I guess I should talk about the trip....
I can't even begin to describe how happy that I am to be back in the U.S. I love to visit foreign countries, but it is great to get back home.
The flight from Atlanta to Rio was nine hours long. I am sooooo glad that I got to travel business class down there. That's the only anyone should ever travel. I went down to Rio with a small group of people and wouldn't you know it, the guy that sat next to me had a cold, and by the time I got back I was sick too.
When we arrived I was so tired and confused that I was walking around in a daze. I couldn't sleep on the flight. The airport was huge and from what I was told it was built in the early seventies. I can believe it too. The color scheme was right out of the seventies. I thought I had traveled back in time during the flight. After fighting my way through the crowds of cabbies who were literally fighting with each other to get me into their cab, I found the driver that was hired to drive us to the hotel. We stayed at the Sheridan Rio on Leblon beach. What a great place.
The drive to the hotel was interesting to say the least. I thought I had seen a slum until I drove through Rio. There were bars on the windows fifteen stories up, and the graffiti went up five stories. I also have the greatest definition of irony. There was a huge billboard of Paris Hilton advertising some bullshit perfume with her name on it with the words, "Smell like a million." The people are starving and Paris wants them all to smell like a million. Great. I get to the hotel, check in, and collapse for the rest of the day.
Sunday the rest of the group of people arrive and the organizer of the event that we are there for has arranged a tour for the whole group. Now keep in mind that some of the group had been traveling for the last ten hours. They ALL wanted to check into their rooms and sleep (or drink) for a little while. No such luck. We got to see Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer) and Sugarloaf Mountain as well as a lot of slums. The Brazilians believe that the slums are just part of their culture. We ended the night with a traditional Brazilian dinner of shredded beef, fish and the ever popular rice and beans.
To be continued....
The flight from Atlanta to Rio was nine hours long. I am sooooo glad that I got to travel business class down there. That's the only anyone should ever travel. I went down to Rio with a small group of people and wouldn't you know it, the guy that sat next to me had a cold, and by the time I got back I was sick too.
When we arrived I was so tired and confused that I was walking around in a daze. I couldn't sleep on the flight. The airport was huge and from what I was told it was built in the early seventies. I can believe it too. The color scheme was right out of the seventies. I thought I had traveled back in time during the flight. After fighting my way through the crowds of cabbies who were literally fighting with each other to get me into their cab, I found the driver that was hired to drive us to the hotel. We stayed at the Sheridan Rio on Leblon beach. What a great place.
The drive to the hotel was interesting to say the least. I thought I had seen a slum until I drove through Rio. There were bars on the windows fifteen stories up, and the graffiti went up five stories. I also have the greatest definition of irony. There was a huge billboard of Paris Hilton advertising some bullshit perfume with her name on it with the words, "Smell like a million." The people are starving and Paris wants them all to smell like a million. Great. I get to the hotel, check in, and collapse for the rest of the day.
Sunday the rest of the group of people arrive and the organizer of the event that we are there for has arranged a tour for the whole group. Now keep in mind that some of the group had been traveling for the last ten hours. They ALL wanted to check into their rooms and sleep (or drink) for a little while. No such luck. We got to see Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer) and Sugarloaf Mountain as well as a lot of slums. The Brazilians believe that the slums are just part of their culture. We ended the night with a traditional Brazilian dinner of shredded beef, fish and the ever popular rice and beans.
To be continued....