First thing I have to say about the beaches in Rio...There are some beautiful people and they all go to the beach. We walked out on the beach and rented a chair for 7,00 reais (about $4 US). In fact the entire day with drinks, chairs, and all cost us about 50 reais ($30 US). We spent about four hours on the beach. I spent a lot of it under my umbrella watching the waves roll through the turquoise water and crash to the shore. This town is centered around beach life. Shorts are rare, speedos are common and nice bodies are the rule. Made me wish I had taken weight watchers a little more seriously. Then I thought, "It's Rio, who cares" peeled off my shirt and ran out to the water with my friends. The waves here were serious. They'd drag you out and push you in as they came crashing down. There were a few times I had to pull my suit back up. Although it was cold, it was a blast. We went back to our chairs and people watched some more before deciding to head home.
After we got back home there were showers and a trip to the mall for some sim cards and dinner. Now it's 12:31AM and everyone is getting ready to hit the clubs. I'm on the fence. If I go to this I'm not going to pride tomorrow. There has to be more to Rio then trying to find large concentrations of gay men. I want to see the city. I've seen the beach. I think I may split from the group tomorrow and do my own thing. It's hard to believe but after tomorrow we only have two more full days here and then it's back to Houston. And though I'd prefer sitting in a beach side restaurant having acai paste, granola and bananas for breakfast with some fresh squeezed Ubru over dancing the night away at the clubs, I have to say I'm loving this city. Just being here is energizing. The constant breezes. The people all seem pleasant and happy. The word you hear the most is "Obragado" which means "thank you." You know that word and you'll get far.
This morning when Alex and I were having our breakfast by the beach we both agreed, we could spend a month here. I wish all my friends and family could be here. I know, I know, different strokes for different folks, but I can't imagine a life where I don't occasionally go to a place where no one speaks my language. I learn that though I get scared and I'm not comfortable, I can do it. I can make it. That's an important thing for me to remember. It's also nice to realize that even when the economy is in the tank, our life in the US is pretty good. Good enough that I could conceive of being in Rio for a month. I'm feeling pretty energetic, I think I'm going to go out.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
In Rio de Janeiro (Trip report and day 1)
Whenever I'm leaving for vacation I always imagine the experience as something like Pilgrim's Progress. I'm cutting off heavy load called "work" that I carry with me. Whenever I have a trip experience where things go wrong, I imagine it's like work trying to drag me back. Take four people on three flights with six segments through six various airports, combine with some bad weather and you have a recipe for a "Anything Could Happen" casserole.
My 9pm departure from Houston direct to Rio de Janeiro did not leave until after midnight, over three hours late. I was going to be the earliest to arrive and now I thought I'd be the latest. Since there was nothing I could do to speed the plane up I just sat back and enjoyed the 9hr 10min flight to Rio. I decided to upgrade myself to first class. I'm glad I did. The food and service were "ok". The real benefit for me was after the meal when everyone in the cabin pulled out their masks and ear plugs then laid their seats down, extended the leg rests and went to sleep. I slept until it was time for breakfast. It was very relaxing. Then, we landed. That's the end of the relaxing.
I was supposed to meet two others who were coming from Dallas at the airport. When I checked the arrival boards I could not find their flight. Two hours later I found out they weren't coming to that airport. I found myself in the circumstance I feared the most. No idea where anyone was. No idea how to speak to anyone in a place that was foreign to me. I was making calls to the people back in the states. I finally heard from Alex, we agreed I would join him at his airport. I arrived there around 5pm, four hours after landing.
On the cab ride over I saw much a very stratified Rio. Slums called favelas full of precariously stacked apartments, some only partly finished pushed up against a freeway of crawling traffic where motor cycles wiz between cars and vendors walk along the narrow medians selling food to people in their crawls as we crawled along. Then, we turned a corner, and we were on the main drag to Copacabana. As we entered the city the scenery changed dramatically. Lovely tree lined vistas, parks where kids were playing soccer and large buildings took the place of sprawling squaller. The people changed too. All dressed in shorts, sun glasses and some with shirts.
I arrived at the other airport to find Alex waiting. My trip at this point changed dramatically. I had someone who could speak the language. We stopped at a food stand and ordered some thing that was a blend between empanadas and a corn dog. It was delicious. Then we headed over to the apartment we would be renting for the week.
