Feast of the Senses

Our wine tasting in the Stellenbosch area of South Africa was absolutely lovely. First stop...the Waterford Estate. I could have been in the south of France. (And by the way, the south of France has nothing up on the south of Africa!) The ambiance was more than condusive to a relaxed and enjoyable experience. See for yourself.

And oh, yes...the piece de resistance...chocolate with the wine. Of course, the tastes complimented each other.

We next found our way to the Ernie Els' winery. Let me tell you, Ernie has set up quite the place with quite the view.

Our final stop was Spier. The wine was good and the atmosphere was quite family oriented. There was a crafts market, a park, a small shop where you could "buy a picinic" and, to our delight, a cheetah refuge. They boys actually got to pet a cheetah. One of those wow things. You can tell they enjoyed it.



Next stop...our villa in the Clifton area of Cape Town. Home sweet home for the next four days. Check it out. Gray house on the top.




Yes, it was build into the side of a cliff and overlooked the beach. And yes, the sunsets (and rises) were incredible.

Wine and Roses

After a wonderful stay at Tinga Private Game Reserve, we headed to our next destination. Wish I had thought to take a picture of the van we travelled in...reminded me a bit of the Brady Bunch except that the parent to kid ratio was even. We trucked our way from Kruger to Johannesburg through a scenic route and saw some amazing glimpses of God's creativity.

The Pinnacle

God's Window

God's Gifts

We spent one night in Joberg (didn't get to see much more there than the inside of our hotel room!) and caught a flight the next morning to the Cape Town area. Our first night we stayed in Kline Zalze Lodge, on the grounds of a beautiful winery in Stellenbosch, The Winelands. They were actually harvesting grapes while we were there. Of course, Kristie and I had to take lots of pictures. It was a beautiful place...and the wine was divine!

There was a beautiful garden on the grounds of Klien Zalze. Keith and I strolled through it in the morning.

And I fell in love with this old bench....



The rest of our day included a wine tour...next installment!

On Safari...With a Camera!

There are times in your life when you just have to pinch yourself. Being on safari in Kruger National Park, South Africa, was one such time. We had a wonderful spring break last week, filled with amazing adventures and dear friends. And this was the start of it all.....

March Madness! (Basketball Part 2)

Some weeks back, American School of Doha hosted the EMAC (Eastern Mediterranean Activities Conference) Varsity Basketball tournament. If you recall, Sam participated in the JV version of the same tournament in Dubai in February. Now it was our turn to "pay back" and host some players in our home. We were fortunate enough to welcome Can and Arjun from Dubai to the pink villa. They were absolutely a pleasure to have. And I, June Cleaver that I am, loved cooking, washing, providing snacks, transporting and providing a warm place to sleep for these two guys. I had three boys in the house again, if even just for a few days.

Can (second from left) and Arjun (third from right) with Sam, friend and fellow ASD'er Taylor (right) and his guests

The tournament was great fun. Three days filled with basketball excitement. It was a real treat to have the tournament at our school. A lot of work, but a blessing. We are in a unique situation in Doha. We don't get quite as many chances to get out and show school spirit as schools in the US might have. This was our chance and ADS shined! It was soooo much fun to see the kids really revved (right spelling...I checked Dictionary.com) up for their team. And my darling Sam was right in the big middle of it all, right alongside his buddies Will, Jake and Matt.

Great fun, great memories. I will never look at March Madness the same way!

Zach