chateau neuf du pape

one of the greatest niche wine areas in the world. we where there. and made our mark.

what else do we do

we behave stupid.

jp and nuno

mes camarades du vin.......................

EMaVE

this is what we do........this is work in progress. do not disturb.
nuno. jp. manuella. clara. meinard. and me.

champagne

everything about you says something about you...................

crazy kaaskop

this is my dutch friend jp. crazy kaaskop.

the class

me. jp. nuno. meinart. manuella.

gps

it has been proven. i am better than your average gps system. i am more accurate. and more than often the gps has gotten us lost and then my natural sense of direction takes us to were we want to be. as illustarted on the pic.

vino-traveling

i have decided to create a new word or idea. i call it vino-traveling. nothing freaky or spooky about it. no need for the religious monks out there to freak. it is more about following my passion for the art and culture of wine. wine making. wine and food. wine and people. wine and areas. i realised that in a country like france or italy even you have such a rich history and culture of everything to do with wine. how can you not take the time to travel around and find the perfect picture with the perfect wine for that picture. the best wine to fit the plate. the best friends to share the wine and situation with. thats the beauty of wine. it has many faces. many places. many expressions. most importantly. it has many friends and family. meaning. there is a wine out there for everyone. what ever you desire. what ever you drink. red. white. sweet. dry. fortified. or bubbling. there is a time for each of them. the beauty of vino-traveling is to put your own picture together. to paint the masterpiece of your desire and tastebuds. what a journey. what a preview. so get out there and start traveling.

pic st loup

the things crazy people do. i got up at six o clock on saturday to go and climb a mountain. it was still dark. i could not even see my hands in front of my eyes. these things happen when you hang out with the crazy dutch. no wonder we struggle to keep it sane down south. so we were well prepared against the cold and the blistering mistral that blew down the central french country side. with bravery to boot we took the hill. took us no more than an hour to reach the top and to see the sun break upon a new day. a perfect day it was too in the south of france. we got the burner going and soon there was coffee to go with the baguette we carried. accopanied by cheese. ham. salami. and some dried fruit. the view was simply spectacular. sea on the left. mountains from the massif central on the right. we sat there. jean paul and i. we contemplated the situation and enjoyed the beauty of pic st loup. when you translate the name it simply means. mountain of the wolf saint...the exact reason i dont know why.

op die stoep

can anybody remember these days.

studio88

it was eleven o clock friday night. the termometer in the car registered a very cold four degrees. we got in the peugot on our way to what should be the best night of the year. we where on our way to go and see gui boratto play. he is the best brazilian producer of electronic music. and thats not all. he was playing in studio eighty eight. the best club in france. voted so by all the top producers and djs in france. but there was a two hours journey that awaited us. the set was to start somewhere between two and three saturday morning. so we set down the motor way music pumping and the excitement electric. seeing that the club is located between somewhere and nowhere we had a fair bit of traveling to do. found it eventually and was greated with a welcoming glass of bubbly on arrival. a very good start to what would be an unforgettable experience. or i should say. what should have been an experience of a lifetime. but soon shock and horror set in. gui missed his plane. he was not coming anymore. he was not playning anymore. no more unforgettable experience. instead some junkie played a very messy set. we were lost for words. we tried to enjoy it. but the disappointment was just too much. we had another two hours of road between us and home. it was a very quite journey back home. needless to say. nobody spoke a word. the bed was cold when i eventually got back home at six o clock this morning.

izz like thizzz

a good friend that promised she will take me to cafe del mar in ibiza. only time will tell.

geeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

these people are the best.

best day ever

two of my best friends. they are extention of who i am. this was their wedding day. a tribute to the fyfers.

dutch blood

the vampire circle. nats and me during the summer in mp. goes to show that there a lot of sweet ducth blood running through the veins of all saffers.

paradysvolstruis

legendary right wing in the epic battle of nighteen nighty six rugby match between prg and gym. in a rain soaked afternoon he dived over in the dying minutes of the game to secure victory. a tribute to willem wildebees paradysvolstruis van wyk. here we are recollecting the moment with a glass of bubbly.

memory lane

seeing that i lost all my pics in the robbery. if you have pics. please send them. i want to put some of your faces on the blog. for the world to see that i have the coolest funniest prettiest cleverest and all the other "-ests" friends in the world. here is the first one. this is the south of france. it is close to where i live. this is what a sunset walk looks and feels like.

