Day 74: Babylonstoren Wine Estate — Biking Breakthrough
The mornings are glorious here at Auberge Clermont: clear and crisp with the sun coming up over the mountains. I woke up feeling less than 100% but definitely improving. We did school for the first time in 3 days after taking Monday off for travel and yesterday as a daddy / teacher sick day.
After school we headed to Babylonstoren Estate to explore and have lunch. It came highly recommended by DC friend Tamara Lloyd and backed up by Luke and Meg. Such a special place — beautifully manicured grounds, three farm-to-table restaurants and an incredible garden featuring what seemed like every fruit and veggie on the planet plus chickens, ducks, trout and catfish farms and an “Insect Hotel.” This was the sign in front: “Bugs that eat bugs live here. They’re nature’s policemen. Also some insects that help pollinate flowers. Our hotel offers all sorts of rooms to choose from, each with a different sort of bed. Come peep carefully — you never know who has moved in — moth, ladybird, wasp, lizard or spider?”
We had lunch at The Greenhouse and homemade popsicles (kiwi & lime, mango & watermelon) while we explored the garden. We then headed home to do some biking.
On the way to Babylonstoren we stopped at Franschhoek Cycles for the second day in a row. Yesterday we rented one pedal bike and one push bike and saw some exciting progress from both kids. So we decided to go all in: we went back to to the shop, returned the push bike and bought two pedal bikes and two helmets.
Yes, it felt a little excessive but here’s the rationale: the kids are right on the verge of learning; we don’t fly again until April 5 so we can throw them in the car and take them with us for our next 3 stops; and the strong $ helps make the cost surprisingly manageable. We’ll donate them at the end.
Turned out to be a great decision. They made HUGE progress riding on the paths around the grape vines and plum trees here at Auberge Clermont. Check the scenery (and the biking!) in this video…
That video was taken while I was sitting on a bench with a bottle of wine. It was a joyful moment. Needless to say, they are far from experts and we are not beyond the spills, cuts and tears. But Margaret and I agreed that watching them pedal on their own has been one of the more satisfying milestones we’ve had as parents.
Random Notes
When James got asked who the funniest person he knows is, he said: “Mommy.” Margaret’s comment: “I didn’t even think he knew my name, so I was incredibly flattered.”
March Madness in full swing this week. I’m trying to figure out how to watch the games here in Africa without a Cable subscription (which the CBS app requires after 3 hours of viewing).
I’ve thought this for a while but writing it now for the first time: I feel like most of my time as a parent has been spent retrieving the inside-out sleeves on sweatshirts.
And one more shot of our buddy Rusty…
