Out of the way

More specifically, I am on the Madrid-León Bus, going to talk to the in-and-out-laws. And being a "Supra+" class bus, it has Wifi - although it is pretty slow.

So once again I appreciate Opera Turbo mode - being able to get stuff compressed is a feature. Especially when it is stuff I am going to publish anyway

The Supra+ Bus is nice - although it should be - it isn't all that cheap. (It isn't all that expensive either, just more than the cheap bus). In particular it comes with seats that I pretty much fit into, and at a pinch can even use a laptop in, although it isn't what I would call comfortable to do that. Especially since I lost my glasses recently, so can't see so easily.

It also includes service - a hostess who brings the odd drink, and the odd snack. Plus the buses themselves are apparently better, although I am not sure how I would notice that.

This week I also took the AVE (High speed train) to Zaragoza. A trip that would take me 4 hours in a car took me two and a quarter - door to door. At a reasonable price too. But I didn't get out of my seat, and being in tourist class (my norma; mode, especially for work trips) there wasn't any service offered for those who didn't go to the cafeteria themselves.

Zaragoza itself is nice. Staying in a cheap hotel in the centre of town is worthwhile - the last time I was there I stayed in an expensive place further away, and didn't see as much of the nice bits. But then, I didn't see much of anything - this time I had a chance to walk around a little (on the way to dinner, and back from my talk by bus), which improved things.

And I just got back from Brazil. I only saw a few places - Rio, São Paulo, São Carlos (I like places named after me ), São Jose dos Campos (they name a lot of places after saints there...) and passing through we spoke in Campina but nothing more.

I enjoyed it. I loved Rio which is beach and mountains and jungle and gives the impression that if the people all moved away it would revert to a beautiful wild place in about 2 years. I wanted to be able to fly there, to swoop around and see it. So I did the next best thing, and for the first time in my life went in a helicopter - on a quick tour. Actually, it isn't nearly the same, but it was cool, and Rio is good to fly around.

São Paulo is the place to eat and drink, I think. There's a lot of it that goes on, and a lot of the food I had there was really good. Two great picanhas (that is, much better than the "merely good" ones I had elsewhere) and a handful of empanadas were among the highlights that stick in my mind. "Original" was the beer that I enjoyed the most (Brahma black was way too sweet for me) although the od Caipirinha wasn't bad. And a taste of someone else's (Daniel? Juliana?) Mojito in São Carlos was also one of the best mojitos I have run across recently.

And next week, California. Two days of travel, two and a half days of work, and probably not enough sleep, squeezed into four days. Well, it is nice to meet up with friends, so I will be looking forward to that bit. (Actually I generally enjoy my work, too ).