When they came around the corner, Emma took off running (right past Tim and Bethany) and into the arms of her grandma. Not sure, but I think there were some tears in Grandma's eyes! She said the entire trip was worth that moment! It was pretty awesome!
We dropped the luggage off at the apartment where we were staying and ate a quick lunch before starting our tour. The first stop on our tour was the statue of Christ the Redeemer, and it was absolutely amazing. The statue itself is pretty incredible, but the drive to the top of the mountain on which it stands was awesome too!
Of course, no Schrag vacation would be complete without a few rounds of Rook, so while I put Emma to bed, the others played 5-handed, and everyone went to bed exhausted and happy (I think).
Our tour guide, Neyla, brought food to feed the monkeys, which she knew was totally illegal. She laughed it off and said it was worth it to get some good pictures! She was an interesting person. Her eyelids and eyelashes were about as blue as her fingernails and she was very fond of Emma. So fond, in fact, that she slapped my hand at one point and told me to go take pictures so she could take care of Emma. I laughed and obeyed, but kept her in my sight. I mean, it was great that she took care of her and all, but it was a little weird, and the thought of a blue lady kidnapping our child crossed my mind a few times. Grandma was on the lookout, too, so Miss Neyla never got too far with Emma!
After we left Sugar Loaf, we drove through some neighborhoods in Rio. Suddenly, the van stopped and Neyla pointed out the window to our right and told us to get out for a short stop.
I had no idea where we were, but I was so thankful she did! Escadaria Selaron is a set of steps created by Jorge Selaron. He started the project in 1990 and has continued to renovate an old, and very looooong, stairway that runs in front of his home. He says this project is his "tribute to the Brazilian people", and it's an amazing tribute! Years and years of work.
There are 250 stairs covered in over 2000 tiles from all over the world. As we were taking pictures, Grandpa and Emma climbed almost all the way to the top. I ran after them to tell them we were leaving and Emma was still trying to go higher! She had so much energy!
When I reached the top, I realized that I wasn't really at the top. The steps turned and went up a few more flights. I took this picture and then headed down, worn out!
The Metropolitan Cathedral. We were told they don't actually hold services in the church, although people can enter to pray if they want. We walked in and I sat in a pew. I closed my eyes and listened. Then I looked around and just observed for a few minutes. A little boy walked in front of me with a bag of popcorn. I turned around to see a gift shop in the back, selling souvineirs of the church. Cameras were flashing left and right. People were laughing and telling jokes and talking about which tourist attraction they were going to visit next. The walls were made of solid concrete and the floors were concrete as well, with a red carpet leading to the front. Nobody could walk on that carpet though, because it was roped off. The building was actually very beautiful and incredibly designed, but it felt so lifeless to me. Not really sure how to explain that, other than I didn't feel like I was in a holy place. I felt like I was inside a really neat tourist attraction.
We left the church and headed toward the Confeitaria Colombo, which had been opened in 1894. I felt like we entered another era when we walked through the doors. On both sides of the main dining room were 4 ceiling-to-floor mirrors that had been shipped to Brazil from Belgium. On the first trip, 4 of the 8 mirrors were broken. The second shipment had 4 mirrors, 2 of which broke. The final two mirrors arrived on the third shipment. The food was very delicious, especially Emma's grilled cheese. I think it was the best-tasting grilled cheese I've ever had! My sandwich had sundried tomato and tofu on it and I couldn't have been happier!
After lunch we took the electric trolley around the Santa Teresa neighborhood. The train ride only costs about $0.35, so it was a cheap tourist attraction. I enjoyed riding through the neighborhood and wondered what life is like for the people who actually live and work in Rio. As I was daydreaming, the trolley came to a stop, unable to go any further. We stood up to see what the problem was and saw a small Jeep parked in our way. The engineer of the trolley yelled for someone to come take care of it, but nobody came out of any of the homes. He began ringing doorbells and calling for the driver. As he was trying to find the owner of the car, Kevin and Tim and Bethany and me, along with several other passengers, jumped off the trolley and tried to lift the small Jeep out of the way. No luck. The guys jumped on the running boards and shook it, trying to set off an alarm. No luck. We gave up and got back on the trolley. Finally, after about 15-20 minutes, the owner of the car ran out of a home, slightly embarrassed. Everyone on the trolley clapped and cheered and then we were on our way. I love that people clapped and cheered. Nobody was really mad. Sure, it was an inconvenience, but it wasn't worth getting upset about. I was just impressed with the way it was handled.
We had heard there was a Starbuck's in Rio and we were determined to find it. So determined, that we took a subway from the Santa Teresa trolley down to Ipanema. From there, we walked. And we walked. And then we walked some more. Kevin had the address and we just kept walking, nothing but good coffee on our minds. We were all almost run over a few times while crossing the crazy streets, but we eventually made it to Leblon, one of the most upscale neighborhoods in Rio. We finally found a shopping mall and inside, our beloved Starbuck's!! We sat and enjoyed our coffee and bought blueberry muffins for breakfast the next morning.
This was just amazing to me! Someone spent a really long time putting these books on display and I was so impressed!
We left the shopping center and walked along the beach in Leblon and Ipanema. Since our flight was scheduled for early the next morning, we knew it was our only chance to walk in the sand and and play in the water. We took off our shoes and walked toward the water. The sand was so warm and soft between my toes and I regretted not having spent more time on the beach.
