World Cup Semi-Final (Netherlands v. Uruguay)

Given the “hand of God” of the Uruguyan team that knocked the last African nation (Ghana) out of the World Cup, it is no wonder that for the last World Cup game in Cape Town we saw a sea of orange (or Oranje, as they prefer it). Some were dressed in orange head-to-toe, making it look like a CalTrans convention.

It was exciting to see the game–even more exciting when our tickets read “Row 1, Seat 2″ and “Row 1, Seat 3.” We were right behind the “friends and family” section and above the tunnel where the players emerge at the beginning and after half-time. In American football parlance, we were on the 50-yard line and then some.

Perhaps the most fun part of the evening was the “Fan Walk,” the 3-mile or so moving party starting at the “Fan Park” (where people can watch the matches on enormous screens for free) and winding its way through town. They closed off the streets as approximately 149,000 fans paraded toward Green Point Stadium for the last of the 2010 World Cup matches in Cape Town.

Security, as you can imagine, was pretty tight although not in a militaristic sort of way (no AK-47s or riot gear, for example).

The match itself was fun to watch. It’s amazing how quickly a goal happens if you’re too busy looking around and taking it all in. Plus there is no instant replay on the big screens in the stadium (that would be the FIFA-Luddite stand against technology). Luckily the games are on TV round-the-clock and it’s easy to watch just about any game at at any time in any restaurant, pub, mall or public area.

I know that at home it sounds like there is a constant din of vuvuzelas, but in person it’s not the same. I also noted there is a specific protocol for the vuvuzelas in the stadium.

• No vuvuzelas during the national anthems
• Typically there are just a few going off (a ‘few’ being relative given the stadium seats 68,000), until someone kicks (corner kick, free kick, penalty)–then it gets pretty loud. The stadium is concrete so you don’t get the same effect in stamping your feet as you might in bleachers. But it’s pretty much the same idea, though–to either support or distract the kicker.
• Now and then, someone can get a burst going where everyone is synchronized with short toots. That’s the loudest and most impressive. You can actually hear that in last night’s game. It sounds like “honk…honk…honk.”

We did not bring ear plugs nor did we need them, even with a young vuvuzela player standing right behind us. Mark my words: in four years when the World Cup is in Brazil, people will complain about the whistles and the drums.

Now we prepare see a final with Spain vs. the Netherlands. We saw Spain win over the Germans while enjoying tapas at a local restaurant called Cafe Sofia. With the exception of two obnoxious German fans (including a woman who clearly had her best days as a high school cheerleader), the crowd was decidedly pro-Spain.

Speaking of food

It’s been impressive so far. We’ve seen some interesting combinations of restaurants here (Mozambique-Portuguese, Italian-Irish, Wine Bar-Japanese, etc.). The country is a fusion of cultures and traditions, so ‘fusion cuisine’ is a big deal here. Not always my favorite dining concept but it does demonstrate something about the country, as all food cultures do.

The seafood here is amazing and I’m leaning toward linefish and langoustines for the most part. However, ostrich and wildbeast are on my “gotta taste” list. Ostrich is pretty beefy and very low fat, so it’s a great option to beef. Ostrich burgers are popular. We even now have a coupon for a nearby restaurant that serves crocodile ribs, gemsbok and warthog. Yum.

One of my goals while I’m here is to learn more about Malay cooking.

Other observations

I know a lot of people say this about countries they visit, but the people here could not be nicer and friendlier. I think locals recognize the benefit to South Africa that the World Cup has been in terms of business development and tourism. I do get the sense of genuine “diplomacy” on behalf of the locals to put on a good show for the world. They are not jaded by tourism the same way some San Franciscans and New Yorkers are. (The infamous shirt that reads “I’m a local and I don’t give directions or answer questions,” being an example of the local surliness we sometimes show visitors.)

There is also a real sense of an international party going on. I’ve met more travelers on this trip than any other–people exchanging advice, ideas, wanting to know where you’re from, etc.  I have loved the international flavor of it all, the mix of languages (including the 11 official languages from South Africa alone!).

It seems that South Africans felt they had something to prove by hosting a successful World Cup without major incidents. With 500,000+ estimated visitors here for the events in the various cities, there is a sense of national pride that they have accomplished that.

