Land at last! My first glimpse of Brazil...
Aerial View of Saulo Paulo
As you can see, we traveled quite a distance... :)
View from our hotel, Central Park Jardins...
The portions are huge because Brazilians like to eat together. For example, this huge platter of salad was enough for six of us!Our flight was full so there wasn't any room to stretch out. Having been on very long flights before, I wisely chose a window seat. With two pillows wedged against the window, I was able to find a fairly comfortable position and get a few hours of sleep. We landed a few minutes early, went through customs and immigration, and picked up luggage (no problems whatsoever, awesome!).
Sao Paulo airport is located approximately 25 km from the city so it was a nice drive, with skyscrapers dominating the view. However, I did get my first glimpse of one of the slums. The area is mountainous so there are lots of hills. It's a very nice landscape! :)
At the hotel, we were informed that only one room was ready -- my room, wow! :) It felt like winning a lottery, lol. My roommate and I took our luggage to the room, freshened up, and went exploring the area. The area around our hotel is safe, especially during the day; of course, we won't take any chances by walking alone and/or at night. Also, we didn't venture far from the hotel. Sometimes, newspaper/magazine stands sell water, postcards, etc. as well. Not so in Brazil... So we found a little supermarket and bought some water. Supposedly, the post office is about a block down from the supermarket.
Came back to the hotel, had a nice lunch in a restaurant on the 28th floor of our hotel (the view is awesome), and then accompanied our program director to the supermarket. We have a reception for some dignitaries tonight and so he needed people to carry stuff back to the hotel. Now I am sitting in the room, debating whether to get some work done or get a short nap before 6:00 p.m. reception. I am very tired and we are not likely to get back until 1o:00 p.m. so probably getting some rest would be a good idea, especially since I haven't had much sleep in the last several days...
Sao Paulo airport is located approximately 25 km from the city so it was a nice drive, with skyscrapers dominating the view. However, I did get my first glimpse of one of the slums. The area is mountainous so there are lots of hills. It's a very nice landscape! :)
At the hotel, we were informed that only one room was ready -- my room, wow! :) It felt like winning a lottery, lol. My roommate and I took our luggage to the room, freshened up, and went exploring the area. The area around our hotel is safe, especially during the day; of course, we won't take any chances by walking alone and/or at night. Also, we didn't venture far from the hotel. Sometimes, newspaper/magazine stands sell water, postcards, etc. as well. Not so in Brazil... So we found a little supermarket and bought some water. Supposedly, the post office is about a block down from the supermarket.
Came back to the hotel, had a nice lunch in a restaurant on the 28th floor of our hotel (the view is awesome), and then accompanied our program director to the supermarket. We have a reception for some dignitaries tonight and so he needed people to carry stuff back to the hotel. Now I am sitting in the room, debating whether to get some work done or get a short nap before 6:00 p.m. reception. I am very tired and we are not likely to get back until 1o:00 p.m. so probably getting some rest would be a good idea, especially since I haven't had much sleep in the last several days...
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