Feliz Natal! Rio wrap up!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I'm not in Brazil anymore, in fact I'm about as polar opposite as you can get from Brazil! I'm at my Uncle's Mountain House riding out a snow/ice storm! Nevertheless, I want to write a blog about the highlights of our time in Rio.

Monday is when we arrived in Rio and settled into our Hotel, the Windsor Martinique. It was located RIGHT on the Copacabana beach, so naturally we headed there immediately. Later that evening, we headed to Mercado Popular da Uruguaiana to do some partying. Supposedly there was Samba dancing going on somewhere on the premises but it was essentially a crowded street party and I couldn't stray too far from the Caipirinha stand. We had a lot of fun, despite the harrowing journey we had to make to get there. We met a couple of Brazilians that spoke English (a pretty rare find), a German who sounded Australian, and these two sleezy Parisian dudes. One of them was wearing a Ninja Turtle T-shirt. They were both rather memorable.

The next morning everyone woke up (slowly), headed down to the lobby for some complementary breakfast, and then set out for the Marina da Gloria. We took a boat tour around the coast and harbors of Rio. It was really awesome and relaxing. We listened to Brazilian music and soaked up some sun. We even had a group picture photobombed by a Chinese man. Excellent. After the boat ride we walked around the city and went lotsa places. Churches, banks, libraries, the usual sight-seeish stuff. Then we headed back to the hotel for some R&R.

Wednesday started with a trip through the Market. We tried our best to blend in, but a group of 11 Gringos walking around is rather... conspicuous. We were making our way to the Centro de Operaçoes Rio. This place is supposedly the "command center" and we were going to get some inside info about how Rio is gearing up from the Olympics. When we arrived to the place we weren't even allowed to go in because there was a dress code that we didn't know about. Apparently no one is allowed to wear shorts or sandals in Brazilian Government buildings - who knew! Even though that aspect of the day was a flop, we recovered and still managed to do some pretty cool stuff. We took a hot and sketchy train to the Complexo do Alemao which is this sky tram system that takes passengers over a huge Favela (slum). It was an interesting set up - like the Brazilians were like "hey tourists come see how our poor people live!". It was cool, but weird. I must say though, compared to the slums I've seen in India, the Brazilians have it good. Electricity, dish television, and water tanks on the roofs of their tottering cinderblock homes. After the sky ride, a group of us headed to the Escadaria de Selaron some famous tiled steps. The steps have tiles from all over the world! There was a tile from Ohio right next to a tile from Lima, Peru (this is significant because Jordan and I's roomie Janet is from Peru!). Also, there was a tile from WUPPERTAL! I couldn't believe it! It was incredible. The steps led up to an incredible view of the city.

Thursday we rode the Bondinho de Pao de Acucar up to the Sugar Loaf! Sugar Loaf is this giant rock formation that looks like a loaf of bread... kinda. We rode up these huge high speed gondola things that can hold like 70 people at a time. The view from the top was awesome - so many good views everywhere you go in Rio. Also, there was a huge group of German tourists up there, so I got to eavesdrop on a tour auf Deutsch. It made me happy! Later that day we went to lots of garden type places Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro and Parque Lage. I saw wild(ish) monkeys way up in the tops of trees! They were cute! We had a sweet dinner along the lake that consisted of beef, beans, and rice - surprise surprise.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for. I bet everyone was wondering when we were going to take the Trem do Corcovado to see Cristo Redentor (the giant Jesus). I'll be the first one to say it wasn't that cool. The tram ride up was cooler than the statue itself. Once you got to the top it was SO HOT and super crowded. Also, you were like right under the statue so there wasn't really an awesome view of it. But, like I've said before, there were plenty of cool views of the whole city! Later that evening we went to Lapa, the HUGE party district. It's entrance is marked with these big arches that were once the aqueducts of the city. There was a massive party in the street and all the surrounding buildings were big clubs. I only lasted a little while at Lapa because we had stuffed ourselves with another huge meal of beef, beans, and rice. Even just seeing Lapa was enough of an experience for me!

