Thursday, June 24, 2010

Recap of our Itinerary

I will be blogging more in the coming days (although we will spend most of the next 48 hours either on planes or in Dubai), but I thought you might enjoy a run through what we did while we were here. Take breathers when you need them. As always, photos are at: World Cup Photos.

Itinerary

Friday, June 11th
Arrive in Dubai early in the morning
Arrive in Johannesburg during first game of the tournament
Watch soccer on TV at Andrew’s

Saturday, June 12th
Mass at Catholic Church in Brineston
Drive 2 hours to Rustenburg
U.S. – England game
Drive 2 hours home

Sunday, June 13th
Mass at same Catholic Church
Brunch and browsing at African Market
Watch more soccer

Monday, June 14th
Meet with Administrator of the Archdiocese of Pretoria
Visit a few Pretoria churches and cathedral
Visit hospice built by White Father priest
Visit Fr. Guido in rehab (he is a Canadian priest who has spent over 20 years here helping people in the poorest neighborhoods of Joburg)
Watch more soccer

Tuesday, June 15th
Elephant sanctuary
Cheetah sanctuary
Watch more soccer

Wednesday, June 16th
2-hour drive to Pilanesburg
5-hour drive through game reserve, seeing lots of animals in natural habitats
2-hour drive home
Watch South Africa/Uruguay match at Fan Zone

Thursday, June 17th
Argentina/South Korea soccer match at Soccer City
Watch Mexico/France match at Montecasino

Friday, June 18th
Apartheid Museum
Hector Pederson Museum
U.S./Slovenia soccer match at Ellis Park
Watch more soccer

Saturday, June 19th
5 hour drive to Durban
Beach walk in Durban
Fan Park to watch Nigeria/Denmark game

Sunday, June 20th
3 hour drive to Drackensburg National Park
4 hour hike (including my unplanned dip in the chilly creek)
4 hour drive back to Joburg

Monday, June 21st
Regina Mundi church visit and Mass in Soweto (where we saw the families of the U.S. team, including a priest I know from Mundelein)
Spain/Honduras soccer match at Ellis Park

Tuesday, June 22nd
4 hour drive to Kruger National Park
3 hour game drive through park
Drive to God’s Window canyon lookout
Watch South Africa/France game at pub in Sabie
4 hour drive home

Wednesday, June 23rd
Visit with St. Vincent de Paul members to mission in Deep Sloot
U.S./Algeria soccer match in Pretoria
Watch more soccer

Thursday, June 24th
Lion park, where we petted lions and giraffes
Cradle of Humankind, where we toured caves where early human remains were found
Fly to Dubai

Friday, June 25th
Day in Dubai
Fly to U.S.

Saturday, June 26th
Arrive in New York
Fly to Detroit
Fly to Kansas City

1 comment:

  1. WOW! You certainly made the most of your trip :)

    Happy flying! Try laying your head on your fold down tray. It was the only way I could sleep, though I never slept for more than an hour on any of my 12 hour flights. I want to hear all about Dubai. I have a friend living there now.

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