Yesterday was spent basically in a bar, drinking beer and watching 2 full games of World Cup Football, which as far as I am concerned, is what this whole trip is all about...
Therefore I believe it is my duty to recommend the upstairs bar at the Mitchells Brewery, complete with a bar, tables, waiter service and multiple big screen TV’s as one of the best places in the V&A waterfront to watch a game of any sort. The food is also more than acceptable here, but this is further enhanced by the fact that this bar appears to the only non-smoking pub in Cape Town, which made our viewing and eating pleasure that much more enjoyable.
I can also thoroughly recommend the local 90 Shillings beer which after 6 pints or more, renders coherent speech and logical thought irrelevant, and improves the appreciation of just about everything, even the football. I think Yates could also wax lyrical about the quality of the local Castle Larger as he managed to put quite a few away during the 5 hours we were holed up in the pub. I could have stayed for the final game, but the general opinion was that we should head back to the apartment before we got messy...
Overall the first 2 games of football could have been better, but at least there were some results, and after watching the England v USA game, I needed to be reassured that there were some other mediocre teams out there, and that it was not quite the end of the world just yet.
The Germany v Australia game was a bit of a disaster especially if you are an Australian fan or you were looking forward to watching Tim Cahill at this tournament. More worryingly, the Germans have now announced their presence at this World Cup by rolling straight through the opposition like a re-run of their invasion of Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1939. An ominous sign....
Finally after almost 4 years, the World Cup in South Africa is here. Woo Hoo....
We had a casual morning lounging around the apartment, watching and listening to the excitement build on the streets below. Our plan was to watch the first game, South Africa v Mexico in a bar round the corner (The Fireman’s Arms) and then meet up with Richard, a family friend of Yates, and head down to Green Point Stadium.
We had planned to get to the bar early and stake a place, but we massively underestimated the amount of locals that would be taking the day off to watch the game, and when we arrive the place was packed out. After a bit of dealing, Yates sorted out 3 seats almost together and I got the beers in. The vibe in the bar was electric and we soon made friends with those around us as we prepared for the Opening Celebration and then the game.
After a very emotional rendition of the South African national anthem, the game kicked off with wild cheering and hooting vuvuzelas, and we got stuck into an absorbing game. Even though Mexico started the stronger, the Bafana Bafana started to find their rhythm and got more and more into the game as it progressed. Towards the end of the first half, South Africa had a great opportunity to take the lead with a close heading chance, which certainly signalled their intent.
It was not long into the second half when the Bafana Bafana delivered on their first half promise, with a great defence splitting pass from midfield to Tshablala who, with it all still to do, let fly with a missile of a shot that left the Mexican keeper stranded. In the bar in Cape Town it went off.... It was a sensational goal, only matched by the sensational celebration by every South African on the continent. Could they hold on for another 35 minutes...?
Unfortunately a bit of slack defending 15 minutes later let the Mexicans back in it, and now it was a case of whether South Africa could hold on for draw, or could the squeak by and get the winner. They gave it everything they had and if it wasn’t for the width of the goal post, they would of taken a well-deserved win. As it was, dreams don’t always come true, but South Africa should be proud of a creditable draw against higher ranked opponents, and the locals in our bar seemed happy enough.
But the night was just starting for us as we had tickets for our first live game in Cape Town, to watch France v Uruguay. We met up with Richard and strolled down the Fan Walk, accompanied by thousands of happy and friendly fellow fans. The organisation and set up along the Fan Walk and for getting into the stadium was very good and straight-forward with a minimum of queuing to get through the checkpoints. We had no problems with tickets and with an hour or so until kick-off we were in the stadium and having a good look around.
The Cape Town Green Point Stadium is an architectural masterpiece of construction and design and it was a thrill to be able to walk around it after having watched it being built over the past 2 years. The whole layout was awesome and when we went to our seats we had a magnificent unobstructed view of the pitch. Unfortunately the France v Uruguay game did not live up to the quality of the Cape Town venue, the two mediocre teams playing out a dour nil-nil draw, which was not really unexpected. But that didn’t matter, just the chance to bet a part of the World Cup in such a beautiful stadium was enough for us. Within an hour of the final whistle we were back in our apartment watching the game review on TV. We can only hope that our next live game in Cape Town , Italy vs Paraguay lives up to the venue.