The feeling of getting to a "home" is such a grounding and secure feeling. It's nice to have a place to put down your bags. We dropped of four bags and hit the streets. We found a grocery and picked up some food and water and such. Then we headed back to the apartment and met up with the rest of our party. They dropped off their bags and we all got dressed and walked down to the beach to find some food.
From dinner we headed to a club. Clubs, in general, are almost all the same. They have the same types of people. This one was no different, save for the music sucked. It was stuff that we would have heard on the radio in the US years ago. Another interesting thing, it was all in English. That was fun to sing along with. We were out until 2'ish and then we headed for pizza.
I have to say that I enjoy not being single. But it can also be annoying. When the energy of the group is devoted to finding and meeting guys it can take away from the fun of dancing and hanging out with friends. Tying your self worth to the chance of meeting someone in a club is a risky bet. in my experience it is usually the people who are there to have fun who tend to get the attention. Something about people having a good time and not worrying about making eye contact or standing over in a certain part of the bar in order to try and get the attention of someone just seems to be a waste of an evening. I do also realize that I view things a little differently. My looks are not something that I've ever leaned on in order to make friends or meet people.
My 9pm departure from Houston direct to Rio de Janeiro did not leave until after midnight, over three hours late. I was going to be the earliest to arrive and now I thought I'd be the latest. Since there was nothing I could do to speed the plane up I just sat back and enjoyed the 9hr 10min flight to Rio. I decided to upgrade myself to first class. I'm glad I did. The food and service were "ok". The real benefit for me was after the meal when everyone in the cabin pulled out their masks and ear plugs then laid their seats down, extended the leg rests and went to sleep. I slept until it was time for breakfast. It was very relaxing. Then, we landed. That's the end of the relaxing.
I was supposed to meet two others who were coming from Dallas at the airport. When I checked the arrival boards I could not find their flight. Two hours later I found out they weren't coming to that airport. I found myself in the circumstance I feared the most. No idea where anyone was. No idea how to speak to anyone in a place that was foreign to me. I was making calls to the people back in the states. I finally heard from Alex, we agreed I would join him at his airport. I arrived there around 5pm, four hours after landing.
On the cab ride over I saw much a very stratified Rio. Slums called favelas full of precariously stacked apartments, some only partly finished pushed up against a freeway of crawling traffic where motor cycles wiz between cars and vendors walk along the narrow medians selling food to people in their crawls as we crawled along. Then, we turned a corner, and we were on the main drag to Copacabana. As we entered the city the scenery changed dramatically. Lovely tree lined vistas, parks where kids were playing soccer and large buildings took the place of sprawling squaller. The people changed too. All dressed in shorts, sun glasses and some with shirts.
I arrived at the other airport to find Alex waiting. My trip at this point changed dramatically. I had someone who could speak the language. We stopped at a food stand and ordered some thing that was a blend between empanadas and a corn dog. It was delicious. Then we headed over to the apartment we would be renting for the week.
The feeling of getting to a "home" is such a grounding and secure feeling. It's nice to have a place to put down your bags. We dropped of four bags and hit the streets. We found a grocery and picked up some food and water and such. Then we headed back to the apartment and met up with the rest of our party. They dropped off their bags and we all got dressed and walked down to the beach to find some food.
From dinner we headed to a club. Clubs, in general, are almost all the same. They have the same types of people. This one was no different, save for the music sucked. It was stuff that we would have heard on the radio in the US years ago. Another interesting thing, it was all in English. That was fun to sing along with. We were out until 2'ish and then we headed for pizza.
I have to say that I enjoy not being single. But it can also be annoying. When the energy of the group is devoted to finding and meeting guys it can take away from the fun of dancing and hanging out with friends. Tying your self worth to the chance of meeting someone in a club is a risky bet. in my experience it is usually the people who are there to have fun who tend to get the attention. Something about people having a good time and not worrying about making eye contact or standing over in a certain part of the bar in order to try and get the attention of someone just seems to be a waste of an evening. I do also realize that I view things a little differently. My looks are not something that I've ever leaned on in order to make friends or meet people.
