South Africa World Cup 2010: Johannesburg

During the last leg of our adventure in South Africa, we visited Johannesburg and stayed at Villa Domenico, a B & B in Bedfordview.  This comes highly recommended if you are traveling with a group  as it serves as a cozy home away from home. We were pretty fatigued following the week in Cape Town and the Kruger Safari so we arrived with intentions to relax, enjoy a couple of soccer matches and end our trip with a visit to Soweto. Although we had visited both colored and black townships in the Cape, there was a more somber feeling of despair in the townships of Joburg that could be attributed to the residual of urban poverty. With a population of 49 million people and a record of only 5 million taxpayers, it was no surprise that most South Africans live off of less than a $1.00 a day. Most of the people we met hailed from other parts of the country and had moved to Joburg in search of work. This included 60 year old grandmothers and 20 year old men who had been on the "system" their entire lives because they couldn't find work. Our visit to Soweto reinforced that apartheid's legal end had still not improved the quality of living for most South Africans.


Fortunately we were able to end our trip on a positive note with two World Cup Games: North Korea vs. Brazil and USA vs. Slovenia. Both exciting and once in a lifetime opportunities, despite FIFA's racket on scoring tickets. My advice for soccer lovers is to enter the lottery early and to get the best category possible since that doesn't always guarantee the best seats in the house. The difference in price is nominal. In the end, the money spent is priceless; tailgating in the streets of any other country with such limited oversight (read: no POLICE) is impossible. It was truly a global party with the sound of the vuvzela, samba dancers fully outfitted with headdresses and of course, Americans dressed as iconic figures. The USA game was predictably a ton of fun since we were amongst "our people" and the Elvis sighting was so great that when Elvis shouted "take a picture of my [insert obscenity here]!," I scurried for my camera and subsequently dropped the weenie Jorge had just waited 30 minutes to buy! I suppose I don't even need to say it, but I will, it was absolutely worth it!


We can't wait for World Cup Brazil in 2014! Come back tomorrow to see the last of the South African posts with a special feature on South African people.

South Africa World Cup 2010: Capetown

So this is going to be a four part post since my recent adventure in South Africa was a photographic dream and there are simply too many images for just one post. About a year ago, Cathy, my favorite travel buddy and I started planning our trip to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. My husband Jorge and our new friend Bob, a sixty one year old ultra marathoner from Texas, would also join us on the trip. We knew we wanted to see a few World Cup matches in Joburg, yet with the flight totaling 15 hours from New York, we knew we had to commit to seeing more of what South Africa had to offer.

I was referred to a very talented tour guide, Jorvan Tours, who helped us navigate Cape Town with ease, which is where we spent the first six days of our trip. We stayed at Forty Winks Guesthouse in Sea Point, an international neighborhood nestled between Greenpoint and the posh and trendy, Camps Bay. As an avid traveler, I was quite surprised with how westernized Cape Town was. Apart from being a cut above the rest of sub - Saharan Africa with state of the art infrastructure, I felt like I was in small Mediterranean beach town with the finest cuisine. Cape Town's gastronomy was nothing short of five star; between the delicious melva puddings and the variety of wines from the Cape Winelands, I could have spent the remainder of our trip exploring the culinary ins and outs of Cape Town. Our day trip to Franschoek was competitive with any wine tour in Napa Valley as you will see in the 18th century Dutch architecture and beautiful outdoor artisan markets pictured below. Other noteworthy attractions included: Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the Penguin Colony, the downtown business district and antique quarter near Greenmarket Square, Cape Point  and the Southwestern most point of the African continent, and Robben Island, a must see attraction for history buffs. Six days was not nearly enough time to get to know Cape Town so allow yourself at least a full week to enjoy the diverse tourist attractions in the area.

Come back tomorrow for a photographic journey through Kruger National Park!