A French Affair In the Cape

Spontaneous trips will never leave you dissapointed as there are no expectations. About a month ago, my spouse and I had taken one of our unplanned trips heading towards Stellenbosch (Cape Town) wineroutes and had found ourselves an hour out of town. We entered a small town called Franschhoek which is abundanty gifted in it's richness in nature. The town is surrounded by greenery and mountains, and it is also known for being part of the Western Cape's Winelands. As we had entered the town, I had noticed that the names given to the farms, restaurants, wine estates and hiking trails were all French. La Petite Ferm, La Motte , La Providence, Haute Cabriere etc.

I've always known that Franschhoek had a history involving colonization, however I've never really read up on it. As we carried on with our journey, we found ourselves enticed by the Memorial Museum which emphasises on the history of the French Huguenots who settled in the Cape and dominantly in the town of Franchhoek . This Museum gave us refined insight as to when, what, and how the French had lived in the Cape. We saw artefacts which indicated that the French had attempted to improve thier standard of living through wine selling, farming, along with many other general ways of living such as cooking, and production of clothing. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pictures of these artefacts in the museum. To my understanding, and from what I've read and seen at the museum, the town was only founded in the 1800's, which was two century's after the French settled in the 1600's. The Dutch had settled before the French, and were thus subjected to following the rules and regulations of the Dutch at the time. Today we may find Afrikaaners with French surnames as a result of the Dutch on French fusion.

Apart from the Museum, we came across a beautiful and extensive garden. It had some what resembled the likes of Kirstenbosch Gardens, as it is filled with different types of plants and is surrounded by mountains. The environment has an ideal and romantic ambiance, and as newly weds my spouse and I enjoyed the experience thoroughly.

A perfect muse and inspiration area where one could just sit back relax, take out a book, a camera, a picnic basket etc.

This trip has been one of relaxation as well as education. As a former BA History student I found this trip to be a great advantage towards increasing my knowledge on South African history. There are so many things out there that we ought to find out about our beloved South Africa. I urge you to go out there and explore the beauty's your country has to offer.