Bastille Day, Franschhoek

 - JUST LOVE HOW THE WHOLE TOWN COMES TOGETHER IN BLUE, RED & WHITE!

 


Apologies for the slight delay in recapping the festivities, I had some minor technical difficulties, but all is good now and below is a little sum up of the activities... 

Unfortunately for us the weather decided not to play along on the Saturday, but Sunday was perfect for those who went through.

 
Next year we will definitely NOT be going to the food and wine tent.  Although the tent was very festive and the live band was fantastic, the value for money was poor.  R150 per person as entry into the tent for which we received a wine glass and 5 coupons.  One would expect, being a food & wine tent, that at least one coupon would be for food if not a number of them.  At most festivals each restaurant or stand has a similar priced sample dish for which one or two coupons are used.  

There were no food coupons, and while there were some great restaurants and dishes, eating was an added expense.  The coupons which were therefore wine tasting coupons were valued at one coupon per tasting - not per wine farm tasting, per individual wine tasting.  I sort of understand, given the crowd, but I was pretty disappointed after I had made a list of the specific farms I wanted to check out.  So for R150 I got a glass and to taste 5 wines, which might I add were mostly second tier wines as I am sure the farms were not interested in offering their most prestigious at what appeared to be more of a drunken student party than an actual food & wine festival.

 Out in the town however, the French culture was much more present and the festivities were much more enjoyable.  We had a blast watching the barrel rolling competition.  And even got a Porcupine Ridge umbrella for our support in the rain - kudos to Porcupine Ridge, we will definitely buy their wine in the future!  The markets were great, one more of a curio/African nature and one more of a farmer's market, with great food (delicious samoosas!).  I was disappointed to have missed the Minstrel Parade, but we'll have to catch that next year.  I was also a little scared of the trail run, next year I will train a bit harder.  The Franschhoek Hospice was out in full force with pancakes, berets, scarves and rosettes for purchase and loads of people added a French flair to their outfits for the day.  All the shops and restaurants streamed in the French colours and bubbling onto the sidewalks with their food and wine.

So, all in all, a great day out in the beautiful town of Franschhoek!  Check the weather and go through when the sun is shining and rather enjoy the town festivities than trying to the fight the crowds in the food and wine tent.  (Unless of course you are a student and ALL your friends are going and you're in for the KUIER, then you will have a blast in the tent!)

I think next year we'll check out the festivities in town and then head to one of the surrounding farms.  Perhaps it might be a good idea for the farms to actually have activities going on as well, that might aleve/stagger some of the traffic and add a whole nother dynamic to the weekend... just saying!

Until next year...

FRANSCHHOEK TOWN
Off the N1 along R45

Bastille Festival, Franschhoek - This weekend!

image from http://weheartit.com

 - FRANSCHHOEK FESTIVITIES!
The annual Bastille Festival kicks is happening this Saturday and Sunday in Franschhoek. 


For those who don't know, Bastille day in France is formerly known as The National Celebration and it is celebrated in remembrance of when the people of France stormed the Bastille Prison..  France at the time was ruled by King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Antoinette who is famous for (even though it may not be true) saying "Let them eat cake" when asked of the poor and middle-class 'what should the people eat?".  The country was in a state of bankruptcy and the people were fighting against their oppression.  The storming of the Bastille was in order to obtain ammunition and the prison represented Royal Authority and the King's totalitarian power.  Bastille's fall marked the beginning of the the French Revolution.
 

image from http://quotesorb.com

And so today, the 14th July is a huge celebration (particularly in France) in honour of the day that began the revolution which resulted in the creation of the First French Republic (1792). 


Here in the Cape, South Africa, Franschhoek town came about when about 200 French Huguenots fled religious persecution in France and arrived in the Dutch run Cape.  They were allocated the land in the Franschhoek valley.  A lot of the people brought with them their wine making skills, hence all the wine farms, and a number of the farms are named after the original towns in France from where these settlers came (La Motte, Provence, Cabriere etc).  Franschhoek, therefore, has its own French history and we get to participate in annual Bastille Day festivities too!



There is a market all day Saturday and Sunday, barrel rolling competitions, boules competitions, the waiter's race, the Solms Delta parade, trail runs and MTB events, berets for all and most importantly the Food & Wine tent (R150 a ticket, R550 for VIP).

So don your Red, Blue & White in honour of the French, if you don't have a beret you can always get one there, and come enjoy the festivities in Franschhoek.

Picture courtesy of www.franschhoek.co.za/bastille.html

For more information about the weekend's events and activities, as well as a festival programme, visit the official websites - http://www.franschhoek.co.za/bastille.html & http://www.franschhoekbastille.co.za/