Pretoria - With many soccer lovers unable to watch their favourite teams battle it out at various stadiums around the country, many local and international visitors are more than happy to catch all the action at the nearest pub and to just get a whiff of South African hospitality.
Melissa Johnson, 32, from the USA has been looking forward to the World Cup, but for her it's more about learning about South Africa, its culture and its people.
Speaking to BuaNews while watching a match between Italy and Paraguay at a pub in Pretoria East, Johnson said: "You have a beautiful country with nice places; I'm really enjoying myself here."
She said since her arrival in the country with her husband, they had already visited shopping malls, the Union Buildings and a few night clubs.
On Friday, after the spectacular Bafana Bafana and Mexico match, Johnson and her husband danced until the wee hours of Saturday morning at a few popular nightspots in the city. They would also love to visit Soweto before returning to the States.
Trying to get over their disappointment following Cameroon's defeat by Japan, Adil Barek and his friends from Morocco, second time visitors to the country, said they will keep coming back to South Africa due to the country's excellent hospitality.
"Cameroon lost today but hey, we are enjoying ourselves and on Wednesday we will go to the fan park to support Bafana Bafana because South Africa is one of us," said Barek.
He said while there were many misconceptions about the country, he had enjoyed his stay. "Every country has its own challenges, especially the under-developed ones, but South Africa is doing very well."
He and his friends have enjoyed a few South African culinary delights such as pap, braai-vleis and boerewors. "The other day we had a bit of tripe and it wasn't bad at all."
