In Brazil
There wasn't enough time in Lisbon. We stayed at the Martinhal Chiado (
We fly to Brazil from Lisbon via Casablanca (www.airmaroc.com; £2333 for 3 one-way flights), but all we have to do is make use of the gleaming restrooms. The flight is long but we sleep. The food is palatable and the car we have booked to meet upon arrival in Rio is waiting.
In Rio, I relied heavily on the hotel for booking our outing to the Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer. We stayed at the Belmond Copacobana (£350/night, including an amazing breakfast) and loved most everything about the brief stay. Our tour guide moonlights as a police detective, specialising in forensics - mainly fingerprints. We didn't talk much about the Dictatorship years, mainly because it became very clear we were on different sides of the generational divide, truth, and reconciliation.
Sao Paolo was eye-opening on many levels, although I didn't even get to scratch the surface of the city. We stayed with an ex-pat friend, but if I had stayed in a hotel, I probably would have chosen the Clarion Faria Lima Hotel or the Hotel Heritage. No real reason, although I may also look at renting a studio apartment for a longer stay. I'd like to get out of the city and see more of the state of Sao Paulo. We went to the Sao Paulo Aquarium, Morumbi and JK Iguatemi shopping malls, and the Science Museum. For our next trip, I'd like to go to the Butantan Institute. The kids were happy to mooch around the pool at our friends' complex or hang out at the playground.
We spent 3 days in Brasilia with a dear friend and former colleague, exploring the Botanical Gardens and the National Mall area. The Niemeyer architecture was something to thing about, as was the deliberate layout of the city. Like DC, the interior of Brasilia feels almost empty on the weekends, everyone going back to their hometowns. After the crowds and traffic of Sao Paulo, it felt even more deserted.
We flew GOL/Delta onto Dayton, connecting through Atlanta. Of all of the flights we had on this portion of the trip, the Delta check-in staff were terribly disorganised and bordering on rude. Fortunately, we had access to the lounge and were able to fuel up before the flight. Then it was onward to Dayton and life in MAGA country, which I am still processing. It was...an experience, to be sure.
https://www.martinhal.com/chiado/visit-lisbon/ £325/night)
We fly to Brazil from Lisbon via Casablanca (www.airmaroc.com; £2333 for 3 one-way flights), but all we have to do is make use of the gleaming restrooms. The flight is long but we sleep. The food is palatable and the car we have booked to meet upon arrival in Rio is waiting.
In Rio, I relied heavily on the hotel for booking our outing to the Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer. We stayed at the Belmond Copacobana (£350/night, including an amazing breakfast) and loved most everything about the brief stay. Our tour guide moonlights as a police detective, specialising in forensics - mainly fingerprints. We didn't talk much about the Dictatorship years, mainly because it became very clear we were on different sides of the generational divide, truth, and reconciliation.
Sao Paolo was eye-opening on many levels, although I didn't even get to scratch the surface of the city. We stayed with an ex-pat friend, but if I had stayed in a hotel, I probably would have chosen the Clarion Faria Lima Hotel or the Hotel Heritage. No real reason, although I may also look at renting a studio apartment for a longer stay. I'd like to get out of the city and see more of the state of Sao Paulo. We went to the Sao Paulo Aquarium, Morumbi and JK Iguatemi shopping malls, and the Science Museum. For our next trip, I'd like to go to the Butantan Institute. The kids were happy to mooch around the pool at our friends' complex or hang out at the playground.
We spent 3 days in Brasilia with a dear friend and former colleague, exploring the Botanical Gardens and the National Mall area. The Niemeyer architecture was something to thing about, as was the deliberate layout of the city. Like DC, the interior of Brasilia feels almost empty on the weekends, everyone going back to their hometowns. After the crowds and traffic of Sao Paulo, it felt even more deserted.
We flew GOL/Delta onto Dayton, connecting through Atlanta. Of all of the flights we had on this portion of the trip, the Delta check-in staff were terribly disorganised and bordering on rude. Fortunately, we had access to the lounge and were able to fuel up before the flight. Then it was onward to Dayton and life in MAGA country, which I am still processing. It was...an experience, to be sure.
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