I still woke up early this morning even though there was really no where to go. EJ had decided to skip the breakfast buffet and after spending this whole week gorging myself on eggs, bacon, and steaks I thought it may be better to take a break from the large plates of food that seem to be prevalent across South Africa.
Instead I rolled over in bed, watched some YouTube videos, and decided to check my email for the first time since last Thursday. Good thing I did too because I saw that I sold a shirt on my site (MonkeysWork.com) while gone. Of course this meant powering up my cell phone to access all my company accounts. I had so many emails and alerts that came through that in a matter of 30 minutes I had burned through the 500mb daily internet limit at the hotel. Oh well! That's exactly why I purchased a local cellular data plan when we got here!
Eventually we had to exit the room and do something. The parents were going to Rosebank to the African Craft Market to buy souvenirs. The thought of following them around while shopping didn't really appeal to us kids so we decided to stay behind and explore Montecasino.
We ate lunch together outdoors at one of the restaurants. James got adventurous with his eating and ordered a Cesar salad. When it arrived it was more raw mayo, anchovies, and bacon then salad. We think there were only a few leaves of lettuce actually in the bowl. I had a sirloin and EJ had a chicken breast sandwich. He contemplated doing the eating challenge on the menu (a half pound pot roast, a full rack of ribs, fries, onion rings, and a beer in 30 minutes) but thought better of it. Once the meal was over we continued to sit at the table and watch the people around us.
It was interesting to see a group of men setting up artificial grass in front of the television that broadcast in the square. There didn't appear to be any kind of games or other things being set up that would require fake grass. There was also a bunch of school children in their uniforms playing in the fountain in the middle of the square.
Next we headed to the gift shop slash convenience store, "Sin," which contained things like candy and soda as well as miniature statues of Hindu gods and dark fairy sculptures. James was in desperate need for Chapstick and asked the cashier if they had any. It took a few moments for them to realize what he was asking for as he mimed rubbing a stick on his lips. Finally it clicked and they presented a tub of different colored tubes called "Lip Ice." James got one, of course, and upon using it just as we walked out of the store discovered that it is the worlds worst lip balm. It has been equated to exfoliating your lips or rubbing a candle on them to cure chappedness.
Unsure of what to do next we headed back to the plaza and sat on one of the ledges. We could try to go to one of the museums we missed but it was already quite late and cabs from our hotel seemed to have a tourist fee levied on them and were very expensive. We could just go back to our rooms and nap but that seemed like a waste of a day. Finally we decided to catch a movie while still waiting for the parents to get back from shopping.
It took us about ten minutes to find someone who knew where the movie theatre was. You would think a location with 15 theaters would be on the employees radar. Later we realized that we may have had better luck if we had called it the cinema instead. Finally one of the security guards helped us with directions and we were off.
I'm not sure if it is because the movies is a kind of babysitter for kids while their parents gamble but the tickets and concessions were ridiculously cheap and not inflated. We saw the new Mission Impossible movie. It wasn't bad but it definitely made me rethink the Rotten Tomatoes system which gave it a 93. To me it was more of a 45 - it's not a bad movie but it was so cheesy and over the top that I found myself rolling my eyes and laughing hysterically at the serious moments.
We met up with the parents for dinner after the movie and went to Meat Co. - a steak house. Their steaks were delicious as was the vegetables that I had with it. For some reason here whenever you order mixed vegetables or vegetable of the day you also get creamed spinach. I've been forgetting this each time and have been eating quite a bit of creamed spinach as a result. Still the meal was wonderful. We even ordered the two wines that we had tried at the safari lodge - Alto Rouge and a pinotage.
After dinner I felt like the lion we saw on our last safari - bloated with meat and ready for a nap. We sat at the table for a while longer talking then headed to the room for a quick bit. We went through all the things my mother purchased at the market and then reluctantly pulled ourselves out of bed to go back downstairs to the casino. This time I lost my shirt but EJ got a taste for craps and my mother won a bunch of money. I'm not sure what we're going to do with all that cash but at least she had fun getting it. It is interesting. The machines which dispense your winnings here, transforming it from a ticket to actual money, do not dispense change. So if you win anything under 10R the casino keeps it!! They have a real gimmick going with that one.
We shuffled our way back to our rooms again. It was so late I could barely keep my eyes open. Entering the room and finding a mess of clothes, souvenirs, and all the other things we brought it South Africa wasn't the most welcome sight. It only meant that our day tomorrow would be filled with packing and arguing and weighing ridiculously over packed bags to make sure that they would go through without problems. What fun to look forward to.
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