Oh and you could say that the fuss about the loudness of the vuvuzela’s is ‘blown’ way out of proportion, in fact I think that they add a lot of colour and excitement during a live game. I guess that the ‘drone’ you hear on TV is not really representative of how they actually sound in real life, and when you watch a game like France v Uruguay, you need something to get excited about.....!!
If yesterday was a great day, then today was simply stunning, from just before dawn when we awoke this morning, (see the photo to the left), through to the very last rays of the day this evening. If this is winter here in South Africa, who needs summer..? There has not been a breath of wind all day or even a cloud in the sky to interfere with the warm sun, which was just what we wanted as we had plans to take in 2 of Cape Town’s biggest attractions.
First thing this morning we hot-footed it down to the V&AWaterfront to catch the ferry for a tour of Robben Island. I figured you can’t come all the way down to Cape Town and not pay your respects to the prisoners of Robben Island and Nelson Mandela. The sea was flat and glassy as we left the harbour, which afforded us a commanding view of Cape Town with the impressive backdrop of Table Mountain.
When we arrived at Robben island, the tour started with an interesting coach ride around the island to see some of the less well known sights, including the Leper colony graveyard, the prison guard quarters and the various quarries in which the prisoners were forced to work. Next we went to the Maximum Security Prison where we started a walking tour, which was led by an ex-inmate who had spent 7 years in various parts of the prison. Listening to the guide speak about how the prison worked and his experiences within it was extremely powerful and moving. It really brought it home to us just what it was like to be a black political prisoner in Robben Island, and how the prisoners educated and improved themselves while resisting the inequity of the Apartheid system.
Next we went to the exercise yard and then on to the cell where Nelson Mandela, (Prisoner No: 466/64) was held for 18 years of his 27 year incarceration. Before 1980, prisoners were made to sleep on a thin mattress on the floor, which must have been misery. Even on a warm winter day like today, the cell block was bone chillingly cold, and I was glad to get out of there after 20 minutes. We took our ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ to the harbour and caught the ferry back to Cape Town.
After a nice lunch, we stopped by the apartment to pick up the car and drove up to the Table Mountain Cableway. Even from the bottom of the cable car the view over the city was impressive, but when we arrived at the top, we were transported into another world, which on this fabulously clear and cloudless day, we felt we could see forever.... There was a trail that led around the top and it was such a great day to be on top of Table Mountain, we sat around just soaking in the view before moving to the next great vantage point. This had to be the highlights of our time here in Cape Town so far, and it’s gonna take something really special to beat it.
After nearly 2 hours we reluctantly took the cable car back down to the bottom station and headed back to the apartment where Fiona and I spent the last hour of the day out on the balcony. We watched the sun set over the Waterfront and World Cup Stadium, sipped a Castle beer or two, and listened to the distant stains of the ever present Vuvuzalas.
I might be getting a bit repetitive, but today was another great day to be in Africa....
Today we awoke to beautiful sunlight streaming into the apartment so we decided it was time for a Road Trip. We all jumped in the car, we have hired a little Honda Jazz to get around in, programmed the GPS, and pointed ourselves in a sourtherly direction.
Our first destination was the Cape of Good Hope, and after a reasonably quick trip on the motorway around the back of Table Mountain we arrived at the national park. There was a good bit of exercise climbing up to the Cape Point Lighthouse, but once we had made it to the top it was well worth the effort. We had spectacular view over the Cape and across False Bay to the other capes to the South.
We are starting to feel the effects of the World Cup now, as there were coach loads of Italians, Mexicans & Uruguayans at the Cape, mostly decked out in their national colours and even singing their own football chants. We are also begining to hear the distinctive sound of the Vuvuzalas everywhere we go...
We drove around the park looking at a few of the other landmarks, before we decided to make our way to Simons Town for lunch. We found a nice little restaurant overlooking the harbour, with distant view across the bay, that would suit us just fine.
After a good meal we drove a little further along the coast to Boulders to check out the Penguin colony. We walked down the boardwalk and saw only a handful, but as we got closer to the sea, we saw more and more penguins, waddling to and fro between the beach and their nests. I never get tired of seeing Penguins, especially in the wild, they are jnust so fascinating....
