Blogaliscious World Cup

Well, Samba fans, the time is at hand.  Our beloved Brasil takes the stage at 11:30a PT today.  Oh ya,...they play North Korea.

I don't expect many of you to wake up early for New Zealand vs Slovakia. not even sure of the exact start time, except that it's somewhere before O-dark-thirty.

However, at 7a PT, Portugal takes on the Ivory Coast.
Perfectly coifed Cristino Ronaldo leads Portugal against Didier Drogba and friends... that is, is FIFA lets Drogba play with a cast on his arm- broken just 11 days ago.

Here is one for the ladies- Ronaldo and Drogba, shirtless on the June cover of Vanity Fair.  I shan't give you the link- gotta google that yourself!

              It was quite miraculous today that we actually had a bus on time.   We have had quite an adventure with buses not being on time, too overcrowded or, as was the case this morning, 11 people on a 70 passenger tour bus.  Among the frustration, it's a bit laughable as we await whatever happens next.

Yesterday, Italy escaped with a 1-1 tie vs Paraguay on a Daniel De Rossi goal to come from behind.  The game marked the 16th FIFA World Cup appearance by Fabio Cannavaro, tied with Thiery Henry for most of active players.

 Some of the craziest fans yet watched Netherlands down Denmark 2-0. Later, Japan edged Cameroon 1-0.

 For dinner, I joined part of our Audio team to Chief's Boma restaurant.
http://www.africa-adventure.org/i/indabacui/index.htm

 Herbert Lemcke from Lawo Audio Systems joined Chris Allan and I for a night of exquiset African fresh game and traditional local marimba music.

 We discovered that this wonderful South African merlot pairs nicely with Ostrich Neck.  seriously!  It was much better than the Warthog (tasteless) or Impala ( too rough).

 I was able to cover the warthog in Peri Peri sauce to make it worthwhile.

Meanwhile, I may have discovered a new favorite funky food.
A strange, accidental, geographic crowding on my plate forced the beets off my salad and onto the avocado slices.  Boom!  Somehow this creative culinary combo rocked my world....like mistakenly getting your chocolate in my peanut butter.

 The live marimba music was the highlight of the evening.  The band worked the house well with wonderfully rhythmic traditional tunes and some humorous dancing. After a few songs, they all of us tourists standing around clapping to the beat, while the staff and few customers shook some booty on the dance floor.   For the sake of all humanity, I refrained from showing off my Elaine from Seinfeld dance moves.


 Shot out to our Beth Chappell, ESPN Mega-Awesome Producer, we are all thinking of you.



 If ya gots an extra 2 minuites, or just need a break from your boss, check this link for a Lego Recap of the US/Englad game.  sure to evoke laughter and a wonder of how people have time to create this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iEkp_t7CnA

Here at the City Lodge, there is no regular room service.  Instead, you put your order in with the front desk, who then calls the Gourmet Garage at the casino across the street.  30 minutes later, some waitstaff dodges Puegots and Citroens in a game of real life Frogger across the busy boulevard, to bring your meal.  Tonight, as I passed a chap in the hallway with 2 large trays balancing precariously on each palm, he asked, 'Excuse me, where is room 228?"

 hmmmm.