Day 92 - Rio tour

Our tour guide (from tourbylocals.com), Simone, was supposed to meet us at the hotel at 10:00, so we got up bright & early to have breakfast & get ready. The Palace complimentary breakfast was easily the best I've ever had. Everything you could possibly want and then some, and all of it was delicious. I had to be careful not to get crazy so I wouldn't be sick for the tour!

Simone arrived right on time, and we took the subway to the Christo exit. We could've hired a driver, but it turned out being fun to use the transit. Simone turned out to be really cool - about 50 years old and originally from Rio, she's lived all over the world and speaks 5 languages I think. She's a muscian but has been doing tours for 8 years to pay the bills. She was great, really amusing, knowledgable, and laid back. We took a van up to Christo, which turned out to be a much more pleasant experience than the tram I took the first time. Christo wasn't nearly as crowded as when I was first there so it was a much nicer experience. We really enjoyed it.

After taking the van back down, we took a cab up into the Santa Teresa neighborhood. This is the area I stayed in when I came to Rio the first time. It's beautiful and artsy. We walked around a lot, had lunch at a great little seafood restaurant, and stopped for some acai at a place that has it in its original form - nothing added except a little sweetner. It was delicious. We shopped and walked around for a while, then headed down the amazing tiled stairs to the Lapa neighborhood. From there we took the subway to downtown and went to have coffee/dessert at this beautiful bakery - just stunning. Finally we headed over to go up to Sugar Loaf - Cheryl and I agreed this was the best part of the day. The park up on Sugar Loaf was beautiful and the views were amazing. Christo is something you'd really want to just check out once, but Sugar Loaf is one of those things you could go to over and over. If I end up back in Rio I will definitely go back there. 

After our tour was over (an hour and a half longer than it was supposed to be), we were exhausted. I claimed I would die if I walked anywhere (it was true) so we had dinner in the more casual restaurant at the hotel, where I had the most delicious steak sandwich I've ever had, and Cheryl had filet. It was a spectacular day! However, it did not involve a foot massage on the beach so not as great as Monday ;)

Christo photos:

The delicious acai

A horrible photo of me but Simone is in the background

Santa Teresa

Stairs from Santa Teresa neighborhood down to Lapa. Amazing...

And Sugar Loaf

Days 90-91: Rio part A

We left for Rio a little after 10 am. The drive (3.5 hrs not including stops) was good, it rained a little here and there but it was ok. We arrived in Rio and went to the apartment I booked on airbnb. Parking was scarce but we pulled into a spot right in front on the building, and paid the guy who was "working" that area of the sidewalk (yes, he was hustling, but he did help me park). 

So, let me be honest here: I booked the place in Copacabana on airbnb to save a buck, and it looked cute enough. In the picture it was described as romantic, and you could tell it was small, but all the reviews were good and the location looked to be pretty good (a few blocks from beach but walkable and on a busy street). 

The building was older but looked nice enough. We got the key from the door man. Went into the apt... and it was TINY. Like they had an extra janitor closet and converted it into a rental. Toilet in the shower. Cheryl insists the bed was a twin... it definitely wasn't a double. But, there was a/c, TV, so... ok. We cleaned up a little, and as Cheryl washed her hands, water POURED out from under the sink all over the floor. We looked under the sink and the pipe straight up wasn't connected!! I emailed the owner (who lived across the hall), and we headed out to the beach.

We walked down the beach to Leme; it was rainy but still pretty. We were looking at all the hotels, and discussed how the Copacabana Palace stood out for looking extra nice. We had dinner at a little place on the walk back to the apartment and crashed for the night. It was a horribly uncomfortable night; we were so crammed in the bed we couldn't move. We decided we might find somewhere else to stay the next 2 nights.

I had gotten a message from the owner that my car was parked in a spot where I would get a ticket at 8am the next day, so we set the alarm for 7am. We drove down to the beach where I was sure we'd be able to easily find a parking spot since it was so early. We drove a few blocks then finally found a spot to park. We get out of the car, and where are we parked? Right in front of the Copacabana Palace, of course. As some might know I tend to be a little extreme... I blame the Pisces/Aries cusp sign. So, basically, we went from staying at the cheapest place I could find to the most expensive hotel on the beach. We went in, reserved a room that wasn't yet available, gave them the car keys, and went out for breakfast (it was great). We walked back to the closet, packed our crap back up, gave the keys  back to the door man, and hoofed it back to the Copacabana Palace. 

Our room wasn't ready yet, but we were able to get the stuff we needed out of our bags and go to the spa to change clothes and get ready to go out on the beach. It was, of course, a spectacular place to get ready. I waited for Cheryl by the pool and talked to a mother & daughter from Toronto. 

When we went back to put our clothes back in the suitcase & head to the beach, our room was ready. The bell boy took us up and showed us around the room (Ikr)... it was beautiful. We went down to the beach where they had an area with chairs and umbrellas for the Palace guests. Seriously, I could have spent the night on this beach chair it was so comfortable. Cheryl got in the water; I only went in ankle-deep because it was FREEZING! We chilled for a couple of hours and then grabbed some lunch on the beach (Cheryl - pastels; me - shrimp) and of course had some agua de coco. 

When we got back to the beach there was a guy who does massage therapy at the hotel spa offering foot massages. On the beach. Omg. Cheryl and I each got an hour foot massage as we laid in the most comfortable chairs ever on the beach. Seriously? This had to be in my top 10 best days ever. It was amazing!!! 

