RIO DE JANEIRO

Sweet, sweet Rio. 

I can't even begin to express my love for this beautiful place.

My parents are from Rio and even though I was technically born in America, I say I'm from Rio too. SOU CARIOCA! ;) 

After Nova Resende, we left for another city in Minas Gerais. I took some pictures with my iPhone, but they won't be in this post. It was a great time being with family. We left Minas Gerais and drove to beautiful Rio. We got so much traffic that our car ride from MG to RJ was longer than our plane ride from Newark to Sao Paulo. Crazy. 

We arrived later than expected at my grandma's apartment, but already had plans for the next day.

We went to visit Santa Tereza, a historical town in Rio that inspires many writers and artists and attracts many tourists. The town used to have a popular trolly system, but it closed down years ago due to a terrible accident. The tracks are still all around and Santa Tereza's charm is still very apparent. 

Here are some pictures from our time in Santa Tereza.

Tia Wanda. My dad's sister. I absolutely love this woman.
She is always up for an adventure when we're there and always welcomes us so nicely in her home. 

Momma J.

Valdene. My momma's cousin.

Valdene's lunch. So pretty, right? This was at a really cute restaurant named Rustico.

I. LOVE. Pesto.  This was my appetizer  (cheese and pesto) and I liked it better than my actual lunch.

We had some company. Apparently, they go there often.

The waiter told us it was the first time he ever saw one of these little friends actually go on the table.

There are two levels. The first level is a cafe type place and a store. The second level is for lunch/dinner.

I was in this corner taking the above pictures. So cute!

Downstairs.

This was my view as we ate.

;)

<3

The bathrooms are outdoors--sort of (one for men, one for women), located right under the stairs in the above picture.
They have doors and everything but one can definitely find a way to peek in.
This is the sink that meets in between both doors. Interesting...

The view from a random street...

These next few pictures were taken the day before I left Brazil. We passed by a couple of beaches, stopped at and enjoyed one of them, and then had lunch in Copacabana. 

A flyer!

There were so many of these little fitness stations along the beach. I thought it was awesome! 

There's our flyer again!

I'll never get tired of this.

I laugh every time I see this picture.
I asked Danny and my grandpa to look up at me, but right before I took the picture Danny sneezed.
I found out his sneeze got on his arm,
which is why he is trying to smile for the picture but sort of looks disgusted.
"Uh, Fabz...I need a tissue"
Grandpa looks a little disgusted too. Haha







I love Rio and I wish I took more pictures, but God willing, I'll be back soon enough.



love. always.

Fabiane