Happy Valentine's Day!

Autumn had to work today, so I caught up on housework, and then we all went down to the beach. 

You don't really have to take anything to the beach here except for money. There are people here that "rent out" umbrellas and chairs. They set up their spot, and if you buy drinks from them, you can use the umbrellas and chairs. We had been using Mr. Green Umbrellas until we showed up too late the other day, and he bumped us down to Mr. Yellow and White Umbrellas who definitely seemed like a third-rate operation. Today, we moved on down the beach to Mr. Blue Umbrellas, and he runs a tight ship! There was no minimum order, he wrote down the drink orders on a ticket, and even gave us a receipt to take up to the cashier guy! It was quite an upgrade from our usual spot. The only drawback was no coconuts!! 

I don't even know how that's possible since you can basically buy a coconut every five feet here, but I guess that no one is perfect. I think we've found our spot!

 Baby-cercising!

 Check out the extreme make-out sess that Linda caught while photographing the açaí vendor!

Que romântica!

 Chillin' with the babes!

 Beach cheese! Today, with oregano!

 Say queijo!

Beach time!

Praia de Calhetas

It's the last day of our 5 day Carnaval weekend, so we decided to pile into the van and head out on an adventure!  We found a beach about 30 miles away that boasted lobster, good swimming and a great view, so off we went!

The first view of the beach from up on hill.  So exciting!

Nestled into the best seat in the house!  We had to wait and stalk it out, but it was worth it.  A table with a view and a breeze!

Everyone out enjoying the last day of the holiday weekend.

Stupidly cold beer, perfect!

Sitting in the shade of the palms.

Shell embellishments in the concrete, it really added to the ambiance.

Boats moored for the day.

The restaurant where we spent the day, Bar do Artur, even had this handy baby wrangling contraption!

The star of the afternoon, perfectly cooked and fresh lobster, served in a tile.

The road home.  What a great day!

Carnival 2013 no Recife!

So, I was at work the other day when I overheard some rumors that we would be closed this week until Thursday.  Beings that I am new and not entirely oriented yet, I was like, "Come again?  5 day weekend??  POR QUE???"  Turns out, it's Carnival in Brazil, and that is a national holiday (or 3 workdays off!).  And, to boot, my family is here visiting, so we get to spend even more time together!

The most famous Brazilian Carnival celebration is, of course, at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro where the city's famous samba schools battle it out in a parading battle royale of glitter and feathers to determine whose samba program will reign supreme.  In Recife things are a little different.  The "Chicken of the Dawn" is the symbol of Carnival in this part of the country, and people gather in huge crowds (think millions...World Record style) to watch parades, see dancers and enjoy concerts at one of the many venues around the cities.  In the evenings drum groups dance down the streets, and revelry continues all through the night until Ash Wednesday when Lent starts and people go without.  Everyone needs a party before a long period of deprivation, right??

So, being the good hosts that we are, we did our research and found a party that would be appropriate for both a baby and for our guests.  Eric found a great place in the Boa Vista neighborhood, inside a market that had everything we were looking for!

We started the day off on the beach with a quick walk.  The pediatrician has prescribed Eric and Kylie 30 minutes in the sun every morning around 6:00 am.  Who are we to argue with a doctor?? 

The water and the sand.  It's like a mirror!

Kylie enjoying her walk, looking forward to Carnival festivities too, I'm sure!

The symbols of the State of Pernambuco's regional dance, Frevo.

A giant Frevo dancer sign.

It's even been named Unesco Patrimony of Humanity!  What, haven't we heard of Patrimony of Humanity before???

 There it is, the Chicken of the Dawn, in all of its gigantic glory.

After the Chicken, we made our way through some (sketchy) abandoned streets and finally found the Carnival event we had been looking for!  Hidden behind the walls of O Mercado de Boa Vista was a frenetic and fun, family-friendly celebration.  When we walked in the King and Queren of Recife's Carnival were making their rounds, and they stopped to oogle the baby!!  We did not realize they were actual royalty (hey, there are lots of people in costume around town!  When I saw a guy dressed as Fred Flintstone, I didn't think he was actually Fred Flintstone either!!), and so we did not get a picture.  Boo!  Here we have a procession of Frevo dancers, dancing around and around the market.

 Ron took this amazing picture of a samba dancer making her way around the market.  The joy on her face really captures the moment.  It was such a happy place!

Brazilians love babies, so when we were spotted with Kylie, we were immediately given a table in the middle of the party.  Yes!  Lunchtime for the babes!

