I finally got to sleep with about 4 hours left in the flight. We arrived at the airport a few minutes late, but we were able to get out of there quickly. I decided to not declare anything since I'm going to use all of it anyways. They made me take out the video camera and my laptop to show them, but never said anything about the food. Osmar was out waiting for me with the driver. We went up to his car which happened to be the same car that Miled had driven us around in a couple of weeks ago (except this was an automatic). I talked to the driver in Portuguese. I asked him about the different landmarks we should see, where the CTM was from where we were, how to get to the rodoviario and which cities we should visit. Kathryn had arrived earlier since she left Dallas at 5:30. We learned on the ride to the hotel that her reservations weren't there.
When we got there we filled out information forms and then went up to our room. We're just a few doors down from Kathryn. She had left us a note to visit her as soon as we got there, but we waited a bit before going over there (letting her sleep a little longer). She had a sweet queen size bed while we are stuck with two mini-twin beds. So much for our own rooms, but we think we're getting a different place on Monday since we also don’t have a kitchen.
We were supposed to meet up with our driver Robert at 1pm for a city-tour. Simon Fishley from the SP office had also set up to meet us at the hotel at 1pm to go out for lunch. We ended up rescheduling our city-tour for Sunday at 9am right when I was planning on going to church. I'm hoping there's a couple of ward houses that have 3 wards and that someone starts at 1pm or later.
We took a walk to Otavio's Café for a quick bite before we went to the Samba place, Traco de Uniao. I had a really good roast beef sandwhich with some super-sized Chex- looking potato chips and a natural juice made of green apple with lime and ginger and honey. Simon was very generous and picked up the check for our lunch (it was a pretty chique place). We headed for the HSBC Bank before we went to the cash-only Samba house. I took out some reais and we went on our way to find a taxi. We got a taxi, but Simon wasn't exactly sure where he was going. We made a couple of wrong turns before we just got out and started to walk. We ended up circling back until we found the place.
The entrance fee for the Samba party was R$35. They give you a card that you have to have to leave. Anything you order gets marked on the card and you pay for it right before you leave. After you get in you still get overcharged for food and water (R$3 / bottle). Luckily, there was some leftover food from the other Americans that we met up with and we just ate that. We had feijoada and some mini-pasteis de queijo. Everyone that was there was getting drunk. I had my one bottle of water and called it a day =) Kathryn and Osmar shared a bottle or two of beer.
We mostly just hung out at the table, but Simon got me at one point to talk to Daniela who works in the SP office and just got back from Chicago 4 months ago. She was fun to talk to since she's had the same experience that we're having. At another point Osmar and Kathryn went to the middle to dance and I was left alone at the table. A woman named Elise came up and started to talk to me. She invited me to samba and I knew I wouldn't be able to get rid of her until I danced. We danced for a little bit and then she discovered that I was American and started telling that to her friends. Then they wanted to take pictures and they didn't stop at one, they took like 8. I was able to get them off of me by calling over Simon and jumping ship. Osmar and Kathryn came back and we decided it was time to leave. We paid big cards off and got a taxi home. I'm waiting for Megan to call, but I'm not sure she'll be able to get it to work. We've been watching CNN World in English, but I think it’s time for me to go to bed.
When we got there we filled out information forms and then went up to our room. We're just a few doors down from Kathryn. She had left us a note to visit her as soon as we got there, but we waited a bit before going over there (letting her sleep a little longer). She had a sweet queen size bed while we are stuck with two mini-twin beds. So much for our own rooms, but we think we're getting a different place on Monday since we also don’t have a kitchen.
We were supposed to meet up with our driver Robert at 1pm for a city-tour. Simon Fishley from the SP office had also set up to meet us at the hotel at 1pm to go out for lunch. We ended up rescheduling our city-tour for Sunday at 9am right when I was planning on going to church. I'm hoping there's a couple of ward houses that have 3 wards and that someone starts at 1pm or later.
We took a walk to Otavio's Café for a quick bite before we went to the Samba place, Traco de Uniao. I had a really good roast beef sandwhich with some super-sized Chex- looking potato chips and a natural juice made of green apple with lime and ginger and honey. Simon was very generous and picked up the check for our lunch (it was a pretty chique place). We headed for the HSBC Bank before we went to the cash-only Samba house. I took out some reais and we went on our way to find a taxi. We got a taxi, but Simon wasn't exactly sure where he was going. We made a couple of wrong turns before we just got out and started to walk. We ended up circling back until we found the place.The entrance fee for the Samba party was R$35. They give you a card that you have to have to leave. Anything you order gets marked on the card and you pay for it right before you leave. After you get in you still get overcharged for food and water (R$3 / bottle). Luckily, there was some leftover food from the other Americans that we met up with and we just ate that. We had feijoada and some mini-pasteis de queijo. Everyone that was there was getting drunk. I had my one bottle of water and called it a day =) Kathryn and Osmar shared a bottle or two of beer.
We mostly just hung out at the table, but Simon got me at one point to talk to Daniela who works in the SP office and just got back from Chicago 4 months ago. She was fun to talk to since she's had the same experience that we're having. At another point Osmar and Kathryn went to the middle to dance and I was left alone at the table. A woman named Elise came up and started to talk to me. She invited me to samba and I knew I wouldn't be able to get rid of her until I danced. We danced for a little bit and then she discovered that I was American and started telling that to her friends. Then they wanted to take pictures and they didn't stop at one, they took like 8. I was able to get them off of me by calling over Simon and jumping ship. Osmar and Kathryn came back and we decided it was time to leave. We paid big cards off and got a taxi home. I'm waiting for Megan to call, but I'm not sure she'll be able to get it to work. We've been watching CNN World in English, but I think it’s time for me to go to bed.
1 comment:
WOW!!! I'm impressed! You updated this blog ;) How fun that you are back in Brazil! Have such a great time/experience! I hope Megan survives without you alright! Te amo!
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