Wednesday, February 05, 2014

La Caponnière in Gorinchem, NL


One of our greatest delights is now sitting on our doorstep here where we live in Gorinchem, NL:  La Caponnière, a wine-tasting locale situated in a bomb-proof artillery position in Gorinchem's fortress wall from 1893.  It's just a 10-min. walk away from our apartement...and opened this past October.

Whenever we go on a walk around our citidel city, we pass right by La Caponnière.
She's sunk into the wall below ground level and is 20 meters (65 ft) long in the ground,
3 meters (10 ft.) wide, with 2 levels and walls 4.5 ft thick.

 It was through our newspaper in mid-January that we found out she is now open
every Saturday and Sunday from 1-7 p.m.  We went that Sunday, immediately!

OMG. Entrez, s'il vous plaît.

 Talk about C.O.Z.Y.  In Dutch, that's gezellig.
We entered when it wasn't busy and met the owner right away:  Steffie.
And that's when we found out she's the daughter of the man at Wijnhandel van Ouwerkerk.
We take all our guests there, starting with Robin back in 2012, remember?
So now we have this new place to add to the "must see" list.

 It's one of those places that just oozes with old-world charm.

Talk about a photographer's heaven, even in low light!

Before the place started filling up, we went down to the basement where all the goodies are stored.

See what I mean about old-world!  And photography heaven!

Back upstairs, the place was starting to fill up with coziness personified.

A roaring fire in the wood stove was so inviting.  How could you resist it.

Midway between the fireplace and the cashier's counter we found our own table
and enjoyed our own glass of Kopke port.

And we will do the same thing with YOU, whenever you come to visit!


On that note, wish us a Happy 4th Wedding Anniversary today.
Is that possible, already?  YES.  And we'll drink to that!

14 comments:

  1. I'll ask what James does, "right now?" :) They really did it right, didn't they? They launched it right away with loads of character. What a perfect spot to cozy up to the fire, sip a glass of red, and talk about plans for the day!

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    1. Awwww. How precious of James to ask, "right now?" I'll always remember that (after just Skyping with you), When you come to visit us, we will definitely spend some time there. You'll love it.

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  2. Happy Anniversary to us, 4 years, time flies when you have a good time (smile)
    This is a wonderful place to go after a nice walk. It is a photographers heaven, there are so many things to see. Steffie is the perfect host, she bakes her own 'appeltaart' and who comes first is the lucky one.
    Great collages and again a wonderful memory added.

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    1. Happy Anniversary to you, too, MLMA. How is it possible--four years! We'll have to think about who we can take to La Caponnière the next time we go! How fun.

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  3. This place is intriguing and I agree with you both - a photographer's heaven. I am not sure what is sold here. Is it all types of wine or just port? Can you buy beer? I love the shape of the ceiling and the feeling of being in a cave.

    Happy Anniversary, dear friends. I remember that time so well. Celebrate!

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    1. Next time we go, Mary, we'll pay more attention but we think it's only wine and port...plus coffee, tea and soda pop. Also a few snacks. It's actually a wine-tasting place. But they're known, too, for their port.

      Thanks for the anniversary wishes. Isn't it wonderful all the water that has gone under our bridge! :)

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  4. …must see and must taste! Yes, so many photographic possibilities! The light is perfect. Happy 4th.

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    1. It'll be one of the first places we'll visit, Margaret, when you come to visit us. :) Thank you.

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  5. OMG yes. Once you've been there you'll never forget it. I wanna go, I wanna go to this new place!!!! Put this on the top of my list for the next visit! LOVE!

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    1. In the same way we knew you would love the Wijnhandel van Ouwerkerk, we KNOW you will love this much smaller place. It's already on the list for when you come back!!! :)

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  6. Really a spectacular place for photos and spectacular photos. Isn't interior light fun to work with? Happy anniversary to you both. May there be many, many more.

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    1. You'd love this place, Ted, so if ever you and Jane come to visit us, we'll definitely take a nice stroll over there! :)

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  7. Ginnie you live in Shangri La...wow I am blown away by every post as you share your home area with us.

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    1. This is heaven for me, Donna, so Shangri La is perfect! We are always saying out loud how much we love where we live. It's the truth. Thank you.

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