Gauteng Provence and my first taste of SA food.

 On our way to lunch our gracious guide Lutendo began to inform us of the history of Johannesburg and South Africa. During this ride we learned that Johannesburg is located in what is called the Gauteng province. South Africa is divided into 9 different provinces. Prior to the general election of 1994 there were only four different provinces. The provinces are as follows and are in no particular order: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North-West, Western Cape. In Sesotho language Guateng province is referred to as "Place of Gold". This is due in part to the gold mines that could be found here. 

 

 As we rode to the restaurant I noticed that Johannesburg reminded me of urban areas back home. Lots of people, cars, hustle, and bustle. The cars have the right of way here so if you're not careful when you walk into the street you can regret it. The homes in the areas that we drove by ranged in terms of what we consider nicer homes to homes that were extremely modest at best. A majority of the homes were surrounded with gates and wires to prevent crime from occurring on their property. I was told that the crime rate here is high. When walking around at night as in any foreign country we were told to be careful and always be aware of your surroundings. A lot was changing in the city since they are preparing for World Cup 2010. This has also helped the economy by providing employment for many people here and in the other cities that are hosting the games. I will talk about this later. 

We had lunch at a cafe place called the Salvation Cafe. 

The Cafe was in a shopping complex located at 44 Stanley Avenue. I have included the website because I will probably do no justice with my description of the shops, restaurants and the open market feel that could be found there. The weather and the location were great for our first outing in South Africa. I found

 out and my mom would just love to hear this, but a majority of the food in South Africa is organically grown. The chicken are free range animals and so are the cattle and they are grass fed. When I heard this my inner health nut went through the roof. I was talking with Luke and he mentioned that due to their smaller population size this isn't that expensive for people to consume. That was refreshing to hear since in the US a dozen free range eggs would cost you three bucks a pop. Knowing these I began to scan the menu for something delicious to eat. There were so many wonderful things to choose from. I really couldn't decide what to eat. I ended up ordering a free range burger with avocado, bacon, grilled onions and cheese on it with chips and a freshly squeezed glass of strawberry juice. All of the juices were freshly squeeze when you ordered them.

 Once our bellies were full we headed out to the Apartheid Museum.