Challenges

The one main challenge so far has been the fact that this is NOT a pedestrian-friendly town.  Roads are very wide and busy and fast. The pedestrian lights almost never last long enough for you to cross the street. There is NO such thing as “pedestrian right of way” (there is absolutely NO yielding!). You often feel like you’re walking along a freeway. There is no reliable public transportation—no real bus system and no subway. You can’t hail a taxi, but have to call and arrange for one.

There is a get-on-and-off tourist bus for which you can buy one- or two-day passes that can get you to the sightseeing highlights. That lasts until the end of the month.

Seeing how difficult it’s been for me to learn to WALK to the left (up & down stairs, exciting doors, etc.), I am not inclined to rent a car. Luckily the taxis are cheap and you can also arrange for private tours to Cape Point, Winelands and some of the surrounding areas for our weekend trips.

Otherwise, the weather continues to cooperate, albeit getting cooler. We are continually reminded how lucky we are to have such amazing weather this time of year.

The international party is winding down here. Even with World Cup games gone from Cape Town, there are still plenty of tourists, but next week there should be a different vibe. We’ll see if Cape Town survives all this with an afterglow or with a hangover.

First, we could not ask for better weather. The unseasonably warm, sunny weather has surprised the locals and has delighted your intrepid travelers. We have enjoyed blue, cloudless skies and daytime temperatures in the 70s, with beautifully mild evenings.

The 24 hours of flight time (15 hours SFO to DBX, one overnight in Dubai, then 9 hours to CPT) took their toll on us. But we tried to use the time and a few doses of melatonin to get us on local time. I was, for the most part, successful of being on local time when we arrived. G had a harder time.

Our success was derailed early this morning by a bunch of drunken English fans, apparently over-confident that their team would be in the semi final and now with time on their hands. They made an almost constant racket (laughing, talking, doors slamming and what sounded like cleats stomping) starting at 3:30 a.m. and going on until morning light. Even earplugs and muffling by the pillows did not help. How appropriate that today we should celebrate our independence from these people.

A few observations from our first 72 hours.

Security

South Africa has been named the murder capital of the world, and most Web sites refer to crime rates here. Early news stories from the World Cup focused on journalists being attacked and robbed in their hotel rooms, etc. I was a bit anxious about getting around, particularly at night.

What I have seen, however, is a strong police and security presence. There seems to be a yellow-vested security person lurking in every dark corner and the police are everywhere. While it is still important to stay aware of our surroundings and take local advice on areas to avoid, I think I’ll be fine.

World Cup

This has been a fabulous experience. Our first night here we found ourselves at Marco’s African Restaurant to watch the Ghana vs. Uruguay game. Clearly everyone was cheering for Ghana and it was an exciting, albeit disappointing, game. The crowd was energetic and passionate.

We sat at the bar and had dinner—a delicious braised lamb and some roasted chicken with butternut squash and “pap” (think polenta) and Castle beer. It’s not often that I find myself a minority among blacks; we were only two among a small handful of white faces in this crowd. I’ll admit that at first it felt uncomfortable, but that was quickly set aside by the friendly patrons there. One group was sharing a feast and one of the men tried to gross me out by telling me that one dish was sheep’s head—brains, eyes, etc. I was not fazed, of course, and chatted him up on how it’s prepared and whether it was good.

The semi-final game is on Tuesday (we have tickets) and crowds of tourists are coming into town for that. It seems everyone is wearing a national team shirt or scarf or bag, even if their team is no longer in the match. People are self-identifying with their countries and it feels like an international event the likes of which I have never experienced. You hear all languages, and people are friendly and interested in where you come from.

And only here would I hear Brazilian Portuguese with a Chinese accent!

Food

We have stayed relatively low-key with restaurants, etc. But we have sampled local fare. Last night Greg had an ostrich dish—shredded ostrich topped with a custard and baked. It was served with chutney, chopped bananas, coconut and a sort of salsa (tomatoes, onions, cilantro). It sounds completely bizarre but was quite tasty.

I have found the chicken here to be quite chicken-ey and a little drier and tougher than home. I believe that is because the local chickens are not bred for high fat and pumped-up breasts like the U.S. chickens—or for American-style “soft food” that is easy to swallow with minimum chewing (read “The End of Overeating” to understand).

