How delightful it was to see the brand new 52-seater coach come into our Tableview pick up! We had 41 people on board and everyone traveled through to Franschhoek in extreme comfort.
On arrival in Franschhoek just on 11h00 two ladies decided to take advantage and took themselves off to Huguenot Chocolates to do their ½ hour “Chocolate Experience”.
The other ladies wandered and gathered……..some stopped in and had a quick coffee. Franschhoek was full of tourists and this gave the town such fabulous atmosphere. After a few hours there you can feel the stresses and strains melting away – absorbing the holiday atmosphere!
It was SALE time in Franschhoek and the sale boards were everywhere – the ladies seemed to quietly find exactly what they needed and wanted, and arrived at the Allora Restaurant in the Franschhoek Square with plenty of parcels.
En route to Franschhoek everyone was presented with a map of exactly where the highlights of the town were and told that lunch was at Allora directly opposite the Pick ‘n Pay in Huguenot Road. Three ladies saw the first Pick ‘n Pay on our entry into Franschhoek and decided this had to be the store I had referred to. This took them on a L.O.N.G walk almost out-of-town in blistering heat. Temperatures were in the early 30’s and when I received a call to say they were walking back (they had tried to stop a taxi but were ignored! – Perhaps they don’t know the ‘Franschhoek sign language’ for taxis.) Thanks to a very kind manager at Allora who immediately closed his till – instructed staff to look after things and went off to fetch the 3 at the Franschhoek Spa! Thank you Johann………..much appreciated.
Oh, on reaching the restaurant, Carol awarded them a “sucker” each for their escapade.
We enjoyed a 2 course lunch with choices of: Mature sirloin Steak Grilled medium, with creamy paprika sauce and village style baby potatoes
Grilled Line fish Golden grilled line fish with rustic olive, peppers and artichoke topping, served with white wine and vegetable risotto
Petto de Pollo Grilled chicken breast drizzled with a balsamic vinegar, mustard seed and honey sauce on a bed of herbed mashed potatoes
Two vegetarian optionswere offered as well.
Dessert was a choice of Pana Cotta with berry coulis (beautifully served in a large white bowl) and a decadent Chocolate Mousse served in a Phyllo Pastry basket.
We all boarded the coach and left Franschhoek just after 15h00 – it was suggested that we might go to the Rhodes Factory shop or take a drive to the new Franschhoek dam but both options were declined and everyone preferred to head back to the city to try to beat the peak traffic. Tableview drop off was just after 16h00. The Constantia drop off must have been near 17h15!
All in all it turned out to be a very happy day with many ladies complimenting us on the choice of restaurant. Delicious food so very well presented. Hat’s off to Allora!!