I arrived in Sao Paulo on an overnight flight from Minneapolis via New York. I managed some fitful intermittent sleep on the plane thanks to Vicodin, but arrived drowsier than ever, probably thanks again to Vicodin... My contact in Brazil mercifully met me at the airport, and after a quick breakfast of I don't remember and holy s#!$ strong coffee, she dropped me at the tiny Vilaverde Hotel in Atibaia (pronounced ah-chee-bye'-ah).
This hotel room, typical in Brazil I am told has no alarm clock, a door which uses metal keys, no hangers in the closet, the smallest TV I have seen in years, and several switches on the walls which seem to control nothing. I asked for an iron and ironing board at the front desk - this required some pantomime, and the desk clerk arrived 30 minutes later with only a well worn iron. His english is only slightly more useful than my 4 words of portuguese, but he apparently thought I had my own ironing board - the hotel has none. I thought of asking "why do you have an iron but no ironing board?". I really wanted to say "dude, did you see me carry in a f&*#!!) ironing board", but I thought it unproductive in the end as he could easily come kill me in my sleep. I attempted instead to iron my clothes on the bathroom counter (not recommended) and eventually settled on steam from the shower.
By the way, I really like the hotel - the place is clean and the view is pretty nice!
This hotel room, typical in Brazil I am told has no alarm clock, a door which uses metal keys, no hangers in the closet, the smallest TV I have seen in years, and several switches on the walls which seem to control nothing. I asked for an iron and ironing board at the front desk - this required some pantomime, and the desk clerk arrived 30 minutes later with only a well worn iron. His english is only slightly more useful than my 4 words of portuguese, but he apparently thought I had my own ironing board - the hotel has none. I thought of asking "why do you have an iron but no ironing board?". I really wanted to say "dude, did you see me carry in a f&*#!!) ironing board", but I thought it unproductive in the end as he could easily come kill me in my sleep. I attempted instead to iron my clothes on the bathroom counter (not recommended) and eventually settled on steam from the shower.
By the way, I really like the hotel - the place is clean and the view is pretty nice!
Even in my groggy state I could not sleep so I decided to find some lunch. I wandered the streets of Atibaia which is full or shops, restaurants and bars for a full hour- all of these are apparently closed on Sunday. I did manage a bite at the hotel later. Anyway it was a good walk around a scenic town.
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| Notice the shuttered doors and lack of people - kind of an "I am Legend" moment... |
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