Friday:
Friday morning started with a bang when I woke to an email from United saying "sorry for the inconvenience, your flight has been cancelled, please log into United.com for more details." Naturally, sheer panic set in, as I had no idea which flight they were talking about, what would happen....this was not good. I immediately log in and see that it's the SFO > Chicago leg that was cancelled, due to "mechanical maintenance." I guess it's a good thing they figured that one out before we were in the air. They rebook me on the later flight at 1:25p.
After an uneventful ride to the airport, I stroll up to the gate, and I spot Joe Montana. Our beloved former 49er is one of my childhood sports heroes, so naturally, I got incredibly nervous and started the internal debate "do I talk to him? do I ask for an autograph or a pic? Do I start taking sly-creepy-stalker pics with my cellphone camera?" I decided to leave him alone for the time being. However, I did make fast friends with the gate agents, making some jokes about my height and how much I love the legroom on planes. A few minutes later, I get a page at the gate desk and they hand me a ticket for an aisle seat, economy plus upgrade. They absolutely make my day and I get to stretch out on the plane. Sitting next to me, I met a really nice older guy named Steve, who worked for Oracle and was headed to Sao Paulo for the first time on a business trip as well. The odds of finding a Sao Paulo travel buddy on the first leg of your trip are pretty slim, especially one sitting next to you! We buddied up for the rest of our flights as it was nice to have someone just as clueless to walk around with!
Cut to the end of the flight, I'm walking up the aisle, and lo and behold, Joe Montana is walking towards me from the first class cabin. Of course, the heart palpitations start up again and I decided that I was finally going to say something. We end up walking almost side-by-side up the concourse, so I turn to him and say "Niner fan for life." I meant it too - our family has been following the 49ers for years and my grandparents were season ticket holders for years and years. He quickly strikes up a conversation and we chat the whole walk up the tunnel. Such a nice guy - totally met all of my expectations. Nothing is worse than meeting a beloved celebrity, only to have them be a total jerk... not Joe. Anyway, I totally chickened out on asking for a picture, but I felt our 'moment' in the tunnel was good enough!
Once in Chicago, we get off the plane and find that our Sao Paulo flight gate was only like 5 gates away. How often does that happen at the Chicago airport?? Um never. We board that flight and I sit down in my lovely business class seat. I had a ton of United frequent flyer miles saved up and what better time to use them for an upgrade? United business class is pretty darn stellar, especially when they fill your glass with champagne, preflight. And they give you a flight gift pack which includes an eyemask and socks to wear. Nice little perk. The seat was beyond amazing and I stretched out and watched movies/slept the whole flight.
Saturday:
I wake up in Sao Paulo, rub my eyes, and deplane. I groggily follow the masses to customs which was surprisingly speedy. Then..... we get to baggage claim. It was a crowded disaster and they issue free luggage carts to everyone, so the entire baggage belt is blocked by at least 3 rows of carts deep. I hang back and wait. And wait. And wait. Still no bags. All of a sudden, the ceiling opens up and starts raining water down on one section of the baggage belt......pretty soon it's like a vicious downpour of water coming down on the belt, drenching the few bags that moved through it. Mind you, it's sunny here in Sao Paulo so I have NO idea where this water is coming from. I don't think I want to know. I took some video of this mess from my phone, so I'll be sure to upload that when I have the wifi connection in the office on Monday. They change baggage belts and eventually my bag came out in one piece. Thank goodness.
I hop in a cab out front and make my way into downtown Sao Paulo. My cab driver looked nice enough, but once we hit the road, he morphed into a crazed Formula 1 driver. We sped and weaved our way down that highway with some of the gnarliest road moves I've ever witnessed. I spent half the ride with my eyes closed, but had to open them back up to witness the driving skills of this guy. He was insane, but he was damn good. He felt that if you were driving too slow, you deserved to be honked at...on the freeway. John Cronin would appreciate the driving here, for sure! :)
Finally reach the hotel and check into my little abode. It's a cute room with a separate living and bedroom with a balcony:
After getting settled, I head out to grab some lunch. I walk around the corner to a quaint, yet busy street, Rua Joaquim Floriano, which had a bunch of cute restaurants and neighborhood pubs. I quickly realize that nobody, I mean nobody, is speaking English and the menus are all in Portuguese. I totally expected this to be the case and I brushed up on some basic greetings & phrases, but nothing prepared me for that feeling. Feeling totally helpless and not sure what to do next, especially because I was solo and didn't have a travel buddy today to be clueless with. Not to fear, I roll up to what looks like an Irish sports bar of sorts, with outdoor tables. Lo and behold, ALL of the flatscreens are tuned to the FIVB women's grand prix indoor volleyball tournament. Brazil volleyball is huge here and their women are #1. I practically cried tears of joy when I walked up and saw my home sport on all the TV's. It was pretty awesome to sit back with a beer and watch a match on TV at the local pub:
I had no idea what I was ordering for lunch, but I think I did a pretty good job. I went with the sandwich labeled 'especial'. It had some sort of sausage, cheese, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, and a buttery bread roll. Muito delicioso!! (and artery clogging, but hey, what can ya do?!) - at least I didn't accidentally order a brain sandwich or something.
Headed back to the room, caught up on some emails, took a long nap and calling it a night so I can get out and explore a bit more tomorrow.
Tchau & boa noite a todos.....
(bye & good night to everyone)
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