JTP’s parents had a wonderful trip here to Brazil. They have now arrived home safe and sound and only missing one bag. Of course, it was the bag with all of the presents, but it was found and is en route right now. We truly enjoyed their visit. Here are seven of the highlights:
1. Party time! We were lucky (and grateful) to be invited to a number of holiday parties. JTP’s parents willingly accompanied us and our hosts welcomed them with open arms. (Special thanks are in order for that!) We were treated to a view of the fantastic fireworks New Year’s Eve, a traditional southern (United States) New Year’s Day meal and a typical Brazilian home grown churrasco (BBQ) among other great moments!
2. We ate the famous mortadella sandwich at the central market in Sao Paulo. This sandwich is like a HUGE warm baloney sandwich with cheese (and lettuce if you want to have some fiber with your clogged arteries). It was fun to try but not a favorite. The biggest issue was its size (and the grease but let’s not get into that!). We ordered three to be shared between six people and we still left almost 1 ½ uneaten. After lunch and touring the market, we went to the cheap shopping area called 25th of March. It is a dizzying array of people and products. We were able to find some nice souvenirs. We also took a little walk to explore the restaurant supply part of the city. I will be returning there to buy my Tramontina dutch oven. (Note: I found the pictures below on the internet and did not bother to try and resize them so I hope you can still see them fine.)
3. We visited a number of great museums and parks. The Pinacoteca museum holds a great display of Brazilian art. It has a cute little café that sits on the Praça de Luz which is a cute park in the process of rehabilitation from its heyday of many years past with a number of sculptures on its grounds. The kids preferred the run through the park to the constant “shushing” in the museum but enjoyed the day as a whole. The next day we went to Ibirapuera Park. A large urban park with bicycle rentals, museums and plenty of space to run. We went to the Afro-Brazilian museum and ate a great lunch at the famous Museum of Modern Art. I would have like to visit it but by the time we got there the kids (and some adults) were done with museums!
4. RHP and FMP woke up early one morning to brave the darkness and accompany me to the central flower market. It is a HUGE outdoor market that sells flowers, plants and food on alternating days. We visited on the plants and flowers day. I did not get any pictures but found a great blog with pictures. I have no idea who this person is but the pictures are so wonderful and capture the market so well, I had to share it. We ended that night with a visit to a local Rodizio Churrascaria (BBQ joint), where cuts of meat are taken to your table and there is a large salad bar.
5. On the last Saturday of the visit we went to Embu das Artes. It is a wonderful little art community that has an outdoor fair on Saturdays and Sundays. It was warm but not too crowded. We received an extra bonus on the way home when I made a wrong turn and gave us a small favela (ghetto) tour.
6. RHP and FMP also were able to meet our beautiful church community here. They went to church with us as well as a visit to the Temple.
7. The most important thing that RHP and FMP did was spend time with our family. We spent hours playing countless games of Uno, Go Fish and other games. We went to the school to ride bikes and play tag. They saw the inaugural flight of the kid’s new kite. We ate meals together and laughed – a lot. Thank you for your visit!
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