Looking at faces

They tell you a lot, faces, we tend not to look at them, we usually look away or down when walking past people.

Recently I have taken to looking at people when I walk around town, looking at their faces, trying to read the expressions on their faces, to see what these can tell me.

If you know what to look for you can tell a great deal about a town by looking at the faces of the towns folk.

My favourite place to do this is to walk down the avenues in Stellenbosch in the afternoons, because it is such a beautiful road loads of people choose this as their preferred route for exercise, walking their dog or an afternoon stroll. The other great advantage is that the avenue attracts people from all walks of life, different ages and social groups.

There are retired folk who just stroll, no pressure, they look relaxed and content, they even have time to greet you, the student lovers, who walk up and down with no real purpose, just want to be together, they seldom greet you because I don't think they see anybody else.

Then you get the exercisers, those who I envy, they just smile as they pass, then the school children bouncing balls, chasing each other for amusement, then the office types, on their way to or from work, hurried and on their phones.

A wide variety, all with one thing in common, they have chosen to walk down the avenue in Stellenbosch because it makes them feel good. I've looked at their faces, I've watched them they all look at the surroundings, they all stop to admire the beauty.

The streets will tell you

You can tell a lot about a town by the feel of their streets, big wide ones, small narrow alleys, dirty, clean, the personality of the streets tell you what you need know about a town.

I remember visiting a town in Europe a few years ago with very neat streets, very ordered and tidy. It struck me that there was something unusual about them, there was little colour and even less variety in any view of them. The towns folk were much the same, not uninteresting just ordinary, the food was very plain and the people offered little more than I could have read about in a book.

I always look at streets in a town, it tells me what I want to know. It was the streets of Stellenbosch that made me move here, I remember thinking the first time I visited how I wanted to live in a town where they take such good care of the streets, imagine what they do for the people.

Streets are representative of the type of town , leafy wide streets tell you the town is old and they have preserved their heritage, lots of open spaces tells you people like being outdoors, lots of open areas near the roadways for people to walk their dogs and play ball games is a sure sign people live in their communities, not only in their homes.

Candle lit tables on pavements, art on street corners and children cycling around tell you that this is a town that is alive and well lived in. It tells you you will meet people and share in the vibe of the town when you visit, it tells you, you will meet the locals and experience the culture of the town, and that's what you want, isn't it?

For more on the streets of Stellenbosch visit our gallery on facebook

Father & son

Its seldom you experience the pleasing synthesis of old and new, seldom they exist in a win win relationship. I was lucky to be invited for lunch at Dornier by a freind, an impressive wine estate in the Stellenbosch wine lands.

Punted as a country kitchen, the food was good, as was the wine and all the rest, but what really left a lasting impression was the way they had melted the aspirations of 2 generations into one very rewarding experience.

The cellar made me think of a James Bond movie, its bold clear lines makes a big impression, at first I wondered about its sensitivity to the surroundings, but as you step back and view it in relation to the mountains, the Koi pond and the plain trees that green it, I began to feel more at ease with this futuristic building watching me.

Lunch is served in an old building set 100 metres from the ober modern cellar, old thick walls and high ceilings and a wonderful feel of building from a time gone by. The food matches the general theme of synthesising the past with the

present, dishes for sophisticated pallets include foie gras and delicate fish cakes, whilst food for the people, farm food is there in the wonderful breads, cold meats, pork belly and my best, slow cooked lamb shank.

My lunch got better and better as I soaked in the wonderful, surrounding vineyards and amazing combination of a modern cellar built by the father of the present owner and the farm charm of the old shed converted into a tasting room and wine lands Bodega, built by his son, the present owner.

Interesting how older generation sought the modern effect, and younger the traditional

Sorry the wines..., they are also amazing, but that you will have to research them yourself when you visit.