Let's see how it all turns out - perhaps we'll be seeing the Olympic flame being lit in Cape Town 10 years from now!
General
Bridge at the Clock Tower
So if you've crossed this bridge you'll also know that it's a swinging bridge - which means that it detaches from the one side and swings open every so often to open the channel, thereby letting boats pass in and out of the yacht basin.
Now you may recall that in my previous post I mentioned that I'd been late and was rushing to meet Kerry-Anne here, near the Clock Tower. As I arrived this bridge had just closed and started to swing open to allow boats to pass. This would have been fine normally, but as I stood there this day I was on the one side and Kerry-Anne was on the other. I'm sure you can imagine how long the five minutes that the bridge was unavailable for felt as her mildly irritated eyes glared from across the channel. :D
The BoE Building at the Waterfront
I found this awesome photo taken of the building at night. Wow!
Sunset horse
While I did pat him on the head a little and rub the bridge of his nose, I can't say that I wasn't nervous that he'd have a snap at my fingers. I mean, can you see the mad look in his eye!? I never knew that they could be so, but this friendly horsie seemed just a little loony.
Cheese scones and rooibos tea
It was lovely sitting outside in the sun on a warm Winter's afternoon munching on scones and sipping rooibos tea. I'd recommend it highly. :)
Children’s theater
While visiting I noticed that they're busy running a series of fairytale theater performances for kids at a cost of R40 per person (big or small). Visit the "Kids @ Delvera" section on their site for a list of the up and coming shows.
In case you don't read Afrikaans - the writing on the barrel reads "Children's theater, Sunday 12:00, Rapunzel"... but you guessed that, didn't you? :)
Laduma!
Translated from Zulu the word means "it thunders" and is usually used as a long, loud, and drawn out exclamation of excitement and happiness when a player scores a goal - laaaaaaaaa-doooooooo-maaaaaaaaah! :)
Spaza Shops
Combined, imagine what buying power they would have!
Chalk on the ground
When I saw these guys I wondered if their time wouldn't be more well spent doing the same with some kind of super-hardy paint. The chalk will wash away with the first, or perhaps second, rains but having these kinds of paintings in appropriate places could be quite a feature. Don't you think?
Another kind of trumpet
As a result of the absolutely awesome time that everyone had at the Fan Walk people have been voicing their wish to make this an annual event - a celebration of sorts. Yes, it disrupts traffic for a little while, and may inconvenience you if you're not taking part, but for the sake of the atmosphere it creates don't you think that it's just a grand idea?
Two-faced and scary in Cape Town
I was there (on the fan walk in Cape Town) so it's easy for me to see, but did you notice the two faces? Yes sure, they look friendly enough, gut they remind me of an angry parent telling their kids that they have eyes in the back of their heads... which to be fair, my mother at times also had to have. :)
A boy and his vuvuzela
The vuvuzela aside - doesn't this photo show the good degree of racial unification that's happened in our country over the last 15 to 20 years?
Brighly painted faces
A three-headed Argentinian fan
I don't follow Argentinian football, so I'm unsure why he would have these heads strapped to his ears. Dalma and Gianna, as I understand, are Argentinian hero, Diego Maradona's daughters - so this does seem a little odd to me...
Our magnificent glass roof
The glass roof is more of a glass trimming around the stadium's open top. The glass allows light in, makes the stadium feel more spacious, and keeps those in the stands dry in the event of rain. Players on the other hand don't have it quite as comfortable and most certainly won't benefit too much from the covering!
Jabulani means to celebrate!
Incidentally, this ball was also the cause of a lot of controversy during the World Cup as many football players claimed that it was too light and hence frequently behaved differently to what they were accustom to. Fortunately for us we had nothing to do with the making of the ball as I understand the making was coordinated between FIFA and Adidas. Phew! :)
Loveless Uruguay
Don't you just love that people are so passionate about their team that they're prepared to go to all the effort of painting their faces like this? This guy was just one of many that went that extra mile. :)
Our beautiful stadium up close
If you're disappointed at the lack of text in this article, don't be sad, please refer here for the background.
