Our trip to Pretoria was quick – only one full day. On our first night in, we had a braai (a South African barbeque) at the hotel. The next morning we had a gigantic breakfast buffet. There are so many foods that South Africans have for breakfast that we would only find on a lunch or dinner menu, like baked beans, fish, and vegetables. At first I was thrown off, but I have really started to enjoy eating those things in the morning…After all, isn’t breakfast the meal that is supposed to get your engine revved for the day? That doesn’t always happen for me with french toast and sausage.

On the full day we had in Pretoria, we went to the Voortrekker Monument. The Voortrekker Monument was built to commemorate the Afrikaners who left the Cape Colony to find other places in South Africa to colonize and raise their families. Unfortunately, their decisions involved encroaching on the land of African natives. It is a controversial monument because of the history of the Afrikaner tyranny, but I am glad we got to get both sides of the story by going to visit it.

We ended our stay with a delicious buffet at a restaurant in town. There were all types of African food, as well as some food that was influenced by Western culture. They had salads, main dishes, meat, desserts, and everything in between.

One thing I don’t want to forget to mention is the ice cream (the had plenty of it at the buffet). If you love ice cream, you belong in South Africa. I thought Europe had it all, but in all honesty, I have to say South Africa is a strong contender. It is just so delicious and creamy and wonderful. You can’t go wrong, even with a plain vanilla cone (which says a lot, coming from a chocolate lover like me!).

That night, most of us hit the hay pretty early because of our early flight into Windhoek the next day!