Ahh, the good airs! Buenos Aires Part 1

A typical beautiful street in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires can be summed up in one word, beautiful! Okay two words... HOT! It has been so hot here. About 90 degrees and sun everyday. The ironic thing is that Buenos Aires actually has beautiful breezes! They can be so refreshing on our long walks through the neighborhoods of the city. We are taking it all in and enjoying the views that are literally taking our breath away. We have visited the famous La Recoleta Cemetery, the San Telmo market on Sunday, and the famous Cafe Tortoni. Enjoy some pictures of our days here so far. Next, we venture to Uruguay for a day and explore more of Buenos Aires.

Brazil: The Summary

Ah, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is just what we imagined it to be. Tropical, beach, delicious drinks, laid back feel, not a care in the world. Sao Paulo was a giant of a city that made these New Yorkers a bit flustered.  Here are our thoughts on Brazil. 

Days in Brazil: 14  (11 in Rio and 3 in Sao Paulo)

The People:
The people we encountered in Brazil were more than happy to help us with anything we needed in both Rio and Sao Paulo. We could not speak the language and we soon found out that most Brazilians do not speak English, but they were all so willing to help you understand a menu or play a game of charades to get their point across. Life slowed down in Rio and it was perfect for our first location as we slowed down right with them. They do not bring you the bill at a restaurant unless you ask for it. People sit for hours at beachside cafes sipping ice cold beers and people watching. Sao Paulo was fast paced. Very fast, the subways were crowded, the traffic was crazy, but the people were still very friendly towards us. (Except for one woman on the metro who almost got in a fist fight with Nelson, see below).

Sao Paulo: The NYC of Brazil?

What do you know about Sao Paulo? We didn't know much before we went. Once we arrived and our host told us, "It's like NYC but tropical," we were very skeptical! As we walked around we realized we were dealing with a monster of a city! It was NOTHING like the low key, laid back beach "town" of Rio de Janeiro. We were fighting to keep up with the walkers. We saw more suits in 10 minutes than we did in 10 days in Rio! The population was much more diverse. We realized the city was huge so we looked up some stats to confirm our observations. 

Did you know....

• Sao Paulo is the 2nd largest metro area in the Americas? Behind Mexico City and ahead of New York City? 
• Sao Paulo is the 10th richest city in the world. By 2025 it will be 5th. 
• Sao Paulo has 20 million people in its metro region. 
• Sao Paulo has the 2nd largest population of Japanese behind Japan!
• Sao Paulo has the 2nd largest population of Italians behind Italy!
• Sao Paulo was founded in the 1500s and became a city well before America was even founded in 1711! 

Enjoy our brief tour of Brazil's other major city! Up next, our Brazil summary and onto Buenos Aires, Argentina!

Rio de Janeiro Part 3: Sugar Loaf Mountain, a beach day, and LAPA!

We have seen many beautiful views in Rio but our favorite was from Sugar Loaf Mountain. The view of the sea stretching as far as the eye can see was amazing. The site itself was very well manicured tropical vegetation and very peaceful. We were going to visit the Botanical Garden, but.... after all the rain we encountered, when our last day was bright and sunny, we couldn't resist the beach! Sorry botanical gardens but its hard to beat a sunny day at the beach. We also checked out nightlife in Lapa! We were looking for Samba music but found so much more!!! Why didn't anyone tell us how full of life their nightlife was!? Enjoy our last days in Rio through our pictures! Stay tuned as we travel to Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil!

Rio de Janeiro Part 2: unexpected market, more food, and oh the views!

Allie and Nelson overlooking Copacabana from Sugar Loaf Mountain

As we continue our journey through Rio, we find more and more we appreciate. Their Brazilian culture is prominent in some of the surrounding areas more so than the tourist traps of Copacabana and Ipanema. We explored some new neighborhoods (Santa Teresa, Botafogo, Flamengo) and visited the Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). Enjoy our pictures! To come next... Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Botanical Gardens.

Rio de Janeiro: Part 1 Exploring and People Watching

Allie and Nelson at Ipanema Beach

Ola! Nelson and Allie reporting live from lovely Rio de Janeiro! We are having so much fun here. We have done a lot of acclamation, people watching, relaxing, and taking it all in. Here our some of our first days in Rio! With Christ the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Botanical Gardens still to come! Ciao!

We have departed!

Its official! We have departed the US and we have arrived in the UK! After the flight we are definitely experiencing jet lag! We are here in London for one night as we depart again tomorrow for sunny Rio de Janeiro! (London, not so sunny!) 

What we have learned from our first 12+ hours of traveling from JFK to Heahthrow:

• We have too much stuff, we should plan in the next few days of what to ditch as our bags are stuffed to the brim. Not convenient for traveling when you want to slip something in your bag real quick.
• Lines don't bother you as much when you have plenty of time. 
• British accents are so amusing! (and sometimes so hard to understand it sounds like a different language)
• Virgin Atlantic in flight service is very good! Pleasant flight crew! (free wine in economy class isn't too shabby either!)
• When the pilot tells you it will be a "nice day" in London, that equates to "dark, cloudy, gloomy skies, but no rain!" :)

The Gateway to America: Ellis Island

Lady Liberty

The journey millions of immigrants made to America was not easy. The 8 days by boat makes our future 8 hour flights look like joy rides. Their travel conditions were terrible, crowded, and dirty making our society's complaints about leg room and seat assignments trivial. They left relatives behind in their native countries, some they would never see again. No ability to Skype or FaceTime whenever they wanted. They came to a place where they could not speak the language. No iPhone apps to help with translation or currency exchange. They did all of this for a better way of life for themselves and their children. Could you do it? Would you be brave enough to leave your family and friends for life in another country? As we leave America in our rearview, we contemplated the appeal America had for so many millions of immigrants.

I'm Movin' Out!- A shift in mindset...

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

Moving is never easy to do. It is often the climax of a change in ones life. As humans, we tend to strongly dislike change, ourselves included. 

Our apartment was taken over by boxes, bins, and the accumulation of "things" that had taken place over a period of time. You find yourself making piles of clothes titled toss, donate, and storage. Well this time was a bit different for us. We had 4 piles. Toss, donate, storage, and trip! It was tough deciding what clothes made the cut for our 6+ month journey but we found a way. As the movers took all of our "things" away this morning, I thought back to the notion of accumulation of things. How is that we acquire so many items of furniture, clothing, books, DVDs, etc? I believe we hold onto things for their sentimental meaning. Not so much for the value of the item itself, but more for what that item reminds us of, a time or moment, or memory we want to hold with us.