Game Day #1

There are two games being played in Cape Town while we're here and we're seeing both. Today was Cameroon vs. Netherlands.

We were little sleeper-inners today. I LOVE hotel breakfasts for some reason. Any other time, I only eat cereal because I think breakfast is the WORST meal of the day and my taste buds are super sensitive when I wake up and I don't want to be over stimulated - but not when we're on vacation! The Townhouse hotel has a lovely buffet breakfast with homemade jams, yogurts, fruits, breads and then you order something hot from the menu. Delish! 

So after all the stuffing our faces, we made it out and about by 11:15. The waterfront is probably a 15 minute walk from our hotel, but there are tons of markets and kiosks and things to see on the way there. Down by the water there is a HUGE open barn/warehouse kind of thing with tons of vendors and their homemade crafts - at least most look homemade. There are the coolest carved giraffes that I keep seeing, but I see no way to get them home easily or inexpensively should I buy them. The GBP to ZAR ratio is pretty favorable so things aren't overly expensive in general so that's been really nice.

But after poking in all the stores and markets, we decided to sign up for a sailing tour of Cape Town where we got to see they city from the water!! Skipper Andrew was super nice and friendly. We were the only two signed up for that particular departure so it was our own private tour!! Again, stupid me can't upload pictures but they are absolutely amazing! 

Table mountain from the water is incredible. Andrew pointed out two separate profiles of men in the rock forms and told us the legends behind them. Apparently sailing into Cape Town can be a little tricky because he pointed out a stretch from where we were to the coast (which wasn't far at all) where there had been 37 shipwrecks alone. You could even see the smokestack from an old steam ship sticking out of the water where it crashed and sank many years ago!! 

After about an hour of going 5 knots and the large swells around the coast, my motion sickness kicked in and I had to sit down for the ride back. There is a pedestrian bridge separating the two areas of the "fan area" in the waterfront that has to be swung to the side to let boats through. Since today was a game day, there were TONS of people staring as we left and returned since we were keeping them from crossing. Very cool experience!! 

Then it was game time!! There were an insane amount of Netherlands fans out. I've never seen so much neon orange in my life. Andrew and I decided to deck out in USA gear regardless of who was playing. We found super cool USA arm warmers that I will be wearing the rest of the time no matter the outcome of saturday's game because I just love them! Spontaneous USA chanting erupts any time USA fans see and/or pass each other. We are a proud nation. 

The stadium here is gorgeous. We were in the second level about halfway up. I'm pretty sure there isn't a bad seat in the stadium. There were just over 63,000 people in attendance. Not the most exciting game in the tourney, but I must say I thoroughly enjoyed myself :) Our next game is Tuesday night where we'll see the winner of Group H play the second place Group G team so I have very high hopes that that will be a good time!