Finally we took the long way home following the coastline back towards Cape Town, through quaint little seaside towns, along roads clinging to the edge of rugged & steep cliffs, and through picturesque bays. We stopped to take some photos near Chapman’s Peak and under the Twelve Apostles, and saw the top of Table Mountain peeping out between the fast moving clouds.
As we closed in on Cape Town we drove through the upmarket beach towns of Camps Bay and Clifton, before the edge of the Greenpoint Stadium came into view like a beacon announcing that we were back in our adopted home again.
It had been a great day in this great part oif the world....
Today we took it easy.... No need to bust a gut before the tournement begins... So we took a casual wander into the city to check out where we would catch the train from next week and also poked our noses around the Grand Parade, where the Fan Fest would take place. Like a lot of things here in Cape Town, it looks like the Fan Fest will only be ready just in time for the first game on Friday. It's the same with all the paving, signage and pedestrian bridges, all of which seem to have groups of upto 6 men in hard hats standing around watching 1 man actually doing some work... It's the same story all over the world.
As the weather has improved, out to Sea Point, Fiona and I took a long walk out to Sea Point and then back to the V&A following the coastline. As it was a breezy day and the sea was crashing against rocks, the air was fresh and salty as we took in the wonderful views down the coast and back towards the City. The clouds had finally decided to move away from the top of Table Mountain and we got a view of the spectacular mountain in all its glory for the first time in 2 days. Cape Town seems to be a lovely & chilled out place, and we can really feel the World Cup buzz starting.
Well the first thing you do in Cape Town on a Rainy Day is go and get your World Cup Match Tickets and spread them out over the entire surface of your lounge.It is not too hard to do because we do have quite a lot of them, 56 tickets in total.... Fortunately the ticket pick-up process is a lot quicker here in south Africa than it was in Germany, so we were all sorted within 45 minutes and out of there.
Next, and while it's not raining, we checked out the V&A Waterfront and had a little look around until we all felt a little tired then headed to the nearest Pub. In this case we went to the Mitchells Brewery Pub where we sampled a few of the local brews. Although Yates started with a Fosters, (!) he did progress to a far more satisfying Castle larger, while Fiona had a Hansa Marzan Gold and I had a Mitchells 90 shillings.... We found ourselve unable to leave the pub for a good couple of hours and even had time for a good feed...
Now we are back at the apartment laying on the couch. It's a tough life at the World Cup....
We are now safely arrived in Cape Town and linked up with our good friend Yates, (a super-slimline Yates at that.... bastard..!!). We left Windhoek early yesterday morning, and with no problems with checking-in or the flight, we landed at Cape Town International around midday. After picking up the hire car and making the quick trip from the airport to the downtown waterfront area, we met up with Yates at the apartment.
It’s good to see my old friend again, especially as he is looking so fit and happy. It’s been a few years since we last shared a beer together, but that oversight was soon put right as we enjoyed a pint together over lunch at a nice restaurant at the Cape Quarter Lifestyle Centre.
The apartment is very cool in an urban loft kinda way, well fitted out and comfortable. The best aspect of the place is that it is on the 11th floor and has fantastic views over the waterfront and of the World Cup Stadium at Green Point. Check out the picture above from our balcony....
After our long lunch, we did a bit of grocery shopping and headed back to the apartment to chill out for the rest of the day and to do some long-overdue laundry, once we had overcome the instructions...
The weather is a bit oif a change from Namibia, not so much the fact that is about 7 or 8 degrees cooler, but that the humidity is so much higher here in Cape Town. Regardless of this we are looking forward to checking out Cape Town over the next few days, before the World Cup starts in earnest.
Just your regular mild-mannered and unassuming lair dweller, going about my daily lair-based activities. Once in a while I'll pop my head out of my comfy lair to see what going on and to pontificate on some mundane or arcane topic or other...!
These ramblings are either my thoughts about my beloved Tottenham Hotspurs, or my preparations to leave the cave and head out in search of World Cup Football, where ever it may happen to be....
Overall the first 2 games of football could have been better, but at least there were some results, and after watching the England v USA game, I needed to be reassured that there were some other mediocre teams out there, and that it was not quite the end of the world just yet. 
