trip Day 4: Knysna

We were meant to go on a romantic sunset cruise on the lagoon the previous day but the weather didn’t allow for it. On this day, we made sure to book the first ferry cruise, with The Featherbed Company, just in case the weather turned later in the day. Our ferry cruised around the lagoon and through to the Knysna heads. This is definitely a must-do in Knysna. The views are stunning and the guide gives a very good overview of the lagoon and the surrounding areas.

Afterwards we drove around Leisure Island up to viewing points on the East Head to check out the view from the top. Stunning cliff face drops and breath-taking views of the ocean meeting the lagoon. The views are definitely worth the windy-ness at the top.

Before that, we tried to have lunch at Freshline Fisheries which is situated in the lagoon’s dockyard. They serve all sorts of seafood which you can buy raw and take home. You could also choose your fish and have it prepared either “grilled, fried or Weskus braai-ed”. There’s also the menu which has your usual seafood menu items. We tried a scallop salad with sundried tomatoes and red onion and a Weskus braaied kob. Another highly recommended restaurant you should try. The freshness of the fish really comes out in the taste and the restaurant has a chilled beach bar vibe. The food is also really good value for money – about a third cheaper than what you’d expect to pay in Joburg.

We took a walk around town which was really a waste of time. There’s nothing much to do or see. Even the coffee shops are a bit sad.

For supper, we tried Pembreys on the other side of the Lagoon. The restaurant is situated in a pretty garden-like environment. It is a fine dining establishment and their menu is written on a blackboard which is quite unique. I had a delicious crab and dill ravioli and the boyfriend had a perfectly done Springbok fillet in a blueberry sauce. If you’re into experiencing the fine dining that Knysna has to offer, this is a great option to try. That marked the end of our stay in Knysna. 

Garden Route Trip Day 3: Plettenberg Bay and Knysna

After just one rainy night in Stormsriver, we left the next morning to see the Stormsriver Bridge since I missed it on account of the rain. The bridge is the N2 which cuts through an amazing mountain way with a valley below. We parked at the petrol station and there are pathways to guide you along both sides of the highway where you can see the rock face, the greenery sloping all the way down into a little river below. It is absolutely breath-taking. Even more incredible was imagining how they built the N2 over this so many years ago, still managing to retain the natural wonder and including pathways for people to view this.

After lots of looking down, we went to look up at the Big Tree. It’s about 2km from the Stormsriver Bridge off the N2. We paid a small entry fee to get into a nature reserve and walked around until we found some very big trees. The Big Tree is 1000 years old and preserved in this reserve. Although this didn’t take too long, it was a bit of a walk…in nature…which I hate, so if a nature reserve isn’t your thing, you can leave this out of your itinerary.

Our next stop was in Plettenberg Bay – just to walk on the beach and collect shells. We marvelled at Beacon Island which I don’t think is really considered an island but it is surrounded by water. There’s a little bridge connecting the Plettenberg Bay beach to the island but you can easily wade through the water to get there too. This stop was just to walk along the beach which is an everyday must if you’re driving along the coast.

We hit the road again and detoured off the N2 into Knysna. A pretty little area filled with tons of vegetation and a huge lagoon. We stayed at the Protea Guesthouse which had an amazing view of the lagoon.

We headed to the Knysna waterfront which has apparently deteriorated over the years. Having never experienced what it was like before, I thought it was pretty awesome. Boats leave from the waterfront to cruise on the lagoon daily and the restaurants all look out on to the lagoon. There are many shops (read: tourist traps) to browse through. I actually bought some stunning pearl jewellery from a little gem jeweller there.

We had lunch at Drydock. Since we were on the coast we opted for seafood. I had the catch of the day which was gurnard, a fish I hadn’t tasted before. It was delicious and juicy. My boyfriend has a fish soup which had a number of different types of seafood swimming in a tasty broth.

