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July 23
Today was a travel day. It was an afternoon flight so I did not have to rush. It gave me time to exchange some money to last me for the next week or so and to pay one last visit to Trianon Park. Ibirapuera is a wonderful park for doing things but this is a park to relax and think. It is no doubt my favorite part of the city. Hard to think the entire area was like this a couple of hundred years ago and now, literally steps away is Paulista, the commercial hub of a new emerging Brazil.
I didn't realize it until this morning, but the Italian Embassy was right around the corner from the hotel. I walked past it a dozen times and never noticed that 6 foot plaque above the entrance. I don't know what is happening in Italy but there were literally a hundred reporters, photographers, etc. with numerous satellite trucks parked around the Embassy. It was crazy. Whatever it has to affect Brazil pretty dramatically to draw this much attention.
There are a couple of other stories that spring from time in Sao Paulo but I'll leave for another day.
My flight was later in the afternoon and I spent the morning debating whether to take the airport bus or just cab it. The bus is cheaper and I had done it into the city. I knew the Metro well enough that I didn't have any qualms about making it to the bus terminal. I have packed very light for this trip. Something I picked up from the backpackers in Australia who were pretty mobile while I was awkwardly schlepping around far too much. If it doesn't fit in your backpack you don't need. I'm not quite at that extreme but close.
The only worry I had with the bus was that I kept reading it was very unreliable in the afternoon because traffic can ruin the schedule. It only runs every hour and 10 minutes and I remembered that my 1 hour scheduled trip into the city was actually two hours. In the end I figured peace of mind was worth the extra. And it was actually less than I expected.
I had heard that you make sure that you ask the hotel to arrange the cab and not just get one off the street because they are much more expensive. Based on the one cab I caught in the city I'd have to say that is correct.
I was very surprised by both airports. When I arrived I thought the airport looked kind of grungy but figured maybe that's just the arrivals area. Nope! It's the whole airport. I would describe it as inner city bus depot quality.
When we landed in Goiana I was again surprised when the rolled up stairs for us to disembark. It was like a 1950's movie. And this was an Airbus 320 we arrived in. I've only experienced that once before in my life in Harare, Zimbabwe.
It is a tiny airport. There is one luggage carousel and the entire walk from the plane to the cab stand couldn't have been more than 50 ft. This is a city of 2.2 million and Edmonton's old Municipal airport was larger.
After a short ride into the city I was pleasantly surprised at the hotel. The desk clerk was a French national who just transferred in from London where she spent the last 18 years. I was actually her first customer. She was susposed to observe tonight but she got her baptism early because I spoke English and my reservation was not straightforward. The bellhop was a 19 year old who although born in Brazil spent the last 18 years in Atlanta. He has only been back a few months.
The hotel is the same chain as the one in Sao Paulo so I was expecting similar quality but this one is very high end. I wouldn't let me stay here. The hotel only opened in February and that might explain why I'm getting such high quality for so little. And I do have free Internet in the room so I can bore you for at least nine more days.
- comments
Patricia glad to hear you arrived safely in G. and that you still have internet. Blog is great. P
Marilyn Shukys Thank you for the wonderful "arm chair" holiday Stan. Please keep up the descriptive writing. Marilyn
C Super happy for you and the free Internet. Enjoy it. Can't wait to hear more stories. Keeps us entertained in the middle of the night.
margaret and Paul good to know you can keep writing, Stan. the blog is fascinating, good to hear the details as they happen. Best wishes, Margaret and Paul