Another week has flown by - not that I would really know it as I have started to lose the concept of which day of the week it actually is! Happy days.
I arrived back into Cape Town on Tuesday, picked up a whole wad of world cup tickets for Glover (oh the power) and picked up my hire car. I’ve had some pretty pathetic hire cars in the past, and seeing as this time I was on my own I went for the cheapest car available, which turned out to be a real chick magnet - a 1.1L Kia Picanto - from now on referred to as ‘the Box’.
Tickets, tickets, tickets....
The Box....
The next couple of days were pretty relaxing - chilling in a lovely beach flat in Muizenberg (about half an hour in the Box from central Cape Town), going for runs along the coast and doing some driving (again, in the Box) around some stunning coastal scenery. Some photographs are below and all can be found here (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/101316266000543792716):
Muizenberg Beach:
Chapman's Peak:
Some of the '12 Apostles':
Fishing Boat at Kalk Bay:
Friday saw the start of the World Cup. I am not exaggerating when I say the build up, anticipation and excitement has been almost painful in its intensity over here. It really has been incredible to see how momentous it is for this country (and this continent) to host this world cup - everywhere you look there are South Africa flags (and here in Cape Town a fair few England flags too), and there is a real sense that this can be a bit of a watershed for Africa and for unity in this country.
Myself and Doug watched the opening game (South Africa vs. Mexico) in a beer garden on the waterfront. The whole of Cape Town (and I imagine the rest of South Africa) was manic at this point. It was great that the opening goal was scored by a South African (like so many runs for England) - aside from being soaked in beer and pretty much deafened by the now ubiquitous vuvuzela.
If you can’t beat them, join them. Which is what I did when I bought a tasteful Uruguay-branded vuvuzela (i.e. it had a sticker on it) for the France vs. Uruguay game, which we watched at Cape Town’s new Green Point stadium. The game was a dull affair, but the stadium (or Spaceship as I will refer to it) is a spectacle in itself. After the game I descended back to Muizenberg from the Spaceship in the Box.
Stadium or Spaceship?
This was all in preparation for Saturday’s mammoth day of sport - with South Korea vs. Greece, South Africa vs. France in the rugby (which we had to watch!), Argentina vs. Nigeria and a random Queen concert all contributing to the crescendo for England vs. USA. We watched all this in another pub - so by the time it came for England to routinely disappoint the nerves were numbed slightly.
After the game (the less said about it the better), we headed for Long Street - where we bribed a doorman to let us into the Dubliner (again). It was full to the rafters of Yanks who you would have believed had just won the World Cup. Anyway, the great thing about the World Cup is that on any night out you find yourself mingling with fans from across the globe, from Uruguayans to Dutchmen, from Koreans to, bizarrely, the Irish (quite a few having come out here in protest at Henry and his va va voom). I don’t think you can really say that for any other sporting occasion.
Uruguay...
Not sure who (the bloke is Doug)
Sunday saw the introduction of a certain James Glover (ANT) into the mix, and a welcome day of rest and relaxation at his Mum’s place - home cooking, familial banter and more football.
Germany thankfully thumped the Aussies and looked, as always, like a unified team focussed on winning the World Cup - how I wish I was German…
Coming up: The Spaceship for Italy vs. Paraguay, then a trip to Port Elizabeth for the Brazilians…
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