Apr 10 - Day Visit to Pretoria

 Apr 10 - A Visit to Pretoria

Today was a great day!  So much history about the conflicts in Pretoria - throughout the 1800’s from the conflict with the Zulus to the Boer Wars. This link will give a timeline of the struggles in Pretoria.  I could not possibly remember or retell the information our Tour Guide provided as we drove to our first stop, Proclamation Hill.

There were 150 steps to the building at the top, so my personal photographer, Mary, has shared some of hers!

                                                                        Part of a story wall

                      Dutch women played an important role in Pretoria’s history

They travelled in wagons on The Great Trek

The next part of our tour took us through downtown Pretoria and to the Union Building, home of the President.  We stopped for a photo op - a statue of Nelson Mandela.  

From there we went to The Blue Crane for lunch.  The restaurant was next to a pond with ducks swimming around and even an ibis on the far shore.

 The menu and wine list were varied.  Our group was seated at two tables and, as we have found everywhere, the service was excellent.

This is our table - Dee is at the front left, and Ronnie is beside me.  Wonderful hosts!

                                                                      Dee 

Our guide was great!  We had a nice conversation while we waited for everyone else to tour the museum.

Before we left the site, we spotted a peacock….

and some wild horses crossing our path!

It was quiet on our drive back to Villa Simone  - a few heads bobbing as we recovered from another great meal!  

At Happy Hour Dee outlines the plan for the following day - up early, breakfast, luggage ready at 7:45 AM and on our way to the airport for our flight to Botswana by 8:30 AM.

We could hardly face dinner at 7!  So after a light meal we headed back to our room to pack and have an early night.  I am now starting to get behind with my daily updates!  We are busy!!  So some of these posts might be short and sweet!

Until next time…

M & D