Não Fala Portugues

I feel as though it's the end of an era.  After almost four years of living and traveling abroad for Google, I'm finally at home most of the time. As much as I've enjoyed my many adventures, it's lovely to be back.  If I do regret giving up my peripatetic ways, it is only because I will miss the wonderful people I've had the pleasure of working with and walking among.  Chief among these are the Brazilians.  I joke all the time with my Brazilian team that they are teaching me better manners.  I have never started a meeting in Brazil without each and every person in the room greeting one another, and bestowing a kiss on the cheek.  The same ritual repeats itself for every departure.  You never feel unacknowledged or overlooked in this gracious and fun-loving bunch. It's a social skill that I hope I can instill in my children, to see and acknowledge each person they meet with confidence and grace.

Brazilians are famed for their ability to party, not just at Carnival, but whenever the occasion demands it.  Should you go to Brazil, you will find yourself pulled out on the dance floor to samba, plied with Caipirinhas made from the local brew, Cachaça, and fed ridiculous quantities of churrascaria. This is so much a ritual that whole restaurants are devoted to it, and we came to know them fondly as "The Meat Parade," for their Stop / Go signs and endless rounds of luscious grilled meat.  After much sampling, my favorite place is Fogo de Chao; it is the buffet experience to end all buffet experiences.  Be sure to ask for the picanha and the warm, grilled mozzarella balls - both are amazing.  My second-favorite Brazilian food experience is pao de queijo.  A traditional Brazilian compliment to the churrascaria meal, these soft and springy cheese bread puffs are fantastic, but it doesn't stop there.  Oh no.  Some savant decided that the redundancy of cheese bread filled with warm soft cheese could only make life better and Casa de Pao de Queijo was born. If you go to Brazil, do not miss the opportunity to have one; both the white and yellow cheese fillings are fantastic.

I spent almost all of my time in São Paulo, and came to know it as a cosmopolitan and energetic city.  There are stark dichotomies everywhere.  Sparkling high rises are girded with warrens of flavelas. Bold graffiti that looks more like modern art adorns colonial buildings.  Gracious, futuristic bridges arc over the river, but the streets are choked with traffic.  I like to think, thanks to my year-and-a-half living in Delhi, that I've seen some truly spectacular traffic, but  São Paulo takes the cake.  Lord help you if there's a transportation strike or accident - you might never get where you're going.  I've had colleagues spend 3 hours on a 5 mile commute, only to turn back home in the end.  They say the truly wealthy in São Paulo commute by helicopter, and you can definitely buy one in the high-end shopping mall downtown.  Many of this will change in the next few years, I hope.  Not only is Brazil's economy booming, but they are hosting both the World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics; these will force some order into the public transportation system, or there will be a meltdown of catastrophic proportions.

If you go to São Paulo, there are some bits and pieces I would tell you - it's by no means a complete travel guide, but a girl does what she can:

• I reiterate - do not miss the caipirinhas, churrascaria, or pao de queijo.
• The Sheraton World Trade Center has amazing service.  Their night clerk remembered me, where I worked, and why I was in São Paulo after a year. The rooms are lovely and they give you locally made rose-scented lotion and soap, which I love.
• Go to the Hotel Unique. The views from the rooftop bar are among the best in the city. You can have an amazing meal at Skye, or just enjoy cocktails and appetizers outside under the stars.  This is not to be missed.  It's one of the nicest hotels and most-elegant dining experiences I've ever seen or experienced.
• The circular kiosk cab stand, just outside the doors at the airport, will take credit cards, speak English and get you anywhere in the city.  This is a huge relief when you're stumbling around tired and gritty, after your red eye.
• The Mercure Grand Hotel do Parque Ibirapuera has comfortable, sparkling clean rooms and will let you use their gym to clean up, if your room's not ready.  But, even more importantly, their cafe serves the best almond croissants I have ever had in my life, bar none.  Seriously - better than Paris, France, better than Gayle's French Bakery in Capitola, better than anybody.
• Leave for the airport at least 3 hours before you need to be there. Yeah, that's right, FIVE full hours before your flight. Not kidding.
• Want to have the best night's sleep you've ever had on an airplane? Hit Fogo de Chao on the way to the airport.  The meat coma will take you at least as far as Dallas or Miami.
• When you tire of the meat parade, Due Cuochi will make you a wonderful Italian meal.
• Brown Sugar Restaurant and Lounge makes amazing cocktails - get the Caipirinha or Caipiroska with muddled "red fruits," and very tasty dinners.  They have both indoor and outdoor seating and a great bar area.
• Fortune cookies are far more profound in Brazilian Portuguese, than in any other language. Here are two of my favorites:

"A inteligência é inata, mas a sabedoria se aprende." - Roughly translated, "Intelligence is innate, but wisdom must be learned."

"Aquele que faz e promove o bem, cultiva o seu proprio exito."  - Roughly, "She who creates and promotes good, cultivates her own success."