Prologue
When my friend Alex said, “You should come to Rio with us next time!” The year was 2004 and a lot had happened to me in that one day in August that had lead me to Alex’s dinner table. Between now and then we became close friends. I say this only to point out that this trip has significance beyond just going to another place. It’s something a friend and I have talked about doing for a long time. That is important for me. It is important that I live a life of “I wanted to and I did” as opposed to “I’ve always wished I could have.” And now, even if I had to go home tomorrow, I’ve been to Rio de Janeiro. I wanted to do it and I did it
Monday, April 20, 2009
Washington DC day 3
Today was wet. It rained almost all day. Combine that with temperatures in the 50's and we were in winter again. We started our day with a tour of the US Capitol. Waste of time. We waited in various lines for about 30 minutes for a tour of basically two rooms with a tour guide who could be the daughter of Gretta Vansustren. We saw the Rotunda and Statuary Hall. After that we went over to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Cool stuff! After that we headed over to the Natural History Museum and saw the Hope Diamond. Then we headed down to the American History Museum saw the Ruby Slippers, Kermit D. Frog, Oscar the Grouch and a bunch of gowns worn by former first ladies. We had dinner at Old Ebbitt's which was a PJ Blands. Back at the hotel now staying out of the rain.
Tomorrow we are renting a car and heading to Udvar-Hazey, National Cathedral, Arlington Cemetery, and to dinner with some friends.
Tomorrow we are renting a car and heading to Udvar-Hazey, National Cathedral, Arlington Cemetery, and to dinner with some friends.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Washington, DC - Day 2
Today was started with rest. We did not leave the hotel room until almost lunch to head off to Steven Udvar-Hazey. We stopped off at a Subway on our way to the subway. We headed out towards the airport where the air and space museum was. We arrived to realize we were not carrying exact change bus fair and could not find somewhere to get change on a Sunday. SOOOOO we turned back around and headed to the mall. We went to the museum of modern art and saw some disturbing stuff. Jeremy said ti best, "modern art is something anyone could do, the artist was just the one to think it up." My favorite piece was the big man. He looks SO REAL.
We wondered through some sculpture gardens then over to the American History Museum to find it packed. We'll be going back during the rainy week ahead. We then went over to the American National Holocaust Museum. This place was terrible. It was laid out like a 4-story Ikea, death march and all. The place was packed, over-loaded to be exact. The experience of the museum was greatly diminished because we were shuffling through oh so slowly.
We finished up at the museum and got back to our hotel around 5PM. This hotel is the most curious place I have ever stayed. It's like if a Star Trek and a James Bond film collided.
We rested a bit and then headed out to Marvin's a Belgian/Soul Food fusion restaurant. It wasn't amazing, just good. We walked back to the hotel and have decided to call it a night.
Tomorrow we go see the Capitol and do more museuming.
We wondered through some sculpture gardens then over to the American History Museum to find it packed. We'll be going back during the rainy week ahead. We then went over to the American National Holocaust Museum. This place was terrible. It was laid out like a 4-story Ikea, death march and all. The place was packed, over-loaded to be exact. The experience of the museum was greatly diminished because we were shuffling through oh so slowly.
We finished up at the museum and got back to our hotel around 5PM. This hotel is the most curious place I have ever stayed. It's like if a Star Trek and a James Bond film collided.
We rested a bit and then headed out to Marvin's a Belgian/Soul Food fusion restaurant. It wasn't amazing, just good. We walked back to the hotel and have decided to call it a night.
Tomorrow we go see the Capitol and do more museuming.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Houston to Washington DC trip report and first night in DC
Wow, it what a long day! We left the house today at 9:30 AM for our 10:50 flight. Made it to the airport around 10:10 (just in time to check our bags by 10:20 AM). (This schedule is called the Guy Felder plan. The ultimate goal of the Guy Felder plan is to arrive at the gate after everyone has boarded and before they close the cabin door. With the Guy Felder plan there is very little waiting in line and no standing in the gate area. However, the Guy Felder plan makes some people nervous. I concede to those people that the Guy Felder plan leaves very little room for error, this is why it should only be deployed at one's home airport.)
We were on the plane by 10:40 in the morning getting settled in for our flight. We ended up sharing a row with Anise Parker (who is running for Mayor of Houston and has my support), so that was cool. We were told around 10:45 that we did not have a full crew and that they were waiting for a first officer from a flight from Austin so we would be leaving shortly after 11:00AM. I turned to Anise and Jeremy and said, "We we won't be out of here before noon." Ten minutes later the pilot came on again and announced that the airport was closed due to weather and we were going to de-plane.
