Bom dia everyone!
So the idea of having one week off school in February has sounded fantastic ever since I realized that it’s going to be the case for me. And I’ve been thinking of where to go since last September, so when Ines – my Austrian friend from Norway – came to visit me in Paris in October and jokingly said: ” You should come visit me in Brazil when I’m doing my exchange.” both of us laughed for a second and immediately looked at tickets. Turns out- they were cheap – well cheaper than they are from the US to Brazil, and so there was noway I would say no.
Two days later, at HEC, I mentioned the Brazil idea to my Spanish friend, Juanjo, who has lived in Brazil for two years before moving to Paris, and he went: “If you buy those tickets, I’ll buy them. Let’s go to Brazil!” The rest is all history because 4 days later, our tickets were booked!
And 3 weeks before our actual flight to Sao Paulo, my friend Sara from DC had enough from the snow on the East Coast and was complaining to me about it. So, I said: “Plan a vacay!” to which she responded: “When is your next one?” and somehow within a week she had booked her ticket to come and join Juanjo and me.
And so it was that Juanjo and I took a flight from Paris to Rome to Sao Paulo and met Sara there that Saturday, February 19th. Sara and I were lucky to be able to crash at the apartment of Juanjo’s friend who was out of town that weekend, which worked out perfectly. The first Saturday having just landed in Sao Paulo we spent some time at the pool, and then went out for some Brazilian ‘tapas’ and some Samba dancing! It was great!
Sunday morning, we met up with Ines for a free walking tour around the hipster part of town, an all you can eat Sushi lunch in Japantown and a couple hours spent in line at a Churros festival. It was pretty awesome to meet all her new friends and hang out with her.
Monday morning – Sara, Juanjo, Juanjo’s friend – Dani & myself hopped on a flight to Brasilia. We were to spend the next few days hiking and enjoying some gorgeous waterfalls around Chapada dos Veadeiros, which is located around 3 hours from Brasilia. Seriously, those few days ended up being awesome. The cute little hotel we stayed at was cozy, the breakfast delicious, the weather thankfully not rainy even if we were technically in the middle of the rainy season and the waterfalls amazing. I really enjoyed every one of our hikes and wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Friday, Sara and I said goodbye to Juanjo and Dani and made our way to Rio for 48 hours. Once again we were worried about the weather, but Brazil surprised us for one more time. We were able to spend time by the beach, walk around, go up a few mountains & enjoy some gorgeous views and of course sunsets.
Sadly, Sunday afternoon it was time to bid this country goodbye and head back to Paris. But deep inside, I know I will be back; there’s definitely a lot that’s yet to be discovered there!
Until next time,
Dom.
d_globetrotterin - الرحالة 