Adventures of Living Abroad

Last weekend Brazil celebrate Labor Day on May 1st which gave me yet another 4 day weekend. :) This time I decided to have some "me" time so I took myself north to the island called Ilha Grande (Big Island) near Rio. By 3:30 pm, I was in a taxi leaving school. By 5 pm I was on the airplane, and  by 7pm I was landing in Rio...not a bad way to start my vacation :) From there I stayed overnight in a hostel between the airport and the bus station near the neighborhood Santa Teresa.  Funny story about that...I asked the woman at reception to call and order a taxi for me for 6am the next morning. She laughed and said she would try, but I shouldn't expect one because first of all it's 6 am...no one wants to get up that early...and secondly...the hostel is on a hill and so no one will probably want to drive up the hill that early to get me. Back home, that would never be acceptable, but this is Brazil. haha. So the next morning, the taxi company calls to say that there were...

I know I am a few weeks behind, but I'm finally going to try and catch up on some posts today since I have some free time on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. I was blessed with a 4 day weekend for Easter and so I took a short bus ride (about 2 hours) north to a beach town called  Capão da Canoa   in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It was a laid back, cheap, and relaxing vacation with some wonderful people. We rented a small house two blocks from the beach. Perfectly relaxing! Although it was a bit chilly to actually lay out on the beach, I took long walks down the beach and spent time lying around the yard reading. A southern Brazilian vacation would be complete with a churrasco night! I ate enough meat that night for the next few weeks...sausage, chicken, pork, steak....it's so easy to over eat when the meat is cut into small easy to grab pieces!  Nothing like some live music from friends  :)

Yesterday, my craving for a typical American breakfast was finally met! I have been craving good ol' pancakes, french toast, waffles, and of course bacon! My friend and I met for brunch at a place called Priscilla's  in the Bom Fim section of the city where they serve American breakfast and desserts. I've heard about this place before, but had yet to actually go. I ordered a Belgium waffle with fruit and maple syrup with a side of bacon. DELICIOUS! I haven't had syrup or bacon since I went home for Christmas.  I will definitely going back there sometime soon! Sorry I don't have any photos...I was so excited to eat the food that I didn't even think to take a picture of this cute place until after I left!