Vacation Bible School

Anton and Chris are doing VBS this week at Faith Lutheran. Anton is a crew leader, and Chris is one of the attendees. They're having a wonderful time! Photos are courtesy of Joe Guagliardo.

Jean-Luc is still in Brasil. :(

Jean-Luc

He's still in Brasil. Two more weeks. Long weeks. *sigh*

Breakfast

Chris eating the very first egg he made all by himself.

And Anton eating the egg that I made for him to show Chris how to do it.

Predators

Saw Predators day before yesterday. It was good and scary, with a twist at the end. A fitting entry in the Predator line of movies.

Doctor Who: The Doctor Who Themes (Every Doctor Who Theme 1963 - 2010)

This is *SO* Jean-Luc...

Summer Slugs

Back to playing World of Warcraft all day. *sigh*

Jean-Luc's still in Brazil, but I'm sure he's on Facebook most of the day too.

Spider!

Told the boys they had to play outside today since the spent the entire day yesterday inside playing World of Warcraft. At least 4 hours had to be spent outside. This is what they found out back in between the hibiscus bush and the screened in patio. It's body is at least 1 1/2 inches long!!

Inception

Went to see Inception. Mind bending!! [╧⌡╪⌠╤]

It starred Leonardo DiCaprio. He was pretty good, but trying to keep track of the layers was tough. And I'm still trying to decide which way the ending was...

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Saw The Sorcerer's Apprentice tonight will Bill and two boys, Jean-Luc's still in Brasil. It was a very fun movie with Nic Cage, who I adore. It had several nods to other films which made it more interesting to watch. "These are not the droids you are looking for."

Sao Paulo to home

Again we got up early and left for the long ride back to the Sao Paulo airport. We stopped at a farm along the way for coffee and breakfast. I bought some doce de leite candies for the boys. We made it to the airport in plenty of time. We checked on a flight for Julie-ana, and they had one at the last minute. So she headed home with me. I am a little disappointed she isn't staying the whole time, but she wanted to come home.

I will miss Jean-Luc as he is staying in Brazil for 3 more weeks.

And click on the Brasil blog titles - it will take you to the shutterfly photo set for that day.

Ilhabela Island

Victor, Jane, Julie-ana and
Jean-Luc on Victor's boat

We went to Ilhabela Island today. It was about a hour's boat ride away. Jane called her friend Lilian who lives on the island. She was very nice and showed us around. Ilhabela is very beautiful and lush. We stopped at Lilian's house for a brief rest, then went on to a restaurant for lunch. It was so good! I had the lamb roast; Jane, Victor, and Lilian shared the paella; and the kids had filet mignon.

Julie-ana, Jean-Luc, Jane, and Lilian

After lunch, the kids and I took a walk down towards the village for about a mile. Lilian picked us up, and we went to a cafe for coffee. Jane told us that Victor needed to be back at the marina by 6pm for a meeting, so we got back on the boat for the ride back. It was raining some, so the ride back was bumpy.

After Victor's meeting, we went to a little pizza place near Ubatuba for dinner. The pizza was good, and we had a nice time for my last evening in Brazil.

Victor at the helm

Rio to Sao Paulo

Jean-Luc and Jane in Ubatuba

Got up pretty early to make it to the airport for the flight to Sao Paulo. When we got there, we found out the flight had been canceled. They put us on a different airline and we got there about the same time, so it turned out well. Jane and Victor picked us up, and we were on our way to Ubatuba. Yes, that's the name of the town!!

Victor owned a nice townhouse type apartment there in a marina. It took about 3 hours to get there from Sao Paulo because of the heavy traffic. Once there, we headed straight to the marina and got on his boat, Courage. It was quite a nice boat, and we had a very nice tour of the surrounding area.

Jane, Victor, Jean-Luc, and Julie-ana

After the boat ride, we went back to the apartment and freshened up. We went into Ubatuba to McDonald's for dinner, and then some light shopping and sightseeing.

Rio de Janeiro - Day 2

Julie-ana and Jean-Luc
on Copacabana beach

Went to the beach in the morning, hung out for a while. Jean-Luc was out in the waves, Julie-ana was just sticking her feet in. It was warm, but not too warm. The view was fantastic!!

