Franschoek Lets Me Down...

It was a typical Sunday afternoon for our family - a few hours spent driving into the country to explore a new place and then coming home again to get kids ready for the week ahead.

This weekend we decided to visit Franschoek - especially significant as it is where my wife and I spent our first few days as a married couple. The intention was to walk around town and then pop into the coffee shop at the Hugenot Monument for a refreshing cuppa, allow the kids to play a bit and then head home over the Du Toits Kloof pass instead of travelling through the tunnel.

We drove into the parking area of the Hugenot Monument and parked among another 12 or so cars. We then proceeded towards the Hugenot Museum as the sign for the coffee shop pointed in that direction. With no obvious signage I popped into the museum to ask for directions whereupon I was told by a dear old lady that the coffee shop had closed as they were having a quiet day and the staff wanted to go home! This despite a sign in the carpark indicating that they would be open until 17h00.

I then suggested to the family that we take a stroll to the actual monument through the beautifully kept garden. On reaching the gate of the garden we were met with a sign informing us of a charge to enter. Deciding against this we piled into the car and headed off to find another venue for our afternoon refreshments.

This is simply not good enough for a town that is such a tourism landmark.