Day 17 – Friday 25th June [Portugal v Brazil]

First full day in Joburg & I gotta tell you we miss Capetown & Durban. This place has far less atmosphere, but that is probably because unlike the other two cities we are now staying away from the city centre, in fact our hotel from the outside at least looks like n castle in the English country side, unfortunately that is where the similarities end – whilst not a dive, a fishbowl would be roomier.
As is the daily trend, I awake before Sash & am feeling hungry so I decide to go back to the Harvard Cafe & check it out during the daytime. Well I am amazed at how huge the place is. It has a massive beer garden & so I decide to eat outside & take in some soothing Joburg UV rays – it is awesome. The breakfast was a little disappointing though as I love my runny eggs, but they were a little overcooked.......you cannot dip toast into overcooked yolk man...............but the service is as warm as the beating sun – cannot do enough for you. Before leaving the cafe I happened to notice a section dedicated to peace [check photo’s]. Appears back in 2008 there was a massive upheaval in South Africa provoked by Xenophobia, & Germiston became a refuge for many tourists who were victims of the unrest. Some of the stories written were very heart-warming & it speaks volumes for the love South African people have in their hearts.
Today we are spending the arvo & evening in Sandton. Think of it as the Chapel St of Johannesburg – where all the beautiful people are – not sure how Sash & I fit in but eh we will try & blend in. We start at a place called Number 8 – an exclusive looking restaurant, part of the Michael Angelo 5-Star Hotel. Surprisingly the food was reasonably priced for such an up-market looking place, although according to Sash the food was rubbish. Here is another travel tip – when the bill came I said to Sash I am only leaving 5% tip because I am not that impressed with the service. Well when the waiter came over to process the transaction he requested that we make up the difference in cash because he had already processed the payment on credit card & still needed the rest of the tip because it should be at least 10% - what a wake-up call for me, I guess it pays to do research or as Sash said to me – I should just listen to him more – apparently he knew [as he sat & watched me make a goose of myself]. Having said all that I reckon I should have made a stand & told the waiter my 5% reflects your service – half as good as it should have been. I think I have been in the jungles of South Africa too long I am turning into a savage – Invest in a mirror & take a long hard look at yourself Kyri.
Oh, Brazil & Portugal played out an un-entertaining 0-0 draw while Ivory Coast beat North Korea 3-0. After much anticipation, the scene with the waiter was more eventful then Brazil v Portugal, but that’s life.
After dinner we walked around Nelson Mandela Square [what a massive statue] & it is huge – so easy to get lost. The square is set up like a southern European Piazza [open area],with outdoor tables set up for eating & drinking – really beautiful. Sony [as the official technology sponsor] have set up a huge marquee in the middle of the square & it detracts from what would be a beautiful area to walk around. Sash & I sat for a while & drank, chatted & watched the world go by – feels really good to go so slow – not feeling the pressure to do touristy things.
We spotted a couple of notable items – our Mexican friends full of hope [they play Argentina in 2 days – good luck] who wanted 2 tickets to the game which Sash & I have hmmm........no deal, another Mexican who is selling 2 tickets to USA v Ghana, oh what could have been if Aust had gotten through – those tickets would be ours & finally Raj we find a restaurant you might enjoy eating at, who knew you were a South African Restaurant Owner – you sneak you.
We finished the night at a place called Caffe Maude – a quaint little bar where we watched the rest of Spain v Chile – Spain won 2-0. Not so many people - a few Chileans , but certainly not the vibrancy of the other cities. Sash & I are having an early night again – hard to spot any nightlife in Joburg so Cafe Crevat [Bed] seems the obvious hangout.