My flight didn't leave until 8 p.m., so I still had an open morning on my last day in Brazil! Another place on my short list was Parque Lage, so that's where we went.

Have I mentioned graffiti? It is EVERYWHERE!!

The mansion now houses an art school and there's a little cafe; beautiful views from everywhere, and there are a lot of trails and paths, little bridges and stairways, and cave-like areas (with aquariums & fish!).

Still in awe of nature and the things that grow "wild."

So lovely.

Also one of the locations featured in Snoop Dogg's video, "Beautiful." This might possibly be the first Snoop song I've listened to in its entirety, and it was mostly for the pictures. Haha. There are some other familiar sites, as well!

Oh, I do hope I can go back someday.

It was Friday and it's Rio, so one wants to leave plenty of time for traffic tangles on the way to the airport, plus it was an international flight and I didn't speak much of the language, so a friend of Ann's & Brian's came to pick me up at 1:00!

I snapped one more shot of my favorite view — misty and smudgy, for some reason, but my eyes were welling up a bit so it's perfect.

And one last hug with my boys.

Traffic. It was still "summer vacation" when I was there, so they tell me that traffic wasn't as heavy or congested as usual, but it was pretty crazy! Crazy like there's the constant "beep beep" of motorcycles, alerting drivers to the fact that they're there… between lanes, riding the lines, basically, and it's OK! There's a lot of jostling and wiggling and weaving — cars, motorcycles, trucks, busses, they all do it! If that's not crazy enough, as we neared the airport and traffic was heavy and a bit more stop-and-go, kids from the favelas would walk the lines between lanes and sell snacks and water and whatnot.

You'd think there'd be hot tempers and lots of fender benders, but there's not. No one raises their voice in Brasil unless it's in song or at a soccer game! Surprised that my brother-in-law still had side mirrors on his car, I really only saw a few cars with scrapes or little dents. There's just a weird etiquette and flow to it all; everyone knows what they're in for and it's just the way it is.

So not like big-city American traffic! Those motorcyclists are some kind of something, though; serious daredevils.

I arrived in DC for re-entry to the U.S. and the climate change was immediately evident in my hair… it was dry and full of static and pulled back into a ponytail before I even made it through Customs! That tropical air really was wonderful for my skin and hair, even with only a week!

There's No Place Like Home! Hm.  😉

And that, my friends, is it!

 

On Thursday morning, I watched the boys while Ann & Brian went to renew some government paperwork stuff — which they weren't actually able to do because "the computers were down" and so, you know, as people do in Brazil, it was on to Plan B! (In this case, Annie went back to work and Brian tried for the umpteenth time to get their international banking figured out.) (FYI: It didn't get figured out until I'd already been home for days!)

Addison had some fun with my camera phone.

Self-portrait: Addison

Later that day, Annie and I got to do the thing that we'd been trying to do ever since I arrived: COOK IN RIO! Originally planned for Friday, my first full day in Rio, it didn't happen. We rescheduled for another day but were late (as is often the case in Rio), so it didn't happen then, either. After many phone calls, several missed connections and problems with email, and changes of venue, some people were doubting that it would ever even happen.

But it did and, WOW! So worth it! The venue was amazing, though if you go there's a good chance it will be elsewhere, as our instructor, Chef Simone, was planning to open her own nearby restaurant within weeks (which means it should be open now)!

We all had little tasks to do. Annie made caipirinha, I sliced and cooked peppers for moqueca. We made fried cheese sticks (Brazilians love cheese, but it is a little different there) and farofa, too. Talking with my hands, I also flung the farofa off the stove but, luckily, much of it landed on the table rather than the floor and could be salvaged. I didn't care for farofa the first time I had it, but by this time I rather did… and this time it was made with onions and bananas, which sounds VERY weird, but was so good!

We learned so much about the history and culture of Brazil from Chef Simone, and all of the influences on Brazilian cuisine. It was simply fantastic and so worth our never giving up!

