Johannesburg and Pretoria

Today it felt like we were actually here.  Most of us were better rested and ready to get started.  We had an overview of the history of South Africa and other presentations before boarding our coach to the U. S. Embassy in Pretoria.  We have a lovely guide, Pumla, and I will try to post a picture of her later.  She shared that the part of Johannesburg we were in was the richest square mile in all of Africa. That's pretty amazing.  

We traveled to Pretoria down new highways that were built to host the World Cup last year.  When you look around, you get the sense that you could be anywhere.  There are familiar brands on lots of the billboards, as well as familiar places like Shell, BP, McDonalds, and KFC. 

South Africa has three capital cities, one for each branch of the government.  Pretoria is the judicial capital.  We went down streets with embassies from all over the world.  When we got to the American Embassy, we were not allowed to take electronic equipment inside during our briefing, so I don’t have any pictures from there.  We went through security and met in the library for briefings on education and environment before going to the Union Building Gardens where we sat on the steps in the sun and had a picnic lunch.

Union Building

We also toured the Apartheid Museum which shows the rise and fall of apartheid with videos, photographs, and artifacts, but the text panels that gave eyewitness stories of the events were very moving, and it was a very emotional experience for all of us.

Dinner was at Gramadoela's Restaurant - even Queen Elizabeth has eaten there.  Check out the menu!

             The Buffet                                                                                 MaryLynne, Pam, and me.