The concierge made a reservation for us at a churrascuria that night; it was great, of course. This is what is known in the US as a Brazilian steakhouse... LOTS of delicious food, service was ridiculously great. We discovered this restaurant actually has opened locations in the US: Las Vegas, Atlanta, Miami I think... the name is Fogo de Chao; if you ever have an opportunity to eat there, I highly recommend it. A car from the hotel took us there and we took a cab back.

Sunday - walk to Leme on the beach.

See Christo?

Cheryl liked the little cacti growing on the side of the rocks

Monday- breakfast joint

Pool at Palace

In our comfy chairs. Yes, I have on a bathing suit.

Our pre-massage footsies

Why must there be pigeons...?

Dinner spot

And the room at the Palace- the pictures don't do it justice!

Day 89: Beginning of vacation/Cheryl is here!

Cheryl arrived at about 8:30 - so exciting to pick her up from the airport!! We had breakfast at a little padaria down the street from my apartment and relaxed for a while before heading out for rodizio pizza that evening. We arrived at the restaurant before they started serving (in my head they started at 6, in reality, 7) so we had a couple of beers while we waited. The pizza was good but the shining star of the meal for Cheryl was the pastels - she loved them! We chilled out that night so we could leave for Rio as early as possible on Sunday.

Cheryl got to experience the uncomfortable couch.

Day 76... at least this week's over

So yeah, that's the best thing I can say about this work week! 

Friday night I went to a Lebanese (heh heh) restaurant called Haruf's with the Todds - it was very tasty. I had something similar to a gyro except the bread was thinner than pita bread. I put a spicy tahini sauce and a mint sauce on it... nom nom nom. We sat outside, was quite enjoyable. There was a little newstand next door, I bought a Portugues magazine (something like Simple Living) and small book (Dilbert). Stuff to read on the beach :)

I thought about going to the beach for the day this weekend, but they were forecasting pretty much constant rain here in SJC and at the beach, so I didn't go. It didn't rain a stinking drop here, don't know about the beach :/ So I chilled at the apartment and worked most of the weekend. I also read "A Good Marriage," it was... good.

I've been jonesing for some buffalo wings, and somebody told me they have them at the Outback at one of the malls in SJC. Multiple people also told me it's always crowded, so I had lupper there yesterday to avoid the crowd. I don't mind going out to eat alone, but a lot more pleasant when it's not packed out.

I had never been to this mall and was particularly impressed with the parking garage. There was a light over every single parking spot - green if it was open, red if it was taken. There were also arrows with numbers telling you how many spots were open in each direction. It was really cool and so easy! Love it. I was so impressed I took pictures for your viewing pleasure. (Look Mom, there's a CRV in one pic)

My meal at Outback was good, and they actually had unlimited refills on soda (first time I've seen that here), and they even had iced tea! Thoroughly enjoyed it... while I was eating it. I won't get into any details, but it made me soooo sick. Over 24 hours later and I'm still feeling it. So, no more Outback.

The mall was all decked out for Christmas, Santa was there with a line and everything. He had what I suppose was supposed to be Mrs Claus with him... except she was a 20-something in what looked like a sexy Mrs Claus costume. I didn't get a picture, you'll just have to take my word for this one. Pics of some of the decor:

I'm learning more and more Portugues, although I definitely wouldn't say I'm speaking it. Both restaurants I went to the weekend, I started speaking to them in Portugues, and they understood me, but then they asked if I wanted an English menu lol. I wish I could hear what an American accent sounds like! Isn't it strange to think about having an American accent? Fortunately, Brazilians love gringos so it's not a problem here like it might be in some places. Gringos isn't deragatory here either in case you're wondering!

This week I'm going to start teaching cost accounting "classes" at the plant since this isn't something Brazilian companies do apparently. Should be interesting!

Hope everybody has a peachy week. 

Day 68.... boring randomness

I went home for a week last week - it was great! My car and house felt luxurious (and huge) and I decided to be one with my inner Brasilada when I was driving - I was kind of a terror :D This week was many long hours at work finishing up our 2015 budget. And now hours this weekend making up for spending all my time on the budget. Wanh-wanh.

Since all I did was work this week, here are some random pictures to calm the natives.

I guess since "great" in Portuguese doesn't sound like a growl, a thumbs-up was the way to go.

In line at Extra Supermercado this morning... the 20 items and under line has one long line and a DMV-esque number system to tell the next person when they can go to the register and which one to go to. If you follow the second light from the left you can see the sign that lights up with the numbers (should have caught it with a number on it... sorry)

This is what a normal week of Supermercado purchases looks like for me :/ Although I haven't tried the not-Ramen noodles yet. I only bought one in case they're gross.

This was something I don't think I've ever seen before: a cart full of car tires

And some pics on the drive in to work this week (don't worry, Stephen was driving):

Kind of a nice shot of SJC

Not sure why I took this. Might've been a motorcycle acting a fool up ahead but can't really see it.

This is an every day thing - pedestrians and cyclists riding on the side of the interstate. They actually have places where buses pull over on the shoulder of the highway to pick people up. Not really a "safety first" culture.

Oh yeah - there's a "motoboy" going in between two big rigs.

There's a big M&M sign up there... might have to zoom in to see it!