* * * * *

A word about food; here and there.

I wasn't terribly concerned about food while I was in Brazil because, hey, I was in Brazil! I didn't throw the book out the window, but I never said "No" to anything before me because of "diet." While I've started on this path to improve my health, I have no medical issues preventing me from eating anything I'd like.

That said, my feet, ankles, and legs did swell up quite a bit, but I can't say that it was all (or even mostly) due to diet — travel does that to me, the weather was VASTLY different, I over-did it in the sun, etc., etc., etc.

Given my pattern over the last several weeks, I was reminded that I am definitely an emotional eater and stress plays a big part. There were a few days when I just wanted to crawl inside a bag of potato chips and forget the world for a while… but I didn't. I had a few indulgences, but even my indulgences are ridiculously controlled or just healthier than I'd have had before. It helps when there aren't bags of cookies or chips in the cupboard!

And, as of yesterday, I hit a new low in the weight department, registering 42+ pounds less on the scale than this time last year. It feels so great!

* * * * *

That's not all!

My next post will wrap up this ridiculously long travelogue. (Thank you for indulging me, it's been kind of fun to draw out and re-live my week-long tropical vacation over the past month and a half.) And, believe it or not, KNITTING is set to return! There is an FO on the blocking board, as we speak… an actual SWEATER.. for me, even! It's ne of the 8 +/- sweaters-for-me-in-progress that I have had aging around here (and one or two of them for about as many years).

Care to take a guess as to which one? In alphabetical order, is it:

• Cromarty
• Going To The UK
• Habu For Me
• Hand-to-Hand Aran
• Highland Tempest
• Low Tide
• Oblique
• Wisconsin Tunic

 

Perfect morning to head to the beach!

This time, São Conrado. I don't think I'd ever been to the beach so early in the morning.

There were quite a few hang gliders jumping off that mountain and, eventually, sometimes landing on the beach. Lots of joggers on the beach, too.

I think that's Dois Irmãos at just about dead-center, above; the gorgeous mountain that serves as a backdrop for all the pool photos taken at Annie's house (the photo at the top of this post). Let's say that this view is from the west, whereas the view from home is more from the north.

After lunch, we hit the road again.

Can't express the love I have for this "junk" sculpture!

Of course. You can see Cristo Redentor from just about anywhere in Rio and he, of course, sees it all, but one must actually go up Corcovado! Amazing: the bus ride up there, tip-toeing around all the people lying on the ground to take pictures, watching out for arms flung wide "Cristo-style"!

The view from here:

Wednesday was also Annie's birthday!! We had a lovely dinner at Porcao, a sort of churrascaria.

This amazing plate was from my trip through the "salad bar." It was all so good! Each person at the table had a little paper disk that read "YES PLEASE" on one side and, of course, "NO THANKS" on the other. When we were ready, we flipped over to YES and servers came around table-side with skewers of meat — chicken hearts, pork sausages, many cuts of beef — and sliced or served a portion directly onto our plates. It was basically an all-you-can-eat buffet, but with service, linens and nice tablesettings, a beautiful view…

…and of a quality that I've never experienced here. There are a few Brazililan steakhouse/churrascaria in Chicago and I'd love to check one out sometime now that I know what to expect.

The original vacation plan was to fly out on Wednesday/arriving Rio on Thursday, with departure the following Wednesday/arriving home on Thursday… and back to work on Monday. (Next time? Longer than one week.) Because of the decidedly unfabulous start to my trip, spending my first night in Houston rather than a plane and delaying arrival by 24 hours, I took a cue from some younger but obviously more savvy fellow travelers to see if I could extend my trip. I explained what happened and they were fairly quick in granting a 24-hour extension… but I lobbied for an extra day, besides, now that arrival back home would be on the weekend and I didn't have to be at work until Monday. That would give me an extra day both in Rio and at home. Happily, that request was granted, as well!