Came back to the room and rinsed off, then went for lunch at a quick cafe. Tried to take the train up to the christo, or the gigantic statue of Christ, that oversees Rio. Took a taxi and got all the way over there, then found out the train is being remodeled and wasn't running. *sigh*

Julie-ana and Jean-Luc in front of
Pao de Acucar, or SugarLoaf

Decided to go to the zoo instead. Took a taxi to the National Museum and Zoo. Got there 15 minutes before they closed. *sigh* Decided on an adventure on the subway to get to the restaurant we were going to for dinner. That went well, got off at the Flamengo station. Took a taxi the rest of the way to the restaurant.

Porcao Rio's

Went to Porcao Rio's, an absolutely fabulous churrascaria, or steakhouse, that serves meat rodizio style (bringing skewers of meat to the table and slicing portions off it). Then back to the hotel for the evening.

Rio de Janeiro - Day 1

Fort Copacabana

We took a long walk down Copacabana beach today to Fort Copacabana. We toured the fort and had lunch. What a beautiful view of the beaches!!

Jean-Luc, Me, and Julie-ana

Jean-Luc and Julie-ana

We rested at the hotel for a bit, then went out with Paulo. Paulo took us up to Pao de Acucar, or SugarLoaf, which is a beautiful mountain in the bay. There are two cable cars up to the top, scary. But it's got the most beautiful view of the city. Unfortunately, I left my camera card at the hotel room, so I couldn't get any photos.

Then his wife Lou met us for dinner at a great restaurant. It was very nice to see Lou again. And we met Paulo's grandson, Phillipe. He's about 23, and very handsome. And quite talkative too.

Copacabana Beach

Itumbiara to Rio de Janeiro

Breno, Tullio, and Mara

Got up early for breakfast and to say our goodbyes. Breno and Mara drove us to Uberlandia where the aiport was, about 2 hours away. We saw Mara's youngest son Tullio at the airport. We had a wonderful time at Mara's house. She's the same age as me, and the kids said she was always very happy.

Our plane

Our flight was on a small plane, yoiks! We stopped in several places before making it to Rio de Janeiro.

Rio is georgeous! I love it! Such a beautiful city. We took a taxi to the hotel and got settled in, then walked out onto Copacabana beach to put our feet in the water.

On the beach

The weather is nice, but the water is COLD!

Then off to the Palace Churrascaria, or steakhouse. They provide a buffet of salads and sushi and fish, then bring giant skewers of various meat to your table and slice it off. Stuffed! We saw the end of the first semi-finals, Uruguay v Netherlands. Netherlands won, 3-2.

Copacabana beach

Itumbiara

Breno shows how
cotton is separated

Had breakfast at Mara's. She made the most delicious pao de queijo, or cheese bread. We went shopping at the supermarket for some items for dinner. She showed me around Itumbiara, it is a delightful little city. Igor helped me get a hotel reservation in Rio, and then he worked on getting the flight from Rio to Sao Paulo later in the week.

We had lunch, then Breno took us for a look at their farm. They grow cotton, sugar cane, oranges, soybeans, and other stuff. We first stopped at the cotton processing machinery. This is were the just picked cotton has the seeds pulled out and is stacked into bales.

Jean-Luc and Breno ride
on the cotton picker

Then we went to the cotton fields. I expected a field or two, but their farm went on for miles and miles!! All cotton!! Jean-Luc took a ride in a cotton picking machine.



After the cotton, we went to the sugar cane fields. Again, it went on for miles and miles. They've got 10,000 acres total. Breno cut off a few stalks, and we sucked out the sugar right from the cane. Delicious!! We stopped by the farm house which is right next to a small lake to get cleaned up. Then, on the way back, Breno let Jean-Luc drive back out to the main road. It was about 20 kilometers, and Jean-Luc did pretty well. He dodged a cow and followed a bird.

Mara makes pao de queijo as
Wellington looks on

Later, we went to a restaurant for dinner. It was a small open air cafe. We had the local fare, panela, which is a rice dish with different types of meat cooked in stone pots.

