Vamos Brasil!!!!!

   Well... After one attempt to get to Australia and a couple tries to get to South Africa, I find myself in another country that has always been on my bucket list: Brazil! Fortunately, since I am traveling solo and am off until April, I can be extremely flexible with where I go, how long I spend there, etc. I will get to Australia and South Africa sooner than later, but for now I am very excited to be here!

   I landed around 9 am this morning from ATL. It was already 80 degrees out and humid. My Uber to the hotel was about 45 minutes and only cost $14! I'm staying right in the center of the city as you can see from the Google maps screenshot above. Sao Paulo is a vast, expansive city which I noticed during decent and got some pretty cool photos from the plane. 

   I had to take a nap when I got here. Although I did have a Delta One seat with a lie flight bed, I think I was too excited to sleep during the flight. I just got back in from my first jaunt around the neighborhood. I really wish I started my Portuguese lessons already! It will be pretty easy to get by here though, having a decent Spanish vocabulary. 

  One of the first things I noticed, even driving in, was the graffiti. It is truly an art form here! There were some huge, impressive murals and I can't wait to see and photograph more. It's 5:30 pm here and I probably won't do much today. My hotel is simple, clean, and in a good location. I found a grocery store on my walk and got some bread, cold cuts, and sliced cheese (my go to when traveling pretty much anywhere outside of the US). 

  I'm going to have a relaxing night and get an early start tomorrow to see the sites and hopefully beat the worst of the heat. It looks like there's a 50% chance of rain every day, but that's to be expected. I'm sure like most tropical places, rain comes and goes pretty quickly most of the time. Below are some pictures from my immediate neighborhood and the nearby park. More to come tomorrow!