The restaurants all have large screen TVs to watch the game and they seem to be mostly packed. In fact, you can watch the game virtually anywhere—from the established “Fan Fest” in the park with massive screens, to every bar and restaurant. Last night we saw the game being projected on the side of a building.

Sight-seeing: Table Mountain

With such a gorgeous day we decided we would visit Table Mountain. We waited an hour in the hot sun (yes, it’s winter here!) for tickets to the cable car. But it was SO worth it. Absolutely gorgeous vistas and flora and fauna.

I do plan to hike to the top at some point during our visit. Some brave souls were actually rock-climbing up the sheer face. I have no rock-climbing experience so I’ll stick to the hike. There are various trails and different levels of difficulty. I’ll take either the medium or difficult hike—good practice for Pico in September. Apparently the weather can change dramatically pretty fast, and they recommend you use a guide, which I plan to do.

That’s all to report for now. More soon.

If you haven’t been there, I recommend a visit to Filoli. It was relatively uncrowded since the full bloom isn’t in place yet. But it was still pretty.

This home, (10 acres, Healdsburg) featured in the Real Estate section of The San Francisco Chronicle is a great example of what I’m talking about. Ignore the snarky jealous comments.

[The owners] wanted the house to be low maintenance, open to the outdoors and filled with light – a comfortable yet casual place for entertaining family and friends on weekends.

That pretty much sums it up.

Here is one picture. More on the article.

Been thinking a lot about our plans for the Acores this fall. Below a few images.

We had a lovely evening last night with our neighbor. On the menu was a mixed green salad with roasted butternut squash, wine-braised short ribs and creamy white polenta, and a flourless hazelnut torte.

Our conversation meandered through a variety of topics, but kept returning to the overall theme of lifestyle and priorities.

As many people know, I have a long-standing fantasy of owning a LEED-certified home/estate in the wine country. WHICH wine country (Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Carmel Valley, Paso Robles) is not that important. Except Lodi. I don’t want to live in Lodi, even part time.

What I dream about, frankly, is to once again experience real summers: warm fog-free days, dinner outside, tomatoes and fresh basil in the garden, wearing shorts and summer dresses. I also dream of quiet and solitude. To hear wind rustling in the trees. And I want to do it more than the occasional furtive weekend.

Let’s face it, a weekend in Napa or Carmel is great, but when you spend half your time arriving, settling in, then packing up and returning, you have precious little time to just STOP and take it in.

The other part of me, however, laments at how pursuing this dream would seriously impede the other dream: to explore the world. Let’s face it, having a second property is expensive and time-consuming. For the price are we better off renting homes and apartments in different parts of the world? No muss. No fuss. Will having a country home tether (chain?) us even more to home?

I have to say that I scratch my head when people “take a year off” or plan big travel trips when they’re laid off work. I’d be hyperventilating if I suddenly had no foreseeable source of income. I came across a food blog today and in the description of the writer, she says:

….who moved to the Bay Area in late 2007 with my French husband and recently traded in a job in Public Relations to take photographs, cook, write and travel.

Well, how NICE for her.

Is this jealousy? Envy? YES!

But it’s also sheer stupefication and now people can actually pull this off. I guess I could probably do it with some serious adjustments to my lifestyle–turn in the nice car, drink cheaper wine, stay in more modest hotels, eat out less, quit the gym, stop buying cookbooks and kitchen gadgetry, fire the housekeeper?

For a couple years now I’ve seriously debated taking six months off to attend Tante Marie, a French cooking school in SF. That’s far less of a commitment than most, which are two year AA programs. It costs about $20,000. But I’m frozen in fear…six months of no income, plus the expense of school…then WHAT?

Sigh.

One of the best things about living in California is the idea of “outdoor living.” You can grill year-round, and the non-humid summers mean you can hang out outdoors most of the time. While not all of these images are from California, they are fabulous examples of the “outdoor room.”

I’ve debated for a while about getting a tagine. But now I have a gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma, and am thinking I may get it. However, nothing comes up on a search of their site.

Here are some gorgeous, more authentic-looking ones. Perhaps I should plan a trip to Morocco to buy a truly authentic one.

Occasionally, I go on a short obsessive streak about all things Mediterranean — Moroccan, Tunisian, Lebanon, etc. I am interested in foods, decor, etc. The strange part is that, aside from southern Italy, I’ve never been in the area. Perhaps it’s the Moorish influence of my ancestry.