We woke up on Friday both weary and excited about our trip to Brazil. After the last couple months of planning, it was finally becoming a reality. After a few, frantic last minute additions to our luggage, we drove to RDU Airport and checked in our luggage with United Express (our airlines). It was overcast outside, and the dark clouds made it seem as if it was very early in the morning. With a little over two hours left before boarding our first flight to Newark, all five of us decided to grab a quick lunch at Salsarita's Fresh Cantina in case we got hungry during the flight.
 |
| Ordering Counter |
 |
| Tacos |
Shortly after our lunch we were called to board our plane. It was a relatively small plane which seated around forty people (it was tight fit). Only two people could sit together in one side. There were two sides in total and they were separated by a narrow aisle. After shoving our hand luggage into the top compartments above our seats, we settled down for the flight. It was relatively short (1 hour and 40 minutes) and we passed the time by listening to music and talking to one another. The plane itself was hushed with muted conversations which were occasionally pierced by a child's wail.
The bright sunlight streamed through the window, occasionally blinding us. While we flew over the country, we took a couple of pictures through the windows.
 |
| Flying above the clouds |
After arriving in Newark, we had to ask for directions to get to the taxis because of our change in airports. We got lost along the way by accidentally taking a couple of wrong turns, but eventually we made it out to the cabs. It was chilly outside in the crisp February cold so thankfully, we were able to get a cab quickly. The drive was supposed to be about fifty minutes but took around an hour and 20 minutes due to the chaotic traffic. It felt like our cab was moving inch by inch. The air was permeated by honking. We reached JFK (our new airport) and checked in with TAM Linhas Aereas, a Brazilian airline that was taking us to Sao Paulo, Brazil. We ate a quick snack at Starbucks and then boarded our second flight of the day. The inside of the plane was nice and the attendants were kind. We were given our dinner of salad, bread and a wrap. After eating, we settled down as this was our longest flight: ten hours. All five of us alternated between sleeping and watching the t.v.s that were provided for us on the back of the seat in front of us.
 |
| Our plane which took us to Sao Paulo, Brazil |
 |
| Security check at JFK |
We reached Sao Paulo at around 6:15 A.M. on Saturday. After dozing on and off during the flight and being constantly woken by either the turbulence or children's screams, all five of us were still pretty tired. Our layover time was around four hours but we had to make yet another airport switch. When we stepped outside we were greeted by the warm Brazilian sunshine which helped to wake us up. Everyone was excited at the prospect of escaping the cold for two weeks. We were expecting warm weather in the eighties with a chance for a few, small showers. All of us piled in, and took a cab to CGH Airport which only took about 45 minutes due it being early morning. We checked in with TAM Airlines once more and boarded our last flight to Rio De Janeiro which was only an hour long. We finally reached Rio at 11:30 A.M. After getting our checked in luggage, we went outside and took a cab to our hotel, Mont Blanc Suites, which was only about ten minutes away. It would be our only residence for the next few days. We checked into our room and promptly went to sleep, despite the sunlight and the noise of the city. Needless to say, our sense of time was affected by this.What a busy day of traveling. Our itinerary was as follows:
itinerary. Our complete budget analysis was as follows:
budget analysis
 |
| Front of our hotel- Mont Blanc Suites |
No comments:
Post a Comment