Whew! I am tired.

We are in Campinas after two long and painful plane rides. Both flights were packed to the gills with screaming children and parents who could not cope. The seats are definitely getting smaller and sleeping is fairly impossible for people of a certain age. I wonder how I took a two year old and a three year old to Europe. Just demented, I guess.Lindemberg met us at the airport in São Paulo. He looks much the same as he did twenty years ago - which is not something you can say for us. We drove through the outskirts of São Paulo - mostly in the industrial area under a very cloudy sky. As we got closer to Campinas, it became very sunny and we saw lots of bucolic scenery on the drive which lasted about an hour.
When we arrived Thiago had not left for school. He leaves at noon and comes home about seven. Schools do two shifts - but kids and teachers do one shift. He liked his AZ gifts. Monica came home for lunch and we struggled to communicate in some mish mash of Spanish, Portuguese, English, French and sign language. She is very beautiful and young looking and does not look at all like a mother of two. She comes home for lunch every day as her office is quite near. It was much easier to talk to Fernanda who is one year and does not care what language you speak.
We had a walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon - very pretty with lots of trees in bloom that have these big purple-y flowers that stretch into a canopy - called ipê. The apartment is very elegant and the neighborhood is lovely with cobbled streets and sidewalks designed like those in Copacabana Beach. I had caipirinha ice cream which was very good but will soon switch to the alcoholic variety.
Almost time for dinner. Lindemberg is cooking pasta. Then to bed. Lindemberg and Monica have given us their room and moved into the pull out sofa in the den. Tomorrow we will go to a street fair in the neighborhood. Tchau.