Formula 1 In Rio

The concentration on the face of the drivers, waiting fo the red light to go out. A glance either side, checking on the competition and it's a go, go, go. 1st gear, 2nd gear, 3rd. Swerve to block the overtake, line up for the corner, brake hard, down shift and acceleate through feeding the wheel just the right amount to get the maximum speed. Avoid the pedestrians on the crossing, veer accross three lanes and back again to get ahead of a truck and stop at the red light in a position that will certainly allow our Taxi to be the first away, even if there are 4 cars in front. All of them thinking the same thing.

Driving in Brazil is an art form. I'm not suprised this country has had several formula 1 supremo's. They all drive like maniacs, and the Bikers ! If there is a gap they will go for it. Horns honking to make sure Barrichello or Massa in the car in front knows they are coming through, gap or not. And for the pedestrians. Don't even bother trying to cross anywhere but at the lights. It's not worth the risk of 'person' racer (everyone from little boy to Big women are racers here,) maybe coming round the corner.

We took the 6 hour bus journey to Rio today. Executivo style, reclining seats, air con, snacks, plastic wrapped pillow and blanket, It was comfy but my word, taking a pee at 70 mile an hour while swerving through traffic is tricky. The F1 Brazilian Grand Prix is at the end of the month, unfortunately we shall be in Bolivia by then.

The long walk

We are having a very lazy day today as yesterday... we decided to have a wander around the streets of Sao Paulo. In many of our guide books they give some helpful options for what to do if you only have a certain amount of time on one place - no such luck with this city and due to its sheer size, I now know why!

So... with plenty of water and the travely book in our bag, we went walking. We headed towards to MASP (Museum of Art, Sao Paulo) and discovered a lovely Park opposite, so we ventured in. It was the stangest place with really tall trees which seemed to cast a very calming auru onto the place. The seats were all carved from lovely dark wood and the place was so quiet despite just being off one of the main Avenues.

From there we grabbed some lunch - hot dogs with everything on them (and I mean everything) and started wandering back along the street in the direction of the main Park in SP. After about an hour we reached our destination... a massive park in the city with 3 lakes, a planetarium and numerous running tracks. From there we discovered we weren't too far from one of the main shopping malls - and one of the 2 Tiffanys in SP. We headed in that direction and an hour later we got to the mall!!! We were shattered... and after walking past a Louis Vitton shop and other extremely expensive places... we headed for the exit and a bus a home... but we didn't know where to get the bus, so we walked home!!!! In total we did over 10 miles and hopefully this link will work... the long walk. We got to see lovely parts of SP, but they were all hidden behind electric fences. Just one more Tiffanys to find here and that's me until Sydney.

I'm going to sit in the sun now - even though the clouds have gathered. xx

Sao Paulo - Arrived but only just

Long story, put short we had ticket problems, volunteered our seat but ended up in Sao Paulo at 05:30 in the morning. Eventually got our room in the hotel (6 hours early was a bit much to ask) but have had some sleep and are heading for food. We hope to update more later.

So long and thanks for all the fish!

After only 4 hours sleep, we had packed the house and the bags. Finally reaady for the off.

We're seeing the wood!

Finally - after a week of going through clothes, documents and lists, we are finally seeing the wood!!

After a LOT of help from Lesley and Steven... our home is finally looking a lot cleaner and clearer. I think Lesley is like a hurricane - only she leaves a clean path after she's been, but they are both a blessing in disguise and have sped up the task of clearing our house of junk so much faster than we could ever. Chris' mum is also great taking the ironing off my hands - perhaps we should go away more often!

Some people can spend months or years researching and intricately planning a trip such as ours, but if we were people like that - (which would be far too organised for us in the first place), all the fun and buzz of last minute panicking would be missing. Ok, not so last minute as Chris usually is - the morning of departure, but certainly not more than the day before!!!
To be honest, only Chris and I could be mad enough to not only try to plan a year away from home, but also manage to both pass our motorcycle tests! I don't like to brag, but I'm still extremely chuffed that I passed my exam. But the idea of a motorbike will have to be put on hold until at least our year is up! Ah well still... anyone want to buy a scenic? xx

Can't wait to just get on the plane !!!

It has been a nice week off work with one problem. We just have too much to do and no desire to do it. Hours spent searching online for the best deal has helped to save the pennies (the standard currency is the 'one night in Thailand') Everything we buy to take with us comes out of our ever decreasing budget. Jude and I went for a meal tonight, our 4 year anniversary, that would have been 4 nights accomodation in Thailand with breakfast!

Not long to go though and the last minute purchases are being sought. The house to tidy and pack, the grass to cut, the car to sell (anyone want to buy a Scenic ?) Drinks with friends, drinks with family (both sets) and a few personal goodbyes, it's all a lot of work and at this stage, I just want to get on a plane and go see the world.

The Last Supper... lunch..... day of work

It's been nearly 10 years since I joined work, I only came in for a week but our travel plans are partly thanks to a year long career break. Knowing that I do not have to come to work on Monday morning is a bit strange. Both Jude and I have had lots of good wishes, kind presents and lovely cards. We'll miss working for Auntie but with only 54 weeks of leave, we have a lot to do !