Even though I now had extra time in Rio, by Wednesday we were still feeling "the end" looming. On Tuesday we might have been quite satisfied with a day that included the beach, Corcovado, Christ the Redeemer, and an amazing dinner; on Wednesday we weren't.

A place that had been on my Do Not Miss List ever since Annie shared pictures of their first visit was Escadaria Selarón.

It was a bittersweet visit, having read about the death of artist Jorge Selarón less than a week before I left for Brazil. The boys had met him on their earlier visit, and there was a great photo of Brian and Jorge sitting on the stairs and talking — I'd just devoted a whole page in their 2013 family photo calendar to that visit. It was heartbreaking.

Suicide? Homicide? It might never be known for sure. Not exactly the best neighborhood, there was police presence… though there is constant police presence in a lot of places in Rio.

By the time we arrived, it was already getting dark. We almost didn't make it at all — it was on the long journey between Porcao and Selaron that Annie, frustrated by map reading and our inability to read street signs 'til we were on top of them, said, "I give up!" And the boys chimed, "No! You can't give up." Addison adding, "You can never give up on your birthday!"

So we didn't.

From top to bottom, and even ON top, simply amazing. A person could spend days there. I know there's at least one Wisconsin tile, because Selarón himself had shown it to the boys, but they didn't remember and I didn't find it. I did find a few other fun tiles, though.

Those look like knitters to me. What do you think?

Overall, it was a spectacular day!!

Monday, Monday, it was all I hoped it would be.

Annie had to go back to work on Monday; my brother-in-law would return the following Monday, and the boys (and other students) would go back the Monday after that.

The boys and I spent a relaxed morning at home. It was a little rainy, but they did a lot of swimming anyway. I might have done a little laundry. Or that might have been another day. I did do laundry one day… the washing machine is outside, under a little roof but basically outside. If there was live-in help, the laundry area is located right outside their rooms, and fairly close to the kitchen. Even if they don't live-in, a lot of people have daily help; Annie and Brian have someone that comes weekly and works harder and longer than anyone I've ever seen.

We had lunch at the school and the boys gave me a little tour — showing me where their rooms were, even if they weren't open. (Heh, these photos are not taken at school.)

Annie was able to spend the afternoon with me and we grabbed our umbrellas to head to Jardim Botanico — the botanical garden.

One might think that two would wait for a sunny day to visit the garden, but a "less than perfect" day is actually THE perfect day!

We lucked out and never had to open our umbrellas, but had the benefit of lovely light filtered by clouds.

People, the plants are different in Brazil.

Or, maybe you recognize them but they're SUPER-sized and growing WILD! I noticed the tiny red flowers on the hedge, above, while I was taking photos of the priest, below… and they were so familiar! Where had I seen those flowers before? And then I noticed the structure of plant itself (thorns!) and remembered the tropical potted plant we call "Crown of Thorns" in the greenhouse window at work. But this was HUGE, a whole HEDGE, planted IN THE GROUND! There were a lot of other familiar plants, too, though the type that I'd never dream of planting outside. "Wandering Jew" was basically used as a ground-cover plant in many areas. Craziness!

It was just lovely.

And then there was the Orchideario.

The Orchid House. Photos don't do justice. It was amazing!

Our first choice for a dinner spot wasn't open that day, so as usual, it was on to Plan B! We had to stop and get our bearings, ask directions… it's really weird listening to your sister speak a language so completely foreign to you… and eventually we made our way to BRAZ!

I was offered an English menu, but our waiter didn't speak a word of it… I still managed to order wine. We were able to order three different types on one pie — I know we had Funghi and Alcachofrinha, but I don't remember the third.

It was all delicious (with leftovers for breakfast!) and we had a fun Brigadeiro (on a spoon) dessert.

Ann told me that I had to go to the restroom before we left.

The photos are awful — I had nothing but my cell phone and it was dark. It was up a flight of stairs and when I entered I noticed an open doorway on the opposite wall. It opened to a little rooftop patio — so wonderful!!

Not bad for a Monday, really.