Day 123: We sort of repeated the morning from yesterday all over. However, this time we got out in the actual Johannesburg Central Business District. We hopped back on another bus when it showed up after around 40 minutes.
The streets we walked today were the actual areas where gold was first dug up. This is what started this lovely city in such a geographically difficult location. The CBD dates back to the 1860s but it was probably a muddy mess in those days. Now, however, there are a number of monuments to remember the city's beginnings. Main Streets in most cities are crowded with businesses and cars but not Joburg's. I sort of get the idea this place is quirky for a whole lot of reasons.
We enjoyed our walk to Gandhi Square and a statue showing him as a lawyer in his younger days in South Africa. If you cannot recall Mahatma Gandhi's biography, he spent a total of 21 years in South Africa. In fact, you might say his time here is where this political views and ethics were birthed. We enjoyed the exercise and the second day on the hop-on, hop-off bus.
Another accomplishment today included eating lunch in a Nando's. Somehow we have never done that although this chain of restaurants are common in many places we stay and visit.
Also, we just got back from buying some small food items to give to friends upon our return. We frequently do this in far-away places. Although we have found that South Africa produces a large percentage of the items in supermarkets, we wanted something light and cheap. Ah ah, we now have five small packs of rooibos tea bags. By the way, that name means 'red bush' in Afrikaans. And for me, I got a couple of bottles of South African produced Shiraz. It's too bad wine bottles are so heavy.