After the game yesterday we went out partying in Cape Town. As a result we slept in this morning. In honor of our national holiday we had a barbeque (or Braii, as they're called here) this afternoon, watched the Wimbleton men's finals, and relaxed.

I can't believe we bought tickets for this game 15 months ago and that the day is finally here to see a World Cup quarterfinals match. We couldn't ask for a better pairing of teams as well. From the moment I saw Germany walk over Australia in their first WC game, I wondered if they were on their way to the finals. They come into this game having ( Read more... )

After 2 days with no soccer, things were getting back into session today for the first quarter finals matches. We went to another Stellenbosch wine farm called Delheim for lunch and a wine tasting. From their we headed to the Cape Town Fan Fest to watch the surprising Brazil loss to Netherlands. It was crowded like a rock concert ( Read more... )

The line to take the table mountain cable car looked to be over an hour long midday so we went down to the Camps Bay Beach to look around and get something to eat. The weather was great with very light winds and lots of sun, so we tried the cable car line one more time. Everything worked out perfectly. The view was actually a little clearer than ( Read more... )

Today was a planned travel day back to Stellenbosch, but we decided to look up some of the local game farms around Mossel Bay to see what they're about. They're kind of like Disney's Animal kingdom on a much grander scale. The animals are within fences but the enclosed areas are quite large tracts of land. They have some lions that were rescued ( Read more... )

JP showed us around the region where he grew up and went to high school, including a stop at his cousin's house that was originally the home of his grandfather. This region is filled with dramatic beaches surrounded by steep mountains. Many of them are difficult to photograph since you are surrounded by amazing panoramic vistas. We ended the ( Read more... )

Today we drove east along the southern coast of South Africa to Mossel Bay. This is the first time JP remembers being out there in the winter so he didn't know what to expect. It is usually a very crowded place, but the whole town was actually very quiet this time of year.

Slept in today and then went on a couple hour hike in Stellenbosch around JP's house. There's some good mountain biking trails through the hills by JP's house as well. I think he should get a mountain bike!
(I'll add pictures here later).

We went for a short hike in Stellenbosch today and watched some soccer. Unfornuately, the USA lost in overtime to Ghana. The locals seemed to all adopt Ghana in support of the only remaining African team in the tournament. In an attempt to lift my spirits we went out to Cape Town to a club called Assembly for an event they were calling Mash-Up ( Read more... )

Rust en Vrede. The name literally means Rest in Peace but JP says it's not meant as an epitaph but rather would be best translated Peace and Quiet. Their farm is certainly peaceful, and is one of the area's oldest featuring classic Dutch architecture. They are known for their red wines which suits me fine. We got to sample some of the US$160 a ( Read more... )