Stellenbosch is very posh….

There could not be a greater contrast to CapeTown; this university town, with its archetypal Cape residences, many restored after devastating fires , over the centuries,and nothing above two stories.

The second oldest European colonised city, after Cape Town.Famous, too, for the number of Oak trees , lining its streets.

A number of churches, too, Dutch Reformed, including one set up for slave children, after emancipation.

Eerily quiet, even the traffics seems noiseless. An informative Tourist Office provided a walking guide, with 72 buildings and sites of interest. All doable in a couple of hours. The final buildings we saw were over the river, cottages built by Cecil Rhodes, for workers; now a riverside restaurant.But opposite on some sweeping , playing fields, backdropped by mountains, were two games of cricket, taking place, senior and junior. All taken very seriously and the players resplendent in whites.

Back to Spier for dinner in the Eight Restaurant; a South African version of Tapas ! We could only manage three – Succulent slices of Rump steak, huge nuggets of beer batter fried Hake, accompanied by imaginative salads – we were satiated. Returning to the room, I took a photo of a sculpture, pixelated to represent a dying slave: a dramatic finale and a poignant reminder.