Florianópolis Girls Trip. . .

Saturday morning, I left the hotel around 5:45 and went to the airport to catch a short flight to Florianópolis to meet three other girls. Kevin and Emma were sleeping when I left and the morning was crisp and quiet. I hadn't flown since we arrived here in April, so I was excited to use my new language skills and navigate through the airport as if I knew what I was doing. I was really surprised at how comfortable I was!! Yay for progress! I'm really thankful for how far I've come in 6 months! TODAY is 6 months!! Wow! Anyway, I boarded the plane and had a window seat, my favorite!! I love flying during the sunrise and sunset! Sometimes I just think, Wow, God, You're an Artist!

My flight was less than 45 minutes and as we came through the clouds that were hanging over the island, I saw one of the forty two beaches that the island boasts!!

I took a taxi to my hotel, checked in and went to my room to meet Mollie. The picture on the left is the view from our hotel room. Mollie and the other two girls had arrived the night before. We went to breakfast and later Alina and Micki met us. After a two hour leisurely breakfast, we changed clothes and went to the beach, a whole ten yards from our hotel! It was slightly overcast, but the breeze was warm. OK, it wasn't a breeze, it was more like gusts of wind, but it was warm! After a couple of hours, we moved from the beach to the pool and relaxed and chatted some more! I've always thought I liked the mountains and active vacations more (and I think I still do), but there's definitely a time for relaxing by the beach. I'm convinced of it! We actually went swimming for a little bit, but the wind gusts made it too chilly to really enjoy! We were doing water aerobics just to stay warm! Then we decided it wasn't worth it to stay in!

I did my own pedicure:) Here's half of our hotel, the Jurerê Beach Village in Florianópolis.

Standing by the pool, this was the path to the beach. Short and sweet.

After relaxing by the pool, we all showered and went to lunch, around 3:30 p.m.!!! I've never eaten lunch at that time, but I didn't have a watch and I didn't notice! In fact, during the two days I was on the island, I never saw a clock! We had an amazing lunch at a restaurant right on the beach. My drink was a Pineapple Juice with Mint and we had appetizers of fried cheese pastels, kind of like cheese sticks, but way yummier! I ate one of the best pieces of fish I've ever had along with a side of broccoli and roasted garlic! Our waiter was learning English and we had a great time teaching him to say new words! The restaurant reminded me of a picture out of Coastal Living! I loved it!

From our restaurant, we were a ten-second walk from the beach.

Alina, Mollie and me. . .

Near the front of the restaurant were these fun beanbag-like chairs! I'm going to have to find some when we return to the States because they're soooo fun to sit in! Alina lived in Horizontina for three years and just returned to the States about a month ago. We were very sad to see her and her husband go, but we're also very happy to have met them!

Hotel lobby on the left. A storm was rolling in on Saturday night!!

After lunch we went shopping and returned to the hotel to change for dinner. Mollie and I both celebrate our birthdays in October, so we decided this would be our birthday dinner! The restaurant had live music, a man playing guitar (my favorite), along with a woman singing songs in Portuguese. It was fun. Our waiter was extremely happy and it was contagious. I was thinking that he could very well be the happiest man in the world! He said everything with a smile and he really just made our night very enjoyable! I ate Congrio (a fish here) and Risotto. Scrumptious! Then the four of us shared this incredible dessert. The glass mug had been dipped in half chocolate and half white chocolate, sprinkled with slivered almonds and then frozen. Then, it was filled with ice cream and slivered almonds. It was covered with hot chocolate and hot white chocolate, and then topped with strawberries and more slivered almonds! It was an incredible dessert and I'm inspired to try it at home! The combination was delicious! We stayed at the restaurant until almost midnight, laughing and chatting the night away!

We returned to our room to find a box of chocolates with a note attached. One of the receptionists who had been helping us learned that Mollie and I were celebrating our birthdays so she sent us a special box of beautiful chocolates to our room!! So sweet!

A beautiful sight

Sunday morning Mollie had a massage so I walked to the beach. She met me when she was done and we had a quick breakfast. Then we donned our running clothes and shoes and my Garmin and went for a run along the beachfront. Mollie's originally from San Diego, so the beach brings back memories to her like a wheat field does to me! I've never gone for a run along the beachfront!! This was a first! I loved it! We talked and ran along the path to the end of the beach and then crossed over to the sand for our return. I've never run along the beach, in the sand. Another first! About a quarter-mile from the hotel, we took our shoes and socks off and ran the rest of the way barefoot. I've never run barefoot along the beach! In Brazil. Another first. I'm going to be 30 on Thursday! I've been thinking a lot about my life and my health lately. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate 30 (early) than a 3-mile run along the beach! I'm proud of what I'm doing for my health lately and I feel good about myself!! I've had a few women in my life who've really inspired me to take care of myself and it's been one of the best encouragements to me. I feel like a healthier wife, mom, sister, and friend when I take care of myself! Sunday was fun!! (And it was a great workout!)

After our run we laid by the pool for a short time. The wind was chilly and it sprinkled a little bit. We decided to go shopping instead. We checked out of our hotel and went to Floripa shopping, where we ate lunch and shopped 'til we dropped. OK, not really. If you know me, you know I'm not a huge fan of shopping. Unless I need something, it doesn't really cross my mind to just "go shopping" for the day. However, since I was in great company, I had a good time and got a little more exercise in the process! We ate lunch at the mall and then had the hotel van take us to the airport. Around seven in the evening, we flew back to Porto Alegre. Behind me was a little girl with her parents. She happened to be the same age as Emma and was a beautiful little girl! She made me miss Emma so much! I was thankful I was on my way to see her! Although I think it's good for my overall health to take time away from Emma and Kevin, I don't really like to do it and I end up missing them the whole time I'm away!

As our plane took off from Florianópolis, we flew over the city's soccer stadium, where a game was being held. Soccer fans are crazy here! Fanatics! It was fun to see the stadium from the air! Then, another gorgeous view of one of the beaches! Great vacation! Great girls' time.