french picnic

picture yourself cruising up a hillside covered with trees on the one side and vineyards on the other. a fresh wind blowing up the slopes and the warm winter sun of southern france on your back. in your bag you have two bottles of wine. cling cling up the mountian side. the warm baguettes you bought at the local epicerie has lost its heat but not it freshness. somewhere in the bag too you have the jambon and a wide variety of fromage. roquefort. brie. camembert. a plastic cup or two for the wine. and if you were lucky enough to find it. a tomato or two. the perfect mix for a perfect french picnic. we made our way through the remote region of faurges and st. chinian. it is located in the south of france. part of the languedoc. about an hour from montpellier in a westerly direction. the plan was to go and discover the wines in that area and we ended up swapping the wine tasting for the picnic. however we did manage to buy twelve or so bottles of local wine. support the local economy i say. back to the picnic. the tranquillity and peace of the area was astonishing. it felt as if no man has walked there for over a thousand years. quite enough only to hear the wind and the laughing echoeing through the valley. picture perfect moment. it felt as if the time stood still and the wine tasted better with every passing second. caught up in the moment we opened another bottle. and the fetish i had with glass and plastic cups soon disappeared. wine was wine. all you need is something to hold it for you. while you ponder on its splendour and anticipating the next mouthful. truely an euphoric epoque of time.

t.i.a.

does anybody know the meaning of this acronyme. i am sure for those that has seen blood diamond should know this. after watching the movie with all my multi national friends last night i was super inspired to write a story about it. t.i.a. this is africa. i always get laughed at here when i speak about africa and the things happening down there. but i am as proud an african as they get. the best continent by far. the beauty and diversity makes it a truely unique place. if you have never been there you should make a plan. whether you go north south east or west it does not matter. you have to go and see for yourself. the friendly people. the way they smile at europeans. the landscape and mystery that comes with every mountian. every river. every flat plain. and off course the diversity of it all. people from every race. culture. and creed. unique. but i have a very different mindset. liberal and free i guess. free for white man minority polictics and apartheid religions. a lot of people complain and moan about africa. you will find that they are mostly white africans trapped in a western mindset but stuck on a cultural driven and different continent. stuck. why. because they should probably never have been there in the first place. thus. i see myself priviledged to share in the beuaty of this land. i am merely a pilgrim passing by on a land that does not belong to me. but then you watch movies and read stories of how african people have been exploited for centuries. it leaves me feeling empty and sad. name the movies. tears of the sun. lord of war. hotel rwanda. they are all a western world opinion of a situation that in actual fact is far worse. i have had the priviledge to see two of the most buchtered countries of my continent. angola and mosambique. you simply can not visit these countries and not have your opinion changed or shaped. that was the situation in my case. i guess that is why i have such a strong opinion and connection with africa. even though i am a white african. the connection is strong. it is real. as my good friend df always says. africa is a tough country.

todays paradox

the paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings. but shorter tempers. wider freeways. narrower viewpoints. we spend more. but have less. we buy more. but enjoy less. we have bigger houses and smaller families. more conveniences. but less time. we have more degrees but less sense. more knowledge. but less judgment. more experts. yet more problems. more medicine. but less wellness. we drink too much. smoke too much. spend too reckless. laugh too little. drive too fast. get too angry. stay up too late. get up too tired. read too little. watch tv too much. and pray too seldom. we have multiplied our possessions. but reduced our values. we talk too much. love too seldom. and hate too often. we have learned how to make a living. but not a life. we have added years to life not life to years. we have been all the way to the moon and back. but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. we conquered outer space but not inner space. we have done larger things. but not better things. we have cleaned up the air. but polluted the soul. we have conquered the atom. but not our prejudice. we write more. but learn less. we plan more. but accomplish less. we have learned to rush. but not to wait. we build more computers to hold more information. to produce more copies than ever. but we communicate less and less. these are the times of fast foods and slow digestion. big men and small character. steep profits and shallow relationships. these are the days of two incomes but more divorce. fancier houses. but broken homes. these are days of quick trips. disposable diapers. throwaway morality. one night stands. overweight bodies. and pills that do everything from cheer. to quiet. to kill. it is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. a time when technology can bring this letter to you. and a time when you can choose either to share this insight. or to just hit delete. remember. spend some time with your loved ones. because they are not going to be around forever. remember. say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe. because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. give time to love. give time to speak. give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind. by g. carlin