Watching La Furia Roja in Cape Town
I'm sure that if you're a regular follower of Cape Town Daily Photo that you'd have noticed that for the past two or three weeks photos and posts have been infrequent at best. If this made you sad, we apologise, it was totally unavoidable. The good news is that we're back and ready to catch you up on what you missed.
I'll be posting a couple of photos that I've collected over the past weeks over the next few of days until I've managed to catch up on the days that I've missed. Regrettably, due to the amount of time it takes, I'll have to sacrifice the article text until I've manged to catch up to the present day... but this I'm sure you'll excuse me for. :)
Another beautiful winter’s day
I've been wondering whether or not, due to the great winter weather, we'll be having water shortages during the summer months. Perhaps it would be prudent of us to start working on a slightly more water-wise gardens.
The big wheel of Cape Town
Read a little more about the wheel, it's cost, and when she'll be on her way in my previous article on the topic.
The Cape Grace
Anyway, enough of that - have you stayed at The Cape Grace? If so, what did you think of it? Did it suck? Was it more than you expected it to be?
Netherlands, football and South Africans
I guess the reason is obvious, and that is that many white South Africans are of Dutch descent and after our own team exited the World Cup they default to support the team of their forefathers, Netherlands.
Don't you just love the couple in this photo? :)
Sunset at the docks
The V&A Waterfront is built directly alongside Table Bay harbour - Cape Town's fully functional commercial harbour. I guess this is part of the attraction and what makes the Waterfront so darn attractive. In one basin you'll see sleek yachts, in the next small run-down fishing vessels and in the next large cargo ships.
One often finds old ships in desperate need of attention in this particular dock yard. You'll often see large scaffolding surrounding the vessels with workmen clambering all over with large sanders, grinders and welding machines. It's actually quite interesting to watch them work as you make your way along the footpath to the Clock Tower and the rest of the V&A Waterfront.
The Wheel of Excellence
The Wheel of Excellence is owned by a Dutch company, Wheels of Excellence. This particular model stands about 50m high and has sealed air-conditioned cabins with one VIP cabin that has a glass floor, telephone and LCD television. Yes, a telephone and television! While the glass floor may be cool, I'm not sure that I'd find a television or telephone very useful...
If you haven't yet taken a ride in the wheel, don't worry, you have until the end of the year to do so before the she moves on to her next home. :)
A red robot at the Waterfront
I watched for a while as a few workmen constructed this Coca-Cola robot at the V&A Waterfront. They've used red scaffolding and Coca-Cola crates to build the figure. I'm not sure what they plan to do with it, but it's clearly part of their marketing campaign around the World Cup football.
The company has put such a huge marketing drive behind the football that I'm sure you've seen it, but on the off chance that you haven't, here's a short animated television ad that I think somehow must tie in with the robot.
A beautiful sea-side walk
I've drawn the route for you over here on a Google Map.
Oh, and just for interest sake, the young lady walking in on the left is Kerry-Anne. :)
A dragonfly sculpture
I'm so glad that this dragonfly, with all that it represents, is so large. My cats regularly hunt dragonflies, so I'd hate one day for them to come home with our freedom, equality and hope trapped between their cruel little jaws! :D
Walking the Road – the start of Public Art
This sculpture of a young girl represents "a young South African democracy", full of hope and promise. Read more about the project and the other sculptures in the Walking the Road display on Marieke's website.
Knots of guns
Isn't she cute? I sat on my haunches to take a photo of the gun as this little girl jumped up to take a closer look.
You may recall a photo of a similar knotted gun (also at the Waterfront) that I posted in 2007. Several similar guns, decorated in various countries' colours, have been made for the World Cup football event. The one in this photo is obviously decorated in the South African flag's colours, and you can see the knot tied in the barrel just behind the little girl's head. :)
