So in the effort to correct my mistake of not checking game times prior to booking flights, I arrived at the airport several hours early. I experienced fantastic Delta customer service when checking my bag through to my international destination that's on a separate reservation.And bonus, it was no fee, despite what I was told in the reservation line.
I breezed through TSA Pre-Check...first time using my KTN. I don't know how long that I didn't have to walk sock footed through an airport metal detector! Brilliant!
LGA terminal D clearly has way more amenities than most airports I've seem. Ipads and outlets everywhere!
I arrived in Atlanta and saw the last few minutes of the Spain-Netherlands match before stressing over a Delta message that my bag did not arrive "at my final destination" which oddly enough was now São Paulo 15 hours in the future since I had checked it through). I immediately joined Jim at Buffalo Wild Wings and fortunately he "knows people" at Delta and was able to confirm my bag actually arrived before I did (I checked in early attempting to fly early on standby to catch the games). I was then able to enjoy the rest of the beat down on Spain by Netherlands who had no room for Batman because they had Robin and Robben!
We hustled to the gate and were delighted to discover we got the business class upgrade as we hoped and enjoyed the 9.5 hour flight in our flat-lying pods with pillow and comforter eating smoked salmon, spare ribs and sundaes while watching free movies. That's the way to travel!
Jim and I arrived in São Paulo and waded though the customs line before I was finally relieved to see my bag waiting for me. We were met by a taxi driver, Ailton, whom we hired for the day through a very helpful Microsoft colleague. I had my first experience of non-success at the ATM, but fortunately Jim was luckier than me.
Once I had data service, I quickly tapped into my google translator app (discovered I hadn't downloaded Portuguese) and we were off and running! We had breakfast at a cafe called Barcelona (what else would it be named in Brasil?) near the Museo do Futebal at Estádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho. It was a super cool history of the beautiful sport, even if most of it was in Portuguese. There's no need to translate images and videos of amazing football events and stars!
After the museum we headed to collect my match tickets and got a passing look at Paulista Avenue along thru way. Then finally, i had the tickets in hand!
Then Ailton, Jim and I dined at a churrascaria, Brazilian style gorging. It was fantastic food, my only regret was not saving a week's worth of an appetite.
Again, poorly planned the flights resulted in missing matches, so we were disappointed to discover the one TV showing the only match we'd see at all was a standing room only snack shop. We felt luck to have caught the first half of Uruguay-Costa Rica until we checked all the missed results upon landing in Natal. We missed the big Uruguay upset and apparently the best game to date with Italy edging out England 2-1.
Adding insult to injury, we arrived in Natal on the third day of unprecedented torrential rain and flooding you a brand new, yet still incomplete airport (leaky ceilings, missing bathroom counters and toilet roll holders, etc.). Thankfully we arranged transport with only a short delay and our driver expertly navigated the flooded roads getting us to Hotel Maine safely, however we agreed in hindsight a boat might have been the better option.
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