Lucy’s journal notes - day 12

Today we went on a really fun wine tour in Stellenbosch. First we got kind of lost in the vineyards and basically we were just kind of driving around the dirt roads, but eventually we found the entrance. Our tour guide was really nice, his name was Carlo. This was a bike tour, so we rode on our mountain bikes through the vineyard, and we stopped a few times on the way to talk about making wine, and different kinds of grapes and things like that.

Our first stop included a very long steady bike ride up a slow hill, and also crossing a freeway. That was different. When we finally arrived, our guides got us a table and some water. Soon, a nice woman named Robin who had recently finished her training to be a wine expert gave mom and dad a few different types of wines to try, and she gave Poppy and I each a little platter of juices. The platter included apple juice paired with a kebab of grilled chicken, a cup of cranberry juice paired with a mini burger slider, and a mini chocolate cupcake paired with a seemingly very thick concoction of chocolate liquid. (Maybe chocolate milk…?)

Poppy with her pairings

After that, mom kept telling us how “wined out” she was as we made our way back to our home base. We ended right where we started, at a nice restaurant with a view of the mountains, where we had a little snack of springbok sausage and calamari- still including the tentacles and suction cups. That pretty much happened. mom and dad got more wine, and Poppy and I got more fun drinks, like strawberry Nesquik and a “Tex” bar, apple juice and some pieces of random cold meat, and also cranberry juice paired with “caramelized popcorn,” which ended up being a pink marshmallow.

Location #2 kid pairings

All in all, it was a pretty fun day, filled with exercise and hydration. My favorite part was highfiving the kids along the highway walking to school. Everyone seemed so happy to meet us, and grateful that we would choose them for our tour.