article on stanford

A Long Weekend in Stanford

It is only in the country that we can get to know a person or a book. ~Cyril Connolly, The Unquiet Grave, 1945

Described as the place that time forgot, Stanford village in the Overberg, is only one and a half hours from Cape Town, yet is worlds away. Its dusty roads and weathered historical cottages seen from the high road on the way to some place else, are only a misleading façade, for this quaint village evokes the poet in every weary man’s heart and stills the roaming.
Floating slowly down the river on a summers afternoon, you’ll realise why the languishing country bug is so catchy, that most weekend visitors to the small town end up leaving owning a piece of real estate.
In Stanford, afternoon teas are a treasured daily meditation and books are still favoured to television - walking is a daily activity and bicycles are the favoured means of transportation. With beautiful scenes around every corner, Stanford is certainly one of the most aesthetically pleasing towns in the Western Cape region and world class country restaurants and antique stores draw people from Cape Town through to the interior. Marianas Deli has won many awards, including ‘Best Country Restaurant,’ where the establishments namesake, Mariana Esterhuizen, not only spends most of her time producing fresh ingredients and deli items for the restaurant from her herb and vegetable garden, but also finds time to contribute monthly to Woolworth’s ‘Taste’ magazine. Marianas husband, Pieter, is the front-of-house personality who explains the sumptuous delights on offer for the day while you’re entranced by the aroma of roast lamb shank wafting through from the kitchen......Excerpt from my article on Stanford for www.sa-venues.com