Weather delays happen. There is no point in getting upset about it; it's one of those "help to accept the things I can not control" sort of things. Jeremy and I got comfy around an electrical outlet and began to entertain ourselves with various movies. At first they told us 12:30, then 2:30 then 4:00. We did not get back on again until 4:00 in the afternoon, five hours later. I can't say that the delay was difficult. I watched a movie and read a book and just took it in stride. I could be sitting at home or sitting at an airport. We landed in Washington, DC around 8:00 PM (5.5 hours late). If you ever fly to Washington DC I suggest landing at Reagan National Airport and sitting on the left side of the plane with a window view. On approach the plans flies right past the National Cathedral, Watergate hotel, Kennedy Center, all the monuments on the mall and then turns to touch down. You get to see a great aerial view of how the mall is laid out. We grabbed our luggage and hopped on the Metro into DC.
I have to say that I always enjoy being a city where there great public transit and DC, while no New York or Chicago, has pretty good mass transit. The metro stations are clean and the trains come at pretty regular intervals. We had to walk about .25 miles from our station to the hotel with luggage in tow.
The subway stations on the DC Metro or beautiful. They look as though they were designed in the 1960's. I am not a design expert but the use of concrete and lighting is amazing. Most subway stations in New York and Chicago or these low ceilinged, drippy, dank platforms where the train is preceded by a rush of dank air. These metro stations were like being inside a large coffered archways with lights that shine up from either side and from the middle.
After we checked into our hotel we checked out the maps to find the best way down to the mall. We hopped back onto the subway for a short ride over to the Smithsonian museums and then did the rest of the trip on foot.
I love seeing the mall at night. The entire mall is either dimly lit or not lit at all which is in stark contrast to the monuments which are brightly lit. It is a really neat affect. I like it because it tends to mask the people, it almost feels like it's just you and monument.
Click here to see a map of our treck (I can't figure out how to get it to embed).
We started out over on the Smithsonian side of the mall and headed straight for the Washington Monument. We walked around the monument watching the shadows of the people who played in the lights. Just after the Washington Monument is the newest monument, the World War II monument. The best way I can describe it is theatrical. It is full of waterfalls and lights with huge pillars. Very loud and bombastic. it is nice to visit, but not one of my favorite ones. We left the World War II monument and decided to walk down the reflecting pond towards the Lincoln Memorial. I love the Lincoln Memorial, especially at night.
As you walk towards it you begin to see President Lincoln's statue appearing from behind the columns, it is almost like it is glowing. Then you walk up the main steps and into the monument and I find that I have to just stand there for a moment in front of that huge statue of President Lincoln seated in that chair. Every time I go there I am moved deeply. I am moved because it is a very tangible realization of my national heritage which is something we do not have a lot of in places outside of our capitol.
On either side of the Lincoln Memorial there are two great speeches inscribed; the Gettysburg Address and his 2nd Inaugural. I am familiar with both, however, I wanted to read them again. As I read the Gettysburg address I felt a great sense of shame towards those in my state who, today, talk of secession. I stood there, reading these lines inscribed on the wall:
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
I thought to myself, "how dare they?" How dare they who bring up secession because the freely elected leaders of this country are not leading as they see fit even suggest that such a thing should happen. How dare they devalue the lives of every person who fought in the civil war? I went and sat on the steps of the memorial and looked back out over the reflection pond at the Washington Monument. I snapped this picture (that's Jeremy's head.)
We then headed off to see our last monument, The Jefferson Memorial. To get there you have to walk past the Korean War Memorial. Out of all the war memorials the Korean War and World War I memorials are my favorites. The Korean War memorial is just statues of soldiers in tableau. It is very moving (no pun intended). World War I is a stone gazebo tucked away in the woods on the side of the mall. It is so peaceful, many times people can be seen there just reading a book.
I snapped a few photos as we headed around the tidal basin to the Jefferson Memorial.
Jefferson Memorial is another one that I find very moving. This larger than life statue of Jefferson standing in the middle of a beautiful rotunda. The proportions are just awesome. As I read the text on the walls this one stood out to me the most:
"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
We landed back at the hotel around midnight ready for bed. Today we plan on the following:
National and and Space Museum
United State Holocaust Museum
To see all the pictures from last night go to: http://gallery.me.com/casperey1978#100042
We were on the plane by 10:40 in the morning getting settled in for our flight. We ended up sharing a row with Anise Parker (who is running for Mayor of Houston and has my support), so that was cool. We were told around 10:45 that we did not have a full crew and that they were waiting for a first officer from a flight from Austin so we would be leaving shortly after 11:00AM. I turned to Anise and Jeremy and said, "We we won't be out of here before noon." Ten minutes later the pilot came on again and announced that the airport was closed due to weather and we were going to de-plane.
