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Well all I'm back from Brazil. Landed this morning around 7 AM, and got back home around 9. I thought I'd share a little of the experience with everyone.
The trip was a chance to see a little of Brazil, see (and meet the family), and of course, spend the weekend at the Brazilian GP.
A little background: I have family in Sao Paulo. My mother had 2 aunts and an uncle that went to Brazil in the 30's. They stayed there and raised their families there. I've met some of my cousins during their vacations to New York, but haven't had a chance to meet everyone. My connection to the F1 race is my cousin Lali. She is married to the race organizer. That wasn't entirely clear to me until I got there. I knew they were connected, and that I'd have great tickets, but not like this.
Sao Paulo isn't the safest of cities. It is enormous. Something like 17-18 Million people. The apartment buildings are visible all over, and cover square miles of surface area. My first impression from the plane was that I was looking at Manhattan, but there were dozens of them lined up next to each other. The buildings are also very colorful, with blues, oranges and greens spread throughout the city. The city seems endless. There are shantys, slums, houses and apartment buildings. Every private house has a gate, and the garages are all locked to the streets. All of the apartment buildings I went to had security. The medical building where my cousin (Jose) is the doctor has three armed security guards patrolling the parking lot at all times. Needless to say, I didn't exactly walk around a lot, or explore much of the city.
The social classes there are very seperated, and things uncommon here are very common there. A large percentage of the middle class, and I'd say all of the upper class people have maids. My cousins all have maids - 5 days a week in the city usually, to maintain their apartments, which I'd say are small compared to our standards. At my cousins beach house, they have 2 full time, a husband and wife. As my cousin doesn't like their baby running around the house, the maids have a full time babysitter. It's very odd. They get room and board, and about $20 US dollars a day.
A little diary: Arrived on Thursday. Had lunch at a real Churrascaria with some cousins (Fani and Arnaldo), and dinner with other cousins (other Jose, Enny and Ilyana) at a pizzeria. Every corner in Sao Paulo has a pizzeria, it's a very popular meal there. Lunch is the big meal of the day, so a pizza for dinner is very common.
On Friday I went with most of the family to Guaraja. It's about an hour southeast of the city, and is a very exclusive beach resort. All of the developments are guarded here too. Unfortunately, it was raining when we got there, so we spent the day in the house. Saturday was overcast, so the beach wasn't crowded. There were a few hotties out there, but not many. Their semi-private beach is a favorite for the surfers. After the beach went to another cousin's (Evelyn's, Jose's daughter) house there in a different community up the street. It rained the rest of the day. At Evelyn's, we spent the rainy day in their outdoor space. It's a 30x30 room with a full kitchen, dining area and sitting area near the pool. Not something I see too often in Trenton.
Back to Sao Paulo on Sunday morning, where Lali called me. Wanted to know if I wanted to go to the racetrack. Duh, of course! She prefers to go on Sunday because the crews are all setting up, security is just getting started, and you can see everything. This was just a kick ass few hours. Got a ride around Interlagos with Tamas (Lali's husband, the organizer). Saw all of the VIP areas, support buildings, pit row (the teams were unloading their cargo on Sunday). Was something most of us will never see, and I had the opportunity. It was really something.
Monday to Wednesday went to Iguacu Falls (or Foz do Iguacu in Portuguese). Wow! About 3 times larger than Niagara Falls, with about 250 individual waterfalls. Did Brazil on Monday, Argentina on Tuesday, then some other stuff on Wednesday before coming back to Sao Paulo. On the Argentina side, we spent about 7 hours walking the trails and seeing different parts. On the last trail I walked (Mom and the guide took the train back to the exit), I saw a toucan. Yes, a real friggin toucan, just sitting up in a tree.
Thursday went with Leo to the Sao Paulo Auto Show. Very different than the US shows, where big, glitzy things are the norm. There, it focused on the people and their cars. A large car in Brazil is an Accord, a Chevy Vectra (Malibu sized), or a periodic BMS 3 series. Wealthy people concerned with kidnappings get their cars bulletproofed. The prices are outrageous. The Accord 4 cylinder is about $40,000 US dollars. At the show, they had the MB A series (looks like a Honda Fit) for R$108,000 (Reais, which is about $50K US). The SLK 200 for R$218,000, or $100K US, and the CLK 230 didn't show a price, it said 'See Consultant for Pricing'.
Friday and Saturday I spent the morning/afternoons at the track watching practice and qualifying. The VIPs get pit walkthroughs for about an hour a day (including Sunday before the race.) On Friday, I met Peter Schultz Wenk. My cousin Arnaldo recognized the name (head of VW Brazil). It's his oldest son. He's been in racing for years. Told us a story (you can confirm it in Frank Williams book if so inclined) about how he was the first to 'find' Nelson Piquet, and signed him. Offered him to Frank Williams who turned him down. When Piquet later signed, it was said to cost a fortune. He kept talking, it was very interesting. He goes way back with Tamas, and many others in the racing industry.
Sunday I got to the track around 8 AM. Saw the three support races, Formula Renault, Porsche Cup and Maserati Cup. Then watched the F1 race.
The VIPs get some very special treatment. From the minute you enter the section, there is a full wait staff, with food prepared (breakfast, lunch, and dessert) and a bar. My seats were right on the Ferradura turn. If you check a track map, its the Senna S, then the Sol turn, then Ferradura. We could see the whole inside of the track, and the start finish line was behind us, so you could hear the cars buzzing past. For those watching practice Friday, the turn is where the Red Bull car when off the course, right in front of me.
Monday did some last minute shopping, then came home.
I'll post pics over the next few days. By my calculations, I took about 4000 or so, totalling 14 GB of space. I've got some sorting to do.
I realized after I typed all of this how long it was. Hope you didn't need a break half way through.
Glad to hear you had a good time
Can't wait to see some pics Is there a lot of violence in Sao Paulo with so many people or is it pretty much like any major U.S. City? Did you see any S2000's down there?
There are no S2Ks. The Honda dealers don't sell them. Anything you see that's unusual there is imported. I think in 2 weeks I saw about 5 convertibles in all. A handful of BMWs and MBs (except for the A series), even only a few Volvos.
The overwhelming majority of poeple drive subcompacts. Honda Fits, Puguet 2 series, Citroens, small Chevys and Fords.
YOu forgot to take pics of the women there............I'm from Argentina originally, and was planning to go there towards the end of next year. How is the nightlife there?
Gas was around $5/ gallon IIRC. I didn't do much nightlife at all. It wasn't why I went, and most days I was deadly exhausted from running around all day.
Some pics. In order of things happening.
View from the hotel in Sao Paulo
Saturday at Guaraja - It was overcast, so the beaches weren't filled, plus it was a mostly private beach area with limited public access.
My cousin's house
complete with waterfall
and fantastic views
Sunday on my private tour at Interlagos
Senna S
The tower
Pit Lane from above
Ferrari cargo boxes
One of the cars semi unpacked
Me on the track
Iguazu Falls
and a real toucan while hiking the trails
Porsche Cup qualifying
Alonso
Michael hard on the brakes
Michael making the pass
Massa wins
Very Nice. I spent 6 months in Brazil myself. I was in Belo Horizonte. One thing I found interesting is that nobody wanted to drive a convertible because you wouldn't want to get caught in traffic with the top down. You are very vulnerable to hijacking that way. I cannot wait to return. Cool trip. Looks like you had a ton of fun! I love Brazil.
Back from Brazil
..and NO I for one did not miss you OR your Giants! 
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