Easter

Happy Easter! We got a little Easter Bunny for Kylie from Grandma Julie as well as some chocolate bunnies for us! Thank you! Additionally, I made some coconut egg nest cupcakes for an Easter dinner with friends! If that weren't enough, the bakery had a giant Easter doughnut! Overall, I rate this holiday as delicious!

 This was the largest doughnutI have ever seen!

It serves 8!

 I think she likes it!

Thanks grandma!

 Yum! Bunny-tail!

 CUPCAKES!

Just maintaining my status as best EFM EVER! ;)

Last day at the Beach

Since we had pretty much already seen all the touristy stuff that Recife has to offer, we spent the last day of Kaali and Alison's visit on the beach!

 Kylie's new favorite sleeping position! The inchworm!

 Playing in the waves with mom!

...and rockin' a Hello Kitty baby bikini!

 

 Recife at it's best

 Swing-a-round splashin' time with dad

 Careful...

...there's sharks in that water!

 

 Whew! Safe and sound on dry land!

 Pants are optional in Recife!

 Where's my drink?!?

 Caipirihna time!

Oh look! It's the "tiny soup of fat" cart!

Hot, fatty soup, just what I always crave on a 90 degree day at the beach!

Thanks for the great trip K&A! Come back any time!!

Happy Birthday Alison!

It was Alison's birthday today! Coincidentally, it was a national holiday in Brazil, so Autumn didn't have to work! We started off the day right with birthday cake from our favorite bakery, Casa dos Doces, and then headed down to the beach. It was such a beautiful, hot day; perfect beach weather. Also, we just got Kylie's new baby life jacket in the mail, so we tested that out with great success (although, as usual, the Brazilians practically laughed us off the beach when they saw it!). 

For dinner, we attempted to go out for churrasco. After driving around in a taxi for an hour to three different closed restaurants, our cab driver mentioned that it was Good Friday, and that it was a fish-only type of holiday. Luckily, one of our fave seafood restaurants, Alfaiate, was open! We shared a coconut stuffed with shrimp and mashed potatoes as well as some caldinhos (tiny soups) that were also great! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISON!

 Nothing say birthday breakfast like triple chocolate cake!

 Washing down cake with a healthy coconut.

 This coconut was the biggest one I've ever seen!

 Group photo!

Fun with K's new life jacket!

 Oakley's and the birthday girl.

Chillin' on the beach!

 Ladies ready for a night out!

More coconut!

Recife Antigo

Today we went down to the historic center of town for a little walking tour. We started at Marco Zero, which commemorates the first landing site of the Portuguese in 1500. From there we explored the neighborhood before heading into the arts and crafts market at the Centro de Artensenato de Pernambuco and had lunch at Bistro & Boteco, which was the best por kilo (buffet) place that I've been to yet! A little more walking after lunch led us on a wild goose chase through a very sketchy part of town looking for a church, so we quickly hopped in a cab and came home.

For dinner, we went out to Compania de Chopp for churrasco. Their picanha is the best! YUM!

 

How to celebrate Easter? With a Passion of the Christ play of course...

...starring real novela actors from Rio de Janeiro! Que fancy!

(Marco Zero is the circle on the ground)

 Welcome to the city of Recife!

 Trying out the new baby backpack with sun-shade / baby hiding technology!

 View from Marco Zero

 Map of ye olde towne

First stop..."Good Jesus" / "the Jews" Street

 Cute, colorful, colonial buildings!

(they were all getting repainted with World Cup money today!)

The oldest synagogue in the Americas!

 More colonial cuteness!

Alison sitting on famous Recifense poet's lap!

 View across Rio Beberibe

Cheese!

Check out that coconut stash!

 Church of the Mother of God

 Dangerous danglings!

 The 80's called, they want their Mr. Yuk back!

Graffiti and patterned sidewalks...yay!

 Last stop at the junkeria

 Kaali & Kylie enjoying some picanha

Alison & Kylie relaxing with a caipirinha

Beach Day!

Today, we all took it easy! Not too many photos, but the beach is the BEST part of visiting Recife!

 Ahhhh...

 Cheese!

Queijo!

Olinda - Part II

Olinda really is a must-see stop when coming to Recife. It's so cute and colonial. Check out our last trip to Olinda with Ron, Julie & Linda. I tried to pick photos of things that we didn't show last time. Olinda is so photogenic. It's pretty much impossible to come back with less than 200 pictures from there. We made the same basic loop around town as last time to check out the all the churches and markets. Here's what we saw today:

Kaali & Alison on the steps of Igreja do Carmo

Inside the church!

It was open today!

Arts & crafts market, a university, the library, São João Batista, and Jesus!

The chapel at São Francisco

 

Check out that ceiling! Whoa!

 More views in and from Igreja e Convento Franciscano de Nossa Sehnora das Neves

(I love the ridiculous long names of stuff here!)

 Azulejo tiles...

....made in Portugal and shipped and reassembled in Brazil 400 year ago!

An ancient sundial!

 Frevo time!

 Alison at Nossa Senhora das Graças e Seminario

View back to Recife

Lunch at Oficina do Sabor:

Coconut Shrimp in a pumpkin! DELICIOUS!

Also, Kylie's first use of a high-chair at a restaurant.

Monkeying around!

So much like the US / Virginia / not a jungle here!

 Beach party!

Post lunch walk along the boardwalk

 Looks like a deserted island!

 Lighthouse...hmmm... looks like the Bodie Island Lighthouse from the Outer Banks!

Copying much?

Cheese!

 What!?! Olinda is full of copycats!

P.S. This one is more expensive than an actual Bloomin' Onion at Outback here!

Since Kylie had approximately zero naps today, I whipped up a gourmet dinner of enchiladas and a sugar-free plum tart while she slept this afternoon! #besthusbandever!