Our last day in Rio was strictly R&R. I beached for a bit before retreating back into the shade to nap and lounge. I also hit up the hotel pool and did a bit of last minute Christmas shopping. Our Rio adventures were everything I had hoped for - the perfect mix of tourist destinations and relaxation. I left the city feeling accomplished with our adventures, and even got a tinsy weensy tan in the process. I can safely say that I'll visit Rio again for the World Cup or the Olympics since I've already got my visa! Until then, até logo!

Took a train through the jungle, didn't see any monkeys

The Brazilian adventures continue! Saturday we had free time in the morning, so after a wild night at the Schwartzwald Jordan and I happily slept in. Then in the afternoon we went to the Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON). Niemeyer was a very famous Brazilian architect that designed many well-known modern buildings. He’s the guy that completely redesigned Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. Google it, it looks all crazy and futuristic.

The MON was designed by Niemeyer himself, so it was a really cool space. The building was cleanly designed and used a lot of reinforced concrete construction. (Oooooh somebody’s studying Civil Engineering…) The museum itself had a lot of cool modern art exhibits. My favorite was a pop art installation by Frida Kahlo. I usually don’t like museums (they make me sleepy) but this one was pretty rad! What’s even weirder is Niemeyer died on Dec 5^th – right before we came to Brazil! The guy was super old, over a hundred, but still designing buildings! Such a champ.

After MON, we all headed back to the city Centrum. There was a Christmas street vendor market type thing right next to our hotel that was complete with a multi cultural food stand place, so Jordan and I grabbed food there for dinner. I had some less than stellar Pierogies… I had high hopes because I heard there were a lot of Polish immigrants in Curitiba, but I was sadly disappointed. Then, Jordan and I got chocolate covered strawberries on a stick. Such a win – and for only $R 3.50  (a little less than $2). Take that Godiva! Later that night we went out to a bar in the historical district. We chilled out on their patio, drank beers, and ate a plate of cheese. No seriously, we ordered this dish because the only word we recognized was queijo (cheese) and it was literally just a platter of cheese cubes. No complaints here. We even ordered another one.

Sunday was a big excursion day. We took a scenic train to the city of Morretes. The disorderly clustery Brazilian train station made me want to pull my hair out. Damn my affinity for German trains and their efficiency! Now when I say scenic train ride, I mean scenic. I’m talkin’ a train that’s max speed is 30km/h, through the tropical jungle, in the mountains. It was an EXPERIENCE. The train was not air conditioned frustratingly slow - we weren’t even getting a breeze! It took us about 4 hours to go Morretes even though it's only about 60km from Curitiba. Luckily the crazy beautiful views of the mountains and jungle made it all worth it. We saw breathtaking sights, wild blue hydrangeas, and even the occasional waterfall! However we didn’t see any monkeys, which was deeply saddening. The jungle looked like something straight outta Tarzan so you’d think you would see a monkey or two.

Once we got to Morretes we bee-lined it to our lunch destination.  This city is famous for their traditional Brazilian meal featuring meat, fish, and more meat. The first item they brought out was a super slow cooked beef reminiscent of Chipotle’s Barbacoa. (It’s been 7 days since my last burrito, but who’s counting). Then they brought out fried fish, baked fish, fried shrimp, baked shrimp, shrimp balls, and mussels. It was SO delicious! Then we moseyed around the little city and I bought some souvenirs. The city was very interesting… it seems so reliant on the trainloads of people that arrive at noon and leave at 4pm. Kinda bizarre. We were on the slow train for a total of 8 hours that day, but that lunch meal was worth it! That night we stayed in and listened to a choral Christmas performance by adorable Brazilian children.

And that brings me to Monday – the day we flew to Rio de Janeiro! I’ll pick up from there soon, but what I can tell you now is the sand at the Copacabana is super soft, the city is a little stinky, and Brazilian bikinis show off your whole butt! Until next post!

Churrascaria: Where champions are made

This country is awesome. I've been having so much fun eating, drinking, and playing my way through Curitiba. We've eaten like kings and queens and seen many of the sweet sites Curitiba has to offer!

My last post was from Wednesday evening when we first arrived at the hotel. We had just met up with Kyle, and thank GOODNESS we did because we would have really struggled without him. Plus, he's simply amazing so that's nice too. Our Brazilian TA, Ana, gave us a restaurant suggestion for dinner, so we went to Maredo - a restaurant claiming to have "the best burger in the world". While it was delicious, I still prefer Terry's in Cincy. What was amazing at Maredo was their Caipirinha! Caipirinha is a traditional Brazilian drink with cachaça (sugar cane rum), sugar and lime. OMG it is FANTASTIC. Like a Marg, BUT BETTER. I think I'm in love. Dinner was great, the company was better, and the Caipirinha was THE best. Really, it's that good.

