Dining on Tripe in Soweto

Wrapping up our brief stay in Jo-burg today. Almost ready to make the day long trek back.

Yesterday I took advantage of our free day and took a tour of town that included...

* a visit to constitution hall - the former prison who claims nelson mandela and mahatma gahndi as two of its former guests. So it was like a pilgrimage for me, since I admire both. this former prison now houses their supreme court, which upholds their relatively new constitution. i love how they decided to put the court on pint for defending rights in a building where rights were so commonly violated in SA's complicated history.
* a visit to the apartheid mueseum, which featured some amazng film and video. And an entire wall dedicated to resistance movement posters that I stared at for at least 2 hours.
* A visit to Soweto, the township where much of the resistance struggles were centered. I ate lunch at a cafe that resided in between the former residences fo two former nobel peace prize winners - ArchBishop Tutu and Mandela. I had a beer, and some Tripe (if you don't know what tripe is, don't ask - I had my Hep shots so I was feeling bullet proof) and enjoyed the scene. So far no stomach ailments (fingers crossed).
* lastly - I went to the scene of the '76 soweto riots, and quite accidently met one of the protesters that was featured in a well known photogragh of the infamous event. After meeting her, my tourguide pointed to an enlarged version of the photo and said "The girl on the left is her" Any of you who have scene the photgragh (the one of hector peitersen being carried from the scene) will remember it. At the time, it was in every international newspaper.

All in all, a very good day for a history geek like me.

And though the tripe was a bit exotic, the rest of our meals over the past week have been 5-star quality. the last safari lodge we visited has a gourmet reputation, and we determined that they fed us up to 8 times a day. And since I went up for seconds frequently, that counts for 10. So basically, I was not unlike the 2 ton rhinocerous that feeds for 18+ hours a day. I just hope the airline doesn't charge me a ticket for each ass cheek on the way back. But consider these menu items, and you'd be right there with me...

- Grilled Ostrich Steak served with a Port Wine Jus
- Little lemon pudding with passion fruit slices, almonds, biscuits and brandy snaps
- roasted pair and walnut salad w/ blue cheese dressing
- grilled rack of lamb served with a red wine and mint jus
- Pan fried salmon fillet served with avocado salsa and fresh lemon

I could go on here, but its making me hungry. Bottom line is that we dined well on our visit, so for those of you who I told "what we eat depends since we only eat what we kill" or "do you remember the dinner scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" - I was just kidding.