Kylie makes friends everywhere she goes!  This guy deemed her a true "Pernambucana."  She loved the party, and spent the whole time smiling, giggling and flapping her arms to the beat.

After Kylie got her lunch, we got to have ours!  Dried beef, fried "onionized" cheese (queijo cebolhado), some cold snacks and 2 delicious pasteis, which are kind of like Brazilian empanadas.  All with a side of "stupidly cold" beer.  Delish!

Ladies of Carnival in our masks.  Eric even haggled us a "jeitinho" (favor) to get the masks on the cheap!  Everyone say "Queijo"!!

 The street in Boa Vista, decorated for Carnival!

Welcome to Recife!!

Today our first guests arrived to visit!  Bem vindo to my mom, Ron and my aunt Linda!  We are so excited they are here to visit us!

Everyone enjoying cold coconuts in the evening heat.

 

Carnival festivities began tonight, and we stopped to watch some Frevo dancing in the street.  Frevo is a local dance performed with a tiny umbrella that has been named a Unesco World Heritage Tradition.  One of the dancers taught me some moves!

Yahoo! What do you think, should I join the group?? :)

Greetings from Summer!

As we're settling in here in Brazil, we are getting out and seeing more of our new city.  This weekend we got together with new friends, and explored the beach we live on even more.  It is a gorgeous place, we are so lucky to live here!

This was my breakfast.  Bolo de Rolo com queijo.  I expected the cheese to come cold on the side, not piping hot, melted over a sweet roll cake.  It was an interesting dish...

There is totally a guy under all of those rafts.  Close inspection will reveal little feet poking out the bottom...

Avoid Sea Bath!!

Strolling through the neighborhood...

It's Brazil.

A sea of umbrellas and beach goers in the summer sun.

Eric and Kylie, ready for anything, and totally protected from sunburn!

The Amazing Caipirinha and Cascaxi!

So tonight we had our first guests over for dinner!  Having received none of our own stuff thus far, we had to entertain using our welcome kit, and some creativity.  The evening went off without a hitch, thanks in part to our new friends, the Cascaxi and the Caipirinha. 

This is the illustrious Cascaxi (prounounced Cas-ca-shi), which I won at work during a rousing game of charades.  It is a Brazilian made-for-tv item, and, much to our surprise, it actually works just as depicted on the box.   Pineapple cups, WHAT?!

Then, having not yet even tried the real thing, Eric sleuthily tracked down a recipe for Brazil's national cocktail, the Caipirinha!

Eric's Top Secret Caipirinha Recipe (which he found on Wikipedia)

1 2/3 fl oz cachaça*

1/2 of a lime, cut into 4 wedges

2 tbsp crystal or refined sugar
Ice

*Cachaça is a distilled spirit made from sugar cane juice, available all over Brazil.

Place all ingredients into super classy cocktail shaker as seen below, and shake shake shake!

Pour and serve, preferably in your hollowed out pineapple cup!

 Perfeito!

 It should be noted that a traditional caipirinha is muddled, not shaken, but hey, we do the best we can with our limited kitchen.  A vote was taken, and, despite the shaken-ness,  this recipe was voted delicious!

Recife: Life's A Beach!

Today we finally got out to do something fun and begin to discover our new city.  We spent the morning hanging out on Recife's famous urban beach, Boa Viagem.  For 20 Reais ($10, roughly) we were able to utilize a beach umbrella, 3 beach chairs, a tiny garbage can and a waiter for drinks.  It was time to sit back and enjoy the show, Brazilian style!

I'm too busy working and drinking coffee to be bothered right now!  (I know, I know, gratuitous baby pic!)

Morning coconut delivery.  This sight makes me happy.

Kylie and her dad enjoying the beach.  Looking good Eric!!

Relaxing in the shade.

An interesting, if not entirely safe, pass time.  These guys were being propelled by some kind of fan motor strapped to their backsides...flying these contraptions over known shark infested waters...hmmm...

An adorable bebezinha having a beach nap in her tropical swaddle.
She hadn't slept this soundly since we got here.

Vendors on the beach.  Locally-themed sarongs anyone?  Or beach soup maybe??

That's right, grilled cheese.  Not the sandwich.  We flagged this guy down for a bite.

 Perfectly charred and delicious...and on a stick!

These signs seem to go largely ignored...

Apparently the swings are more of a bird hang out than a kid attraction.

Eric making a call from his umbrella phone.  Like you do.

 

Free air conditioning with a view.