Finally, Mara showed me how to make pao de queijo, or cheese bread.

Hot Park

Igor, Breno and his wife Flavia

Today was a fun day. As Igor drove, I worked on my Portuguese skills. Not much progress, but I am trying to learn 3 or 4 words every day. Today's words were (please disregard any spelling errors): Cupim (termite), férias (vacation), teimoso (stubborn), and Eu sou (I am).

Igor and Jean-Luc on the edge

We went to the Hot Park (Posada del Rio Quenche). It is a thermal hot springs park built near an old volcano. We met up with my cousin Mara and her family at the Park. It was great!

Then we went to her house in Itumbiara. It's a very nice apartment, spacious and large. We had a bite to eat, then spent the rest of the evening going through photo albums and looking at a genealogy of the family.

Sunset on the road to Itumbiara

Goiania (Fazienda)

We went to the fazienda (farm) today. I LOVE the farm!! There are tons of orange trees (not unlike Florida...), plenty of chickens, and lots of fresh air! We saw the second half of the Argentina vs Germany game, Argentina lost very badly. The Brasilians were happy because they did not want to see the Argentinian coach dance naked in some square back home. Then we spent a good amount of time trying to score some plane tickets from Itumbiara to Rio. Then back to Goiania for the evening.

Victor and Gina Clelia

Julie-ana and Jean-Luc

On the way, we stopped to see my Tia Clarisse. She's the oldest of the seven sisters and has Alzheimer's. She remembered when I was little and visited Brasil, but had problems recognizing me now.

My cousin Igor came to give us the ride tomorrow to Itumbiara. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner, Jean-Luc was in heaven!

Brasilia to Goiania

Gina Clelia and Tia Cecilia
Two of the remaining 4 sisters
out of seven original

Marisa and Victor

We packed early when we got up. Gina Clelia (my godmother) came to pick us up for the trip to Goiania. Two of the seven sisters together. We watched the Brasil vs Netherlands World Cup game, sadly Brasil did not win. Then we had lunch, and said our goodbyes. It was a three hour drive to Goiania. We stopped at a rest stop along the way. There was an armed guard keeping watch, everything was fine though. We got to Gina Clelia's apartment and relaxed for a bit.

The view from Gina Clelia's balcony

Then we went to dinner at a typical Goiania restaurant. We had pomonha and empadaos. Very tasty!

Pomonho - local favorite

Brasilia - Day 2

Palace guard in the
old style uniform

Celso took us around Brasilia again. We saw the Presidential Palace, the first hotel built in Brasilia, and the University. Then we went back to the Congress and visited Patricia's office on the 21st floor.

Senate chamber

She organized a tour of the Senate and House of Representatives, very cool!! Then we saw the Cathedral before heading back to Tia Cecilia's for lunch.



Ceslo Sr took us on the lake for a motorboat ride. We went around the whole lake and under the JK Bridge.

Jean-Luc relaxing during the boat ride

Then back to Tia Cecilia's for dinner. Kitty and Caco came over, as did Celso Jr and Paulo.

Brasilia - Day 1

We spent the day touring Brasilia. It's a beautiful city. My cousin Celso was our host. First, we went to the first chapel built in Brasilia, then to see residential square project Luis Costa. After that, we went to the Crystal Pyramid and Buddhist Temple. We saw the JK bridge with three arches. It was voted the most beautiful bridge in the world. After that, we went to the Congress, to the Palace of Planets where the president works, and the Supreme Court. We also saw some monuments in the Square of Three Powers.

Then a nice lunch at Tia Cecilia's house. After lunch, we rested for a bit. I had some coffee with Julie-ana and Paulo in the back yard after they played some tennis. We picked up Patricia and Yvie after the rest. We stopped by a scenic view for a few shots of Brasilia at sunset, then we went to the Dom Bosco Shrine in the hills for more photos.

Finally, we went to a restaurant for dinner. We were joined by Kitty and her husband Caco, Caco's daughter and her boyfriend, and Tia Celice and Celso. The restaurant had quite a nice buffet of all types of Brasilian food.