Ravi Kalidindi

All good things, they say, must come to an end. And so it is with our stay in Sao Paulo. This last week has been packed with a lot of things going on in parallel: planning our 1 month South America trip, completing the related tourist visa activity, winding down Uma’s assignment, last minute shopping (of course), packing, and last but not least, saying goodbyes.

Uma had grown really fond of her ClearSale team, and bidding farewell was very emotional for her. She already has grand plans to revisit her new friends in the near future (World cup 2014? Olympics 2016?).

We had dinner with the ClearSale executive team at Attimo, a nuevo Brazilian restaurant, which had great food. It is a fun team!

We had a nice dinner there with Rafael and Laura @ Temakeria E Cia ¹. Japanese cuisine is very popular in Brazil. Probably has something to do with the fact that Brazil has the 2nd highest Japanese population after Japan.

We met up with Uma’s colleague from the local EY office in Sao Paulo. Carolina and her friend showed us around Centro (downtown). The newly renovated Sao Paulo theater² is pretty impressive…we should have checked out a play or event there. We drove by the Bovespa (Brazilian stock exchange). Lunch at Familia Mancini³ was heavy. The place is huge and it’s interior decor is impressive. The family apparently owns 3 or 4 restaurants on the same short street.

B (Beatriz), another EY colleague kindly invited us to her home, so we could meet her 8 month old daughter, Carolina…she is a cutie!

We met up with Daniel, Onuwa’s assigned entreprenuer, and it was great fun as always to catch up with him. We had pizza at Primo Basilico⁴, which apparently is where Braz Pizzeria, Quintal De Braz, etc. sprouted from. Great Pizza!

Uma, and Onuwa, bid farewell to their Endeavor assigned buddies, Clarisse, and Arthur. Both were great in helping Uma, and Onuwa, provide maximum value to their respective entrepreneurs. We met for drinks at a pretty happening joint called Boteco Sao Bento ⁵. They keep bringing beer to you, and it is up to you to refuse…this sales model has some legs:)

The EY fellows (Uma, Onuwa, and Joyce) reminisced about the program, over drinks & pastels at Josephine⁶, a nice neighborhood restaurant close to our hotel.

We got to go to Maria’s awesome country house near Atibaia, 90 minutes away from Sao Paulo. It was up in the hills, with great views, and the home was very tastefully put together.

It was her 89 year old mom’s birthday…her family and friends came down, and we had a legitimate feast!

We had a great time conversing with everybody. Thank you Maria for everything!

Last, but not least, we bid adieu to the extraordinary staff at Marriott Executive Apartments, Vila Nova Conceição. Carter, Aline, Lucas, Alexandre, Fernando, Valmir, and Ana, went above and beyond, to make our stay feel like being at a home away from home. It’s rare to come across hotel staff this good.