Weather delays happen. There is no point in getting upset about it; it's one of those "help to accept the things I can not control" sort of things. Jeremy and I got comfy around an electrical outlet and began to entertain ourselves with various movies. At first they told us 12:30, then 2:30 then 4:00. We did not get back on again until 4:00 in the afternoon, five hours later. I can't say that the delay was difficult. I watched a movie and read a book and just took it in stride. I could be sitting at home or sitting at an airport. We landed in Washington, DC around 8:00 PM (5.5 hours late). If you ever fly to Washington DC I suggest landing at Reagan National Airport and sitting on the left side of the plane with a window view. On approach the plans flies right past the National Cathedral, Watergate hotel, Kennedy Center, all the monuments on the mall and then turns to touch down. You get to see a great aerial view of how the mall is laid out. We grabbed our luggage and hopped on the Metro into DC.
I have to say that I always enjoy being a city where there great public transit and DC, while no New York or Chicago, has pretty good mass transit. The metro stations are clean and the trains come at pretty regular intervals. We had to walk about .25 miles from our station to the hotel with luggage in tow.
The subway stations on the DC Metro or beautiful. They look as though they were designed in the 1960's. I am not a design expert but the use of concrete and lighting is amazing. Most subway stations in New York and Chicago or these low ceilinged, drippy, dank platforms where the train is preceded by a rush of dank air. These metro stations were like being inside a large coffered archways with lights that shine up from either side and from the middle.
After we checked into our hotel we checked out the maps to find the best way down to the mall. We hopped back onto the subway for a short ride over to the Smithsonian museums and then did the rest of the trip on foot.
I love seeing the mall at night. The entire mall is either dimly lit or not lit at all which is in stark contrast to the monuments which are brightly lit. It is a really neat affect. I like it because it tends to mask the people, it almost feels like it's just you and monument.
Click here to see a map of our treck (I can't figure out how to get it to embed).
We started out over on the Smithsonian side of the mall and headed straight for the Washington Monument. We walked around the monument watching the shadows of the people who played in the lights. Just after the Washington Monument is the newest monument, the World War II monument. The best way I can describe it is theatrical. It is full of waterfalls and lights with huge pillars. Very loud and bombastic. it is nice to visit, but not one of my favorite ones. We left the World War II monument and decided to walk down the reflecting pond towards the Lincoln Memorial. I love the Lincoln Memorial, especially at night.
As you walk towards it you begin to see President Lincoln's statue appearing from behind the columns, it is almost like it is glowing. Then you walk up the main steps and into the monument and I find that I have to just stand there for a moment in front of that huge statue of President Lincoln seated in that chair. Every time I go there I am moved deeply. I am moved because it is a very tangible realization of my national heritage which is something we do not have a lot of in places outside of our capitol.
On either side of the Lincoln Memorial there are two great speeches inscribed; the Gettysburg Address and his 2nd Inaugural. I am familiar with both, however, I wanted to read them again. As I read the Gettysburg address I felt a great sense of shame towards those in my state who, today, talk of secession. I stood there, reading these lines inscribed on the wall:
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
I thought to myself, "how dare they?" How dare they who bring up secession because the freely elected leaders of this country are not leading as they see fit even suggest that such a thing should happen. How dare they devalue the lives of every person who fought in the civil war? I went and sat on the steps of the memorial and looked back out over the reflection pond at the Washington Monument. I snapped this picture (that's Jeremy's head.)
We then headed off to see our last monument, The Jefferson Memorial. To get there you have to walk past the Korean War Memorial. Out of all the war memorials the Korean War and World War I memorials are my favorites. The Korean War memorial is just statues of soldiers in tableau. It is very moving (no pun intended). World War I is a stone gazebo tucked away in the woods on the side of the mall. It is so peaceful, many times people can be seen there just reading a book.
I snapped a few photos as we headed around the tidal basin to the Jefferson Memorial.
Jefferson Memorial is another one that I find very moving. This larger than life statue of Jefferson standing in the middle of a beautiful rotunda. The proportions are just awesome. As I read the text on the walls this one stood out to me the most:
"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
We landed back at the hotel around midnight ready for bed. Today we plan on the following:
National and and Space Museum
United State Holocaust Museum
To see all the pictures from last night go to: http://gallery.me.com/casperey1978#100042
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