Capetonians will hate me for saying this, and perhaps they’ll be right too, but more and more I find myself drawing parallels between the two provinces I call home – first Gauteng and more recently the Western Cape.
“That should work the other way around,” I hear myself say (to nobody in particular). “You should be noticing things about the Western Cape that are different to Gauteng.”
But having moved here exactly two months ago to take over as manager of the Cape Town office, I simply can’t help myself – there are certain things that are just, well, the same.
And one of those things is small towns. Perhaps they are the same the world over.
One thing is for sure – the small towns I have encountered in Gauteng (and its neighbouring provinces in the northern parts of the country) are very similar to those I’ve visited in the Western Cape. And I love every quaint inch of them.
I love the corner “shoppies” with their doily-lace façades. I adore the box-shaped houses with their corrugated iron roofs and balmy interiors. The tannies’ tuisnywerhede beg me to come inside and sample a delicious koeksister or melktertjie. The art shops lure me in with their promises of colour and intrigue (and wine). And I feel welcome.
Franschhoek is a small town after my own heart. It lies snuggled in the Franschhoek Wine Valley, so it’s a pretty good-looking little destination, and despite its modernity and funk, it feels as if it’s remained unchanged for the past 100 years. Time stands still in small towns, and in Franschhoek it’s no different. When next in the Western Cape, be sure to visit Franschhoek and be delighted.
