Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Tourin' with the Família

Whew! These old folks are wearin' me out! I completely intended on doing a better job of keeping everyone up to date and in the loop with our whereabouts and daily adventures while my parents and grandparents are visiting. But between not having the internet access I was hoping for in Foz do Iguaçu, my internet being down for a couple days at home, and not being able to find time between all the eating and sightseeing, I've failed miserably at keeping up with my bloggy duties. My apologies.

So, for those of you wondering what we've been up to, here you go:



This photo was taken at a Parilla (steak house) over in Argentina

I could probably stop right now and you'd have a pretty good idea of what my last week and a half has consisted of: eating (or planning what/where to eat next).

But, in all fairness, we have managed to squeeze in some great sights between meals.

We spent August 30 through September 4 in Foz do Iguaçu, Brasil and across the border in Argentina. It was absolutely amazing! (I will share more pictures and talk more about what all we did down there next week once my company is out of here and I have more time to kill at the computer.)











Besides the 275 waterfalls along the Argentina/Brasil border, we also toured the Itaipu Dam by day and by night - it is the largest dam in the world in terms of energy production and stretches across part of Brasil and Paraguay.


We got to wear some quite fashionable head wear as well while we were there.


We came to Belo Horizonte and have been in and around the city for the last six days. We took a trip over to Mariana and Ouro Preto (colonial cities here in our state, Minas Gerais), went out to Inhotim (a series of modern art galleries in a gorgeously landscaped spot about an hour from BH), and have run all over Belo Horizonte and the surrounding cities taking in all the sights. Oh, and we've eaten . . . a lot: typical Brasilian food, Mineiro food, Japanese (can you believe they all tried sushi!?!), fast food Arabian, self-service restaurants, food at a restaurant where the monkeys come out of the trees and try to steal your dessert (which they found much less entertaining than I do), and a even little dose of Comida de (food of) Emily sprinkled in there from time to time.

Grandma made the comment one morning earlier this week that "I don't know what it is, but I sure do sleep good here!" Well, I've been sleeping as well as I ever have the last week and I know what it is: by night fall we're all slap wore out and have our bellies entirely too full!

Tonight we are preparing to indulge in nearly our weight in beef at a churrascaria before leaving BH and heading to Rio de Janeiro tomorrow afternoon. We're having a blast but I think we're all going to need some serious recovery time (and not to mention a good weight loss program) after this trip!

BTW, did you know that you can walk several extra miles per day, eat tons of tropical fruits, drink more water than usual, and still gain weight? Darn my food-is-an-important-part-of-the-culture thinking! (And this country for having such fabulous food!)

9 comments:

Stephanie said...

Emily,
Facing the possibility of moving to Brazil soon, I am of the belief you should put together a Travel Guide for Expats! I love all the pictures!! :)

Stephanie

Anonymous said...

Was your sushi experience at Sushi Beer or do you know of a different/better place to get sushi? When we visited last, that was the place suggested to us by my in-laws. Just wondering if you know of any other places to go.

Emily said...

Russell, we highly recommend Yukai Cozinha Japonesa! It is just down the road from Pinguim on Rua Grao Mogol. They have a rodizio of sushi and other Japanese food (you order whatever you want - it's not self-service) for R$22 each and it is fabulous!

If you're with more than a couple people, ask for one of the 'Tatami' rooms in the back.

Stephanie, thanks and I promise I am going to answer your email. It may be next week though when stuff calms down around these parts! :)

Ray Adkins said...

Emily,

Quick silly question!
How are you guys getting around Brazil? I counted 6 of you and I also have traveled with 6 people in Brazil and always had the hardest time to find larger vehicles to acomodate everyone confortably, the traditional American car rental companies such as Hertz and Avis also mostly have tiny little cars that only fits four people and not much luggage at all...


Ray

corinne said...

Emily,

Glad to hear you are having so much fun (like I doubted otherwise!!). Look forward to hearing more specifics about Foz de Iguaçu!!

Emily said...

Ray, great question actually! Because our little Punto was not even going to come close to handling all of us plus luggage, we ended up renting a Fiat Doblo from a Brasilian rental company. (Avis and Budget had some too, but they were all reserved and we couldn't get one through them.)

The Doblo has a back bench seat for three people and then two optional seats (you have to make sure you get a 7-passenger model) in the back. You start cutting down on luggage space when you use those back seats, but with six of us it still leaves half the back end for luggage! It's been comfortable even with six adults. (Although the trip to Rio today will be the ultimate test!)

Lori said...

Great pictures. Isn't the Argentina side awesome? I think it has been my favorite trip so far.

Looking forward to hearing about Rio. I'm not sure if we'll end up making it there or not.

Have fun! And no worries there is plenty of time in life to lose weight. I say enjoy all the great food while you can! :)

Jason Roth said...

Those falls are majestic.

Jill Chandler said...

So glad to hear you guys are having a great visit!

We've been missing all you Tyson's at Moriah!

Love, Jill