We initially wanted to stay at Thesen Island but it the rates are way too expensive for the working class to afford. Nonetheless, there are other things to do on this island, like supper at Knysna Tapas and Oysters. I’m used to eating oysters raw accompanied with a squeeze of lemon and a drop of tabasco sauce the way it is served at the Oyster festivals in Jozi. I had no clue that oysters could be served any other way. This restaurant boasted an award winning oyster dish, oyster chiquila, which was a cultivated oyster with tequila sauce, japaleno mayo, cucumber and red caviar. They also serve grilled and tempura oysters along with oysters served the good old fashioned way. I can simply say that I am now a fan of oysters that aren’t served plain. We had lots of other tasty tapas at this joint with extremely friendly service. I definitely recommend this place.

Although we spent 2 days in Knysna, I think Knysna could have been experienced in one day. Although, the two days did make it all the more relaxing. 

Garden Route Trip Day 2: Jeffrey’s Bay and Stormsriver

After experiencing the slow pace of PE, the kindness of the locals and the sheer beauty of the city, I was quite sad to leave. With a full itinerary planned, we picked up our rental Figo from Avis and hit the road. Our first stop was Jeffrey’s Bay for lunch before spending the night in Stormsriver.

I’m really not much of a holiday planner. I only did the Garden Route because the boyfriend suggested it and he also planned our itinerary. Knowing nothing about the route apart from it starting in PE and ending in Cape Town, I was blown away just by the short drive. The N2 is flanked by lush greenery. It seems like someone regularly mows the grass along the highway. Trees are planted along the road with such precision that they either neatly sit along the road or arch over the road. It was by far the prettiest long distance drive I’ve ever taken.

I highly recommend that everyone drives from PE to Jeffrey’s Bay. As we got closer, we were met with the most amazing view of the shoreline along the bay. There were stunning views all around as we drove around the bay which seemed so full. It’s deep blue in colour and seems like a really deep beach filled to the brim with dark turquoise water. We stopped at some of the unmarked viewing points.  I actually think those “viewing points” and walkways to the beach are for the residents but it was thoroughly awesome taking in the sheer beauty of it all before walking along the beach. I love beaches with rocks at the shoreline; it just makes the beach unique. The current wasn’t that strong so it didn’t feel dangerous to hop on top of the rocks further into the sea. There were tons of shells washed up to shore so it made it a bit difficult to walk but gave a chance to grab a handful of shells as a memento of my trip. I proceeded to collect shells at all my beach destinations on this trip.

If I knew how gorgeous Jeffrey’s Bay was, I would have totally stayed here instead of Stormsriver. Well we decided to make the most of the time we had by finding the beach the local surfers seemed to love frequenting. It was quite odd that there aren’t any hotdog vendors nearby. I would have preferred grabbing a hot dog and sitting on a bench at the beach instead. We had lunch at a cosy little fish joint with a sign outside that said they had the best calamari in town. Yoh! They were not lying about it. We snacked on a fish, prawn and calamari basket but in hindsight, we should have just ordered the calamari on its own.

We panicked slightly when we saw the time. It was almost 5 and almost closing time for the Billabong factory shop. We still managed to get there before the store closed although we were rather rushed to pick our items, pay for them and leave. I didn’t even try on my clothes. I know this is a small town but they should really consider extending their opening hours for tourists especially when it’s still bright until about 7pm. There are tons of other surfer type brands with factory shops and concept stores which were all closed by the time we were done.

We bid farewell to Jeffrey’s Bay and made our way back down the N2 to Stormsriver. It felt like we were driving directly into a storm. The weather looked really bad so we decided not to stop at the Stormsriver Bridge and headed directly to the At The Woods guesthouse. The lodge looks exactly as what was portrayed on the website: a wooden lodge in the woods. It started raining the moment we checked it to I was glad we didn’t stop at the Stormsriver bridge even though I was filled with the regret the further we drove from it.

For supper we tried out Tsitsikamma Village Inn which has one restaurant but essentially 2 locations not too far from each other. The one was a quite cosy restaurant which was packed. The other one was a quieter sports bar cum café which I preferred. We had a light meal and headed back to our room for a quiet warm night…excited about the next day and tired from the previous day.