We had the absolute pleasure of staying the quint little town of Marquard this past weekend, courtesy the company.   The weekend was so full of surprises, and it goes to show again that little gems are often hidden and overlooked. Marquard itself is a small village, but even so, the food we enjoyed at “Oppi-Stoep” on Friday night was right up there with any slick city restaurant for presentation and flavour of dishes.  We were cajoled into taking out a ticket for a “Bees-kak” (Cow-shit!) draw the next day.  The winner would be the lucky one on whose little “plot”, as per your ticket number and mapped out on a large piece of field, the unlucky cow first plonks a poo!  Winning prize nogal R10 000!

Next morning we left early to drive through the company’s farms, en-route stopping at more picturesque towns like Senekal and Ficksburg (famous for its annual cherry picking festival).  The air was crisp, the sandstone mountains a sight to behold, and the chance to laugh and be care-free with my beloved thoroughly enjoyed.

To my delight, we stopped in Rosendal and went into “Turksvy Trading” (Turksvy being a prickly pear – very tasty, but a hellavu job to peel without getting the fine thorns into your flesh!)  We got lost in a time-warp – anything from sweets from the 50’s and 60’s, inedible of course, to kitchen utensils we could both remember growing up with, but so not in fashion anymore, to Kewpie or Troll dolls – my word!

English: Celluloid Kewpie doll. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The place is jam-packed with paraphernalia from yester-year, and I even found kiddie slippers, exactly as I used to have, still in their boxes – brand-new, or no, very old, but never worn!!  If you ever have the chance to get there, don’t drive past!

Prickly pear CDC (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We made it into Marquard just in time to see the poor cow being chased from one corner to another in the pen, and eventually, to shrieks of delight, she plonked her deposit on the ground.  But we did not win, what a pity….

The streets of Marquard are adorned with art of all kinds, and we marvelled at the unique ideas:

That night we spent sipping a Blue Curacao on ice in the bar, and once again, we were blown off our feet with the tasty food, this time presented by our maitre-d, Julia, also the manageress of the beautiful Marquard Hotel.  The hotel has been lovingly refurbished by owners Danie and Amernintia Human and each corner of each room draws the eyes to yet another piece of beautiful antique furniture.  Our stay was memorable, and the motto is true:  The staff at the MARQUARD HOTEL actively promotes their motto, & welcomes you WHERE HISTORY & EXCELLENCE MEET.  Take a tour with me through the corridors and rooms and be delighted: