Allee Bleue’s #MayDayMeander preview, Dinner on the Crystal Serenity and family housewarming

This past week has been jam-packed on the work and home front, as you’ll see from the pics below…

Thursday, 7 March: #MayDayMeander at Allee Bleue

After a brief stint in the office before the sun had fully risen, I met a friend at Tasha’s at the V&A Waterfront for a quick work-related chat, over Nutella-marshmallow hot chocolate. Yum!

Next stop, a media tour for the day in Franschhoek. Welcome to Allee Bleue! This translates to ‘blue avenue’ and makes sense when you take in all the blue Eucalyptus trees and touches of blue dotted throughout the grounds.

Taking in some of the scenery at Allee Bleue.

The drizzle was on and off, which made for lovely Franschhoek landscape photos.

Freshly plucked herbs feature strongly in Allee Bleue’s tasting options.

More of the herby bites and sights along the way as we continued our May Day Meander preview around the grounds of Allee Bleue.

Mmm. Even more of the stops along the way – keep in mind the whole ‘meander’ only takes an hour or so, meaning we were taking in lots of food, drink and information in that time.

Finally all meandered out, it was time for lunch. See the blue hydrangeas on the table and some of the lovely eats we were treated to. Not seen in these pics – the sweet grey squirrels that roam the property.

Friday, 8 March 2019: Table View sunsets

You can just see Table Mountain popping out a very blue shoulder behind our yellow house here – view on my walk home from the bus…

Husband happily putting the gas stove to the test.

Such pretty sunsets, as seen from home on Friday evening.

Saturday, 9 March 2019: Family housewarming braai

It was a ‘breakfast at Reload’ type of Saturday, as we’re now walking distance from the Flamingo Vlei branch. See my peppermint-choc latte and smashed-avo bagel, as well as Husband’s cooked breakfast with triple-shot espresso. Love the kudu-painted wall.

The boxes are all unpacked so we held a housewarming braai at our house that afternoon.

Various snaps as the sun went down on our housewarming braai.

Braai food! See the cheese and crackers, strawberry mousse and Don’s famous lemony chicken wings.

Bassie prefers to sit on a lap when there are many other folk around. Her uncle Spec slept over but the rest all made their way back to their own homes as all live nearby.

Sunday, 10 March 2019: Carlucci’s breakfast

We set off for Carlucci’s, just down the road from home, for Sunday breakfast. See my dirty chai latte and Husband peppering his plate.

Our full table of food. See my dirty chai latte and chocolate croissant, the brothers’ flat whites, Husband’s Coke Zero and egg-topped mince on toast, as well as well as Spec’s classic breakfast plate.

We sampled some of our housewarming gifts on Sunday afternoon – see the dry Prosecco and assorted De Villiers chocolate slabs.

Little Bassie hasn’t quite figured out all the ins and outs of the new house yet so will often wait outside until we see her and let her in.

Tuesday, 12 March 2019: Six-star dining aboard Crystal Serenity’s Waterside Restaurant

Cheers! We got to the V&A Waterfront’s Cruises Terminal a little earlier than necessary for our six-star dining experience after work on Tuesday evening, so had a quick drink at Panama Jacks first, as we could see the Crystal Serenity clearly from our table outside. See Husband’s carafe of red blend and my blueberry shake.

We got to explore most of the nooks and crannies of the Crystal Serenity. There’s so much to see! Note the local bagpipers behind Husband in the bottom-left pic. They were boarding for the night’s performance.

Some of the lovely sights we saw onboard the Crystal Serenity.

Even more things aboard the Crystal Serenity.

As seen on the wall of the kiddies’ room of the Crystal Serenity.

We were also treated to dinner at Crystal Serenity’s Waterside restaurant. See my parma ham-topped gnocchetti, Husband sipping away at the endless supply of wine, food being professionally snapped, as well as Husband’s starter of ‘Ahi tuna tartare and scallop crudo, and main of broiled corvina on a tomato rice pilaf.

Six-star dins? Don’t mind if I do! See my roast duckling, Husband’s vanilla creme brulee, and my coconut-chocolate trifle and cappuccino.

Wednesday, 13 March 2019: Heavy Chef’s ‘Instagram for Business’ masterclass at Workshop 17

Wednesday was gloomy and wet, which made some of the sights around Workshop 17 all the more eye-catching. See the turquoise-and-gold striped rhino, as well as snacks and treats in the Heavy Chef masterclass. Click here for my overview of the event!

That’s all, folks. Click here for more on the #MayDayMeander, here for more on our Crystal Serenity experience and here for more on Workshop 17’s ‘Instagram for Business’ masterclass. Over and out! 🙂

*Disclaimer: Our meals at Allee Bleue and at Crystal Serenity’s Waterside restaurant were part of our review package. All else came from our own pockets. All enjoyed equally.