On Friday, we took samples from eight vineyards then quickly ran out of things to do. When we asked the boss what to do he said, "You must think of something."
Lorena and I moved back into the big house and Tina left a tart and fresh figs for us before she and Rudolph left for their house on the coast. On Saturday the post office told me they didn't know where my package is, and gave me two phone numbers for Cape Town customs. If I can make it from one place to another, why can't a cardboard box?
On the way home, we stopped at Graham Beck for bubbly and some good red wines. It was the most expensive winery I've seen so far, but the wines were good and the highest price was US$30. The sparkling wine was more fruity than yeasty and the still red wines were very concentrated and delicious. A couple blends were very good: Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc and a Cab, Pinotage, Petit Verdot. The guy behind the bar was easily the best I've seen in South Africa. He was very friendly and helpful, and gave us whatever we wanted for free after I mentioned that we work at a winery down the road. Lorena had trouble understanding his English, but could still tell that he was gay. Maybe job listings for customer service positions should mention that they would like to hire gay people because they are the friendliest.
Lorena made paella and Spanish tortilla (fritada) for dinner. It was very good, especially with the wine she brought from Spain. It was a white blend of Godello and dona blanco from a winery she worked for in the Bierzo region (dona should have a wavy accent over the n). It was very complex with a slight sweet flavor, even though the wine was dry. Marinus talked about some social behavior in South Africa and they seem to be similar to how I think of the 1950s. The differences mostly seem to come from religion. They marry young because they are very opposed to sex before marriage, they won't do gay marriages at the winery because they would get a bad reputation in the area, and the attitude that change is bad. The separation of blacks and whites may not be religion-based, but it is 60 years in the past in the US. If Marinus didn't tell me his beliefs on these issues, I wouldn't have guessed that was how he felt. This is only one group of people that I've been exposed to, but it seems pretty common among the white South Africans. Any change that is taking place is coming from the outside and is mostly based in the cities.
After dinner, the wedding party had moved to the pool, so Lorena and I joined them. I ended up talking with some South Africans while Lorena found an Italian woman to speak Spanish with because the groom and his friends were from Italy. One of the guys cannon-balled into the pool and someone decided to put a canoe into the pool. We left around 3am, but some of them stayed later. The next morning, most of them were not walking in a straight line.
Sunday brunch was delicious and filling. The kitchen staff baked good bread instead of the crap that's in the supermarket. I still can't find a decent loaf of french bread or sourdough. I saw asparagus for the first time since I left home, and there was of course meat and potatoes.
I have a couple of good quotes from Marinus to show what a fun guy he is. To describe the owner's dog he said, "It looks like it's got one foot on a banana peel and one the grave." And when talking about a "crazy bitch" who used to work at the bistro, "She's the kind of person you'd run over twice."
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