I don't know what it is about the horrible Jack guy and reliability but he promised a taxi to come pick us up at 3:30 in the morning so we could catch our flight to Recife. However, no taxi ever came... which was quite unfortunate since we weren't able to get one on our own (after turning away the first couple since we thought we had one coming) until 4 am. After the 30 minute drive with 4 people stuck in the backseat of the cab, we made it to the airport only to find out our flight was at 5:10 not 6:10 like we originally thought. And on top of that, they only had two seats when our booking was for four. This, ladies and gentleman, is what we call a travel nightmare.
Since the hotel in Recife was under my name, I was chosen to go and then Daniel accompanied me, leaving Larry and Pablo behind to catch a later flight and argue with TAM. It ended up working okay but it was quite a stressful experience for 4:30 AM in the morning. Larry and Pablo got a flight at 3pm the same day and got to spend a few hours at a 5 star hotel for all the trouble. Daniel and I went on our way and arrived in Recife as planned at 10 AM.
All in all, that first day was kind of a wash since we were all separated. And it was rainy, so when Daniel and I met up with Karl and Davina who were on separate flights, we just walked around a bit and made our way to the mall. Apparently it was a holiday so pretty much everything was closed but the food court and a few restaurants. And that's all we needed until Larry and Pablo arrived at 10 PM.
The next day, now that everyone was all together, we decided to make the trek to Olinda, a little town just north of downtown Recife that is known for its historical buildings. It was gorgeous! And had tons of character! We spent the morning there walking around and seeing the old monastery and climbing to the highest vantage point for Recife.
An old building (they didn't quite do a good job of keeping them nice, but still cool!) and a view of the ocean
One with Carl photobombing and one without
Looking towards downtown Recife, and some cool people they had at some of the artisan shops. Maybe they're something to do with Carnival? Recife is known for having one of the biggest Carnivals
More people, and then us with cutouts. We kind of love them.
The building that is at the highest point of Olinda
Panorama from the vantage point
There were some awesome views! And then I made a friend
Pretty signs for the markets, some flowers, and the view from the restaurant where we ate lunch.
And then I found kitties on the roof outside our table. And I may have fed them (sorry, Mom) but I did not adopt them! Just admired them and wanted to pet them so bad! I may have a problem or it could be that I just miss my kitties.
The old monastery!
After lunch, we went to downtown Recife and visited the first synagogue in the Americas which was located on Rua do Bom Jesus and close to a big square. It was pretty cool to see the history of it all. And I really loved all the colors of the buildings in the old downtown of Recife--which is probably not very surprising.
This Jewish girl kind of looks like my roommate Alana! And then part of the synagogue
The ceiling, and then the wall which is used to put your prayers in, similar to the way it's done at the wall in Israel
Downtown Recife!
That night, we went to the US Soccer party to have some fun with our fellow Americans. Will Ferrell made an appearance (how awesome is that?!) and Good Morning America was there, which apparently I was on! (6 minutes into the GMA from 6/26). It was PACKED and a great time just hanging out and getting pumped for the game on Thursday!
So many people! And the live taping!
We were lucky that it didn't rain much on Wednesday but we were not so lucky on Thursday. We woke up early since we had the 1 PM game, and as soon as we looked out the windows, we noticed that the streets were flooding. We also were told that no cabs were really available so it was best to take the train, which was a-okay with me. Except I'd actually made an effort on my hair (four days of braids due to the heat/humidity of Manaus can get quite old) which was soon to be ruined, sad day.
It was about a 20 minute walk to the metro in the downpour, but we were accompanied by tons of other fans so that made it better. And the train was so easy for getting to the stadium. One line change, then hop in a bus, then walk about a half mile and viola--stadium! Except this easy route probably took about an hour.
We eventually made it to the stadium and first stop for me was to get a souvenir cup so I would have my completed collection (1 for each game we attended). Success! then it was time to find our seats. Thankfully we were about 20 rows up which meant we were under the overhang. And as many of you may know, this turned out to be fortuitous because apparently we looked put together enough to get on TV! So exciting!
Proof that my hair DID look good at some point in the day--then later with Larry after we got rained on
Excited and drenched but in the stadium!
Davina, Pablo, Daniel, me, and Larry (we wouldn't let Karl in because he was rooting for Germany)
Timmy Howard! He's the MAN!
My moment of fame. Holla atcha girl!
The team warming up and then clapping for the crowd after we officially clinched advancing from the Group of Death! YEAH USA!
However, the game was a bit dull. We were definitely more defensive minded and did a good job of putting Germany off, but Muller's goal to put them ahead was fantastic. But we weren't as worried because we had already heard that Portugal had gone up on Ghana 1-0--which meant if both results stood, we were through! Once Ghana equalized, we were a little more nervous, especially since the US couldn't seem to get any shots on goal or maintain possession but as soon as Portugal went back on top 2-1 (thanks Ronaldo, I love you!), we were all really, really excited. just had to hold on! And oh, we came so close to equalizing in extra time. That would have been icing on the cake! At the end though, we lost but it felt like a win because WE ADVANCED!!!! We were so happy! And now I kind of wish that I had enough vacation (and funds) to make the trip to Salvador to watch us take on Belgium. Oh well.
After the game, we grabbed our stuff and a taxi to get to the Sheraton where my fabulous roommate Alana had booked us a free room using our points. She's basically my hero. The Sheraton had only been open for 10 days so it was brand-spanking new and oh so nice. And it was right by a private beach so we definitely took our selves over there and soaked up the sun. Maybe a little too much, but you know, it happens.
Two queen beds and luxury--thanks again Alana!!! And the beach, some rain but it actually managed to skip us all day :)
Looking down the beach, and the pool at the Sheraton
Sadly we couldn't really swim in the ocean because the area is known for deadly shark attacks, and for obvious reasons I didn't quite want to risk that--talk about a horrible end to the trip. But after some time at the beach, we went to the hotel pool which was equally fabulous and I could finally fully submerge myself in water. It was so relaxing. I am fully happy with choosing that way to end our trip.
And with that, our time to Recife came to a close. Next stop Sao Paulo for a couple days and then home!
