Getting the flavour of…
A peaceful wine valley in South Africa
The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is one of South Africa’s most beautiful wine regions, says Sidonie Wilson in The Times; and being less well known than Stellenbosch and so on, it’s blissfully quiet, too. A 90-minute drive from Cape Town, it is surrounded by mountains, close to the pretty seaside town of Hermanus (great for whale-watching). It has some lovely “farm getaways”, such as the Hemel ’N Aarde Stud Farm, where the “eco-cabins” have wood-fired hot tubs and fine views. And its dozen-or-so wine estates are “laid-back”, easy to reach and pretty, with their Cape Dutch buildings and “bougainvillea-draped stoops”. Most have tasting rooms, and some also have restaurants and accommodation (the Creation estate, for instance, has a “slick” modern holiday villa).
Gelato heaven in Bologna
Made with less fat and sugar than most ice cream, gelato is often more strongly flavoured too. For fans looking to learn more about gelato (or simply to eat it), a trip to Bologna is in order, says Xanthe Clay in The Daily Telegraph. Nicknamed La Grassa (The Fat One) for its fabulous food, this ancient university city has some excellent gelaterias, such as Sablé Gelato, where flavours vary from week to week and are generally “exquisite”, and all ingredients are comprehensively listed (the Bolognese saffron and rose water was among my favourites). It’s also worth making an excursion to the city’s suburbs, where the “revered” gelato machinemaker Carpigiani runs a variety of intensive courses at the world’s only university of gelato. Visitors can take part in a gelato-making class as part of a tour of the Carpigiani Gelato Museum, which is “packed with fascinating antique equipment, interactive exhibits and displays”.
An ancient burial site on the Gower
Perched halfway up a sea cliff on the Gower Peninsula, in southwest Wales, Paviland Cave (pictured) is the site of the oldest known ceremonial burial in western Europe, says Oliver Smith in the FT. It was here that, in 1823, the geologist Reverend William Buckland unearthed the Red Lady of Paviland – a fossilised skeleton he took to have belonged to a Celtic prostitute from the time of Christ. Modern science has since shown that the Lady was, in fact, a young man who lived during the last ice age, some 34,000 years ago. The skeleton is now held at the University of Oxford, but for those with a feeling for these things, the cave is well worth a visit even so. Chapel-sized, it echoes with “the mesmeric music of the sea”. Given its awkward location, it is best reached with the help of an outdoorsy local guide, such as bushcraft instructor Andrew Price (dryadbushcraft.co.uk).