Hello Again:
I decided to write one email to everyone - so as not to duplicate - and it serves as my travelogue.
I forgot to mention the warm swine flu welcome we received deplaning. We were greeted with a woman wearing a mask, handing out flyers in Portuguese, English and Spanish and then all the customs people were wearing masks too. There were about 500 or more people in a large room in very long lines. Achoo. Achoo. Cover your mouth! People! Come on now - you just got a flyer! Anyhow, I had clean hands throughout the flight and no one within a 2 seat radius sneezed on me.
The drive from Porto Alegre to Gramado was interesting. The first part - a little rough and tumble blue collar neighborhood that reminded me of the drive from Cabo to our wonderful all inclusive. But after about 20 minutes, the scenery changed and it was very beautiful- lush and green vistas, happy little cows (I think - they looked pretty happy) and the center of Gramado looked very continental, upscale and with-it. I only saw the center of town from the car and can't wait to walk around. It is a vacation place for Brazilians and Europeans, especially Germans and Italians and there are suppose to be some great restaurants. Speaking of food. I didn't cheat today. I have a box of TJ chocolates still unwrapped. 1200 calories. Wow.
Last night - dinner was a real occasion. Upon walking into the dining room, (which is very elegant) I was greeted by my first name. Famous already! How did they know? Soup served with pepper if I would like. No salt. My I have a glass of water? No. Water is not allowed? Huh? Joking right? No. Bad for digestion. I was given a thimble of water to last me through dinner. Fish - very good. Potato very good. Califlower. Ok. But the best part was a harpist who played wonderful music in the small dining room - he was amazing. And at each table were tapered candles at least 2 feet high - very elegant. Wow. I had no idea what a special place this is.
I met a very nice woman from Peru who is married to a man from Kentucky. We met while I was on the computer and she offered to help me in any way she could. She has a sunny personality and is well-traveled. Unfortunately she leaves tomorrow.
There was a movie that guests could enjoy in the most stylish private auditorium I have ever seen. But then again, how many private auditoriums have I been in? I was too tired and went to bed. Only to have a knock at my door as I stumbled through the darkness to receive my evening snack - a fresh fruit gelatin. It tasted great. Guess who was hungry? After that - I went to bed and slept straight through until today - when my wake up call came through.
I decided to write one email to everyone - so as not to duplicate - and it serves as my travelogue.
I forgot to mention the warm swine flu welcome we received deplaning. We were greeted with a woman wearing a mask, handing out flyers in Portuguese, English and Spanish and then all the customs people were wearing masks too. There were about 500 or more people in a large room in very long lines. Achoo. Achoo. Cover your mouth! People! Come on now - you just got a flyer! Anyhow, I had clean hands throughout the flight and no one within a 2 seat radius sneezed on me.
The drive from Porto Alegre to Gramado was interesting. The first part - a little rough and tumble blue collar neighborhood that reminded me of the drive from Cabo to our wonderful all inclusive. But after about 20 minutes, the scenery changed and it was very beautiful- lush and green vistas, happy little cows (I think - they looked pretty happy) and the center of Gramado looked very continental, upscale and with-it. I only saw the center of town from the car and can't wait to walk around. It is a vacation place for Brazilians and Europeans, especially Germans and Italians and there are suppose to be some great restaurants. Speaking of food. I didn't cheat today. I have a box of TJ chocolates still unwrapped. 1200 calories. Wow.
Last night - dinner was a real occasion. Upon walking into the dining room, (which is very elegant) I was greeted by my first name. Famous already! How did they know? Soup served with pepper if I would like. No salt. My I have a glass of water? No. Water is not allowed? Huh? Joking right? No. Bad for digestion. I was given a thimble of water to last me through dinner. Fish - very good. Potato very good. Califlower. Ok. But the best part was a harpist who played wonderful music in the small dining room - he was amazing. And at each table were tapered candles at least 2 feet high - very elegant. Wow. I had no idea what a special place this is.
I met a very nice woman from Peru who is married to a man from Kentucky. We met while I was on the computer and she offered to help me in any way she could. She has a sunny personality and is well-traveled. Unfortunately she leaves tomorrow.
There was a movie that guests could enjoy in the most stylish private auditorium I have ever seen. But then again, how many private auditoriums have I been in? I was too tired and went to bed. Only to have a knock at my door as I stumbled through the darkness to receive my evening snack - a fresh fruit gelatin. It tasted great. Guess who was hungry? After that - I went to bed and slept straight through until today - when my wake up call came through.
.JPG)
