First, the trip was not that bad. A bit of traffic on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, but overall a very nice, scenic drive throurgh east central Brazil. It took us about 5 1/2 hours of actual drive time from the western suburbs of Sao Paulo. Once you leave Sao Paulo it quickly turns into rolling hills with lush green, tropical vegetation. Around Sao Jose do Campos you begin to view the industrialized side of Sao Paulo state and the multitude of multi-national corporations - Nestle, Mars, Guardian Glass, Embraer and Volkswagen.
The last half of the trip becomes mountainous with some very curvy switchbacks about 90 minutes from Rio. Tracy took some great photos. It was a memoroable drive.
Rio's infrastructure has some catching up to Sao Paulo. It's also much smaller than Sao Paulo. If we had not been to Sao Paulo first, then Rio would have seemed much larger.
As much as we enjoyed the drive the real surprises were yet to come. Kudos to the JW Marriott on Copacabana. They could not have been located any better. Check out the photo from our hotel room. It's located right in the middle of Copacabana beach on the east shore of Rio.
We took a walk down the beach and enjoyed a couple of draft Brahma beers before returning to the hotel bar for dinner and drinks after sunset with two more surprises yet to come.
I love pizza - New York style, Chicago style stuffed and our favorite - super, thin crust St. Louis style with Provel cheese. Finding a pizza that leaves a lasting impression is not easy; they are all good. However, the combination of ingredients on tonights pizza were unusual, memorable and one we'll work to replicate when we return home. The magic toppings were prosciutto de parma, artichoke hearts and blue cheese over a thin crust with small amount of pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese - pizza kismet.
If that was not enough while we we were enjoying our drinks I thought I recognized a gentleman at the bar - an American no less. The problem was that I could not completely recall his name. Pretty sure that he was on ESPN and one of the originals - something Lee, Sunday mornings, Outside the Lines. What was his name? I picked up Tracy's iPad and did a quick search - Bob Ley. We introduced ourselves; learned that he's doing a story on preparation for the 2014 World Cup and he graciously agreed to the photo below - 6000 miles from home. It was quite a day.
We haven't even been to Corcavado with Cristo Redeemer or Sugarloaf Mountain yet.
The last half of the trip becomes mountainous with some very curvy switchbacks about 90 minutes from Rio. Tracy took some great photos. It was a memoroable drive.
As much as we enjoyed the drive the real surprises were yet to come. Kudos to the JW Marriott on Copacabana. They could not have been located any better. Check out the photo from our hotel room. It's located right in the middle of Copacabana beach on the east shore of Rio.
I love pizza - New York style, Chicago style stuffed and our favorite - super, thin crust St. Louis style with Provel cheese. Finding a pizza that leaves a lasting impression is not easy; they are all good. However, the combination of ingredients on tonights pizza were unusual, memorable and one we'll work to replicate when we return home. The magic toppings were prosciutto de parma, artichoke hearts and blue cheese over a thin crust with small amount of pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese - pizza kismet.
If that was not enough while we we were enjoying our drinks I thought I recognized a gentleman at the bar - an American no less. The problem was that I could not completely recall his name. Pretty sure that he was on ESPN and one of the originals - something Lee, Sunday mornings, Outside the Lines. What was his name? I picked up Tracy's iPad and did a quick search - Bob Ley. We introduced ourselves; learned that he's doing a story on preparation for the 2014 World Cup and he graciously agreed to the photo below - 6000 miles from home. It was quite a day.
We haven't even been to Corcavado with Cristo Redeemer or Sugarloaf Mountain yet.
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