Thursday we toured around Curitiba on one of those double decker tour busses. It was a little pricey, but a great way to see the city! Our first stop was the Botanic Gardens. The greenhouse of the gardens is a really cool structure. We walked around and enjoyed the warm weather for a bit before heading to our next destination - the Curitiba University for the Environment. It's a great environmental school built with all reclaimed materials in an old quarry. There's a really cool pathway made out of old telephone poles. Also, we saw a black swan! Natalie! Then we visited the Tanguá Park which is another example of urban space being re-utilized. It had a great view of the city and we could see lavish mansions right next to shack-like houses. Interesting juxtaposition. Our last stop was a TV tower that had INCREDIBLE views of this sprawling city. The amount of high rise apartment buildings is insane! Later that evening we went out for dinner at this Italian restaurant called Spaghetto. The food was AMAZING. We've been eating so well here in Curitiba!

Friday we visited the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) - a partner University with the Niehoff Studio. The professor at UFPR is a friend of Professor Russell and used to teach our TA Ana. It was interesting seeing how different the University is here. It's a public institution, and they have so little money that they couldn't even afford toilet paper. Kinda weird! We ate at the University dining hall and it was also very different. Most notably, they had a hand washing station right as you entered the cafeteria area - very smart! Afterward, we had a short break at the hotel, so naturally I napped. Then later we went out for dinner at a Churrascaria aka a Brazilian steak house.

First of all, let me say that this was the most awesome eating experience I've ever had in my life. And, I like to eat so I've had quite a few glorious eating experiences. This was unlike anything I had ever done before! SO MUCH AMAZING FOOD. So here's the deal... It was about an hour wait to get into the restaurant. During that time I drank a couple of Xingus (my fav Brazilian beer). Then, we get seated and are told we should go to the buffet in the middle of the restaurant. Here's where they try and trick you! They want you to fill up on yummy salads and snackies so you eat less delectable meat. But I wasn't so easily fooled! I was able to nom on the buffet food and also slam incredibly hard on the meats. There are people that just walk around with various kinds of meats on skewers and they shave them off onto your plate. OMGOMGOMG best meat ever. They had it all - steak, filet, pork, beef, even chicken hearts! I wasn't brave enough to try one, but Jordan did! My favorite meats were the filet and the pork thing. So savory! And the beers just kept flowing. OOH ALSO, there was this magical Brazilian cheese thing that was grilled and melty but also still pretty solid. Like I said, magical. And oh so delicious! So I stuffed my face with excessive amounts of food and then ended my eating experience with a fried banana covered in chocolate. Like I said, champions are made at the Churrascaria.

After the Churrascaria a couple of us went out to Schwartzwald - a German bar! It was super Bavarian style so Remo and I were quite in our element. We chatted in German all night and drank beer out of little mugs. We ordered Submarinos which were beers with a shot of Jägermeister in them... kinda gross but we got to keep the little shot glasses as a souvenir so that was cool. Sorry that this post is so text heavy. I've been having trouble charging my camera batteries so I've been slacking in the photo department. Hopefully I'll go back and add some pictures later. Until next post, ciao ciao!

Olá Brasil!

I'm here! On a new continent! In Curitiba, Brazil! In our hotel room! With free internet! Joy!

I've only been in this country for a few hours, but I can already tell I'm going to like it here. All the people I've encountered have been super friendly and the temperature is simply wonderous. The city is massive and sprawling and reminiscent of India. The buildings look very similar to those I've seen in India, and the juxtaposition between nicer and slummier neighborhoods is just alike. I'm sleep deprived and starving and luckily the group is meeting in the lobby in 20 mins for dinner. Speaking of meeting up - WE FOUND KYLE! My friend Kyle is living in Sao Paulo and he came to meet up with us in Curitiba. I was nervous about how we would actually find each other but wouldn't ya know it - our hotel rooms are RIGHT next to each other! How perfect!