Shortly after I took the picture of Tim and Bethany, I heard Kevin yelling for me to come help him. I ran out of the water and toward him and laughed as I realized what he was doing. He was holding Emma by the arms and she was naked from the waist down, having relieved herself in the sand (and it wasn't just pee!!)!!! I was laughing so hard as I gave him a wipe. She said her tummy felt better and she was ready to go back to the water! I piled tons of sand on her pile and then drew a large cirle around the pile of sand, hoping to deter people from walking through her crap. I hope it disintegrates before someone is really surprised.
We left our apartment at 5:45am to go to the airport!! It was an early morning and sleep sounded way better than getting on an airplane! The view of Rio from the air was gorgeous. Ipanema Beach is on the left. Copacabana is on the right. If you have a microscope, you can see Christ the Redeemer on top of one of the mountains!
We left Rio and flew to Porto Alegre, where we had left our car. We dropped our bags off at the hotel and then drove to a Churrascaria near the Montenegro factory. I had only been to this place one other time. It is a fabulous place to eat (and overeat)! The Brazilians are very proud of their cows and they cook the meat very well! The waiters come around to the tables and cut meat off the chunk that is on the long spade (espeto). I watched as my in-laws' eyes got bigger and bigger! The meat just kept coming. The other food kept coming, too! It was a feast like I've never seen! And yet, it's so very normal here! Near the end of our meal, the waiter brought out pineapple that had been covered with cinnamon and sugar and grilled over hot coals! Mmmm! It was awesome! Fully satisfied, we then drove (all 7 of us in our little non-minivan car) to Gramado and Canela, two little resort towns in the mountains. We spent a few hours walking around the Caracol Park. Tim and Bethany hiked to the bottom of the waterfall with Kevin and me. There were over 575 steps! The trip down wasn't so bad, but my whole body hurt on the way up!! The view was worth it, though, and I was happy to get a little exercise!
Shortly after we left the waterfall, we stopped to get a ridiculously-priced apfel strudel. When I came out of the cute house, Kevin and Tim and Robert were in the process of changing a tire! Not cool, especially since we had just purchased a new tire the week before and tires here are outrageously expensive! Well, they changed it and we went on into Canela.
This Church of Stone is so beautiful!
After we fixed the tire that was flat and bought a few pounds of chocolate from some homemade chocolate factories, we ended our day in Gramado with fondue!!! First, the waiters brought out cheese fondue with baby potatoes and bread. Then they brought out a hot stone (instead of oil fondue), along with chicken, pork, and beef and 14 sauces for dipping the meat in! I pretty much drank the garlic dipping sauce!! Finally, the chocolate fondue came out and we had 10 bowls filled with different fruits to dip in the chocolate! When the fruit was gone, I just started dipping my spoon in the bowl of chocolate! It was addictive! We left Gramado in the middle of a storm. Kevin was driving and I think the rest of us fell asleep. The next morning, we read that a tornado had destroyed parts of Canela and Gramado! We were so grateful to have made it back to Porto Alegre!
We stopped at the Montenegro tractor factory on our way home to Horizontina. Kevin has responsibility in Montenegro and travels there about once a month. His boss lives there, so we met up with him and were able to spend some time there. We stopped in Soledade to visit the rock store, which happens to be one of my favorite stores in the world. I just like walking through the store and seeing all the beautiful rocks they have. (Apparently, I have a little bit of my dad in me!)
Our time in Horizontina was laid back and relaxing. Emma and Grandma played games and made necklaces and bracelets. Emma had a permanent smile on her face from the time her grandparents arrived until the moment they left! She loved her time with them!!
She was pretty excited about her Aunt Bethany as well! I heard Emma laugh more than I think I've ever heard her laugh before! She had so much fun!!!
Lots of music, movies, coffee, blankets (it was freezing here!), and coffee. Did I mention coffee?
In the middle of our time with family, Kevin turned 31. I have a really long post in my head that I want to write about what an amazing man he is. It might just stay in my head, but let it be known that Kevin Schrag is an incredible man. There aren't words in the two languages I know that can describe who he is. I am so grateful for him.
Emma helped him blow out his trick candles.
On his actual birthday, we went to Casa do Marques in Santa Rosa, where they serve great food and tons of it! We were happy and full when we left! Emma went from ignoring Uncle Tim to sitting on his lap. Wow.
On Monday, I took Marcy and Bethany to have their nails done by my friend Cristiane. It was a cold day, but Cris had a warm, cultural drink ready for us when we got there. . . the chimarrao. I was very impressed with my in-laws for experimenting with the traditional drink! We had such a great time during our three hours with Cris! She was so sweet and patient and funny and I was so thankful Marcy and Bethany were able to spend some time with a friend of mine here!
Cristiane is an artist! She painted Bethany's nails and toenails and Marcy's nails. The guys stayed home while Emma napped and we had a great girl-time!
On Tuesday morning, we left Horizontina and drove to the Brazil/Argentina border to get on a ferry that would take us to Argentina. Unfortunately, the barge was delayed by fog, so we sat for almost two hours. Fortunately, someone was wise enough to bring Catch Phrase, so we had a fun family time in the car. We crossed into Argentina to drive to Iguacu Falls, located about 4-5 hours north of here. The roads are better in Argentina and it's easier to get to the falls. Also, the falls are divided between Argentina and Brazil, and both sides are worth visiting! We stopped at a grocery store in a small town and picked up sandwich food. I sat in the front as Kevin drove and made ham and cheese sandwiches for everyone. It felt so family-ish! I loved it! Memories!! Because of our delay, we didn't have as much time as we would have liked on the Argentina side, but it was still beautiful and amazing to see!
Happy girl. Happy grandparents. Happy me.
Part of the old walkway that led to the falls.
On the Argentina side, looking toward Brazil. I am amazed at the construction of the bridge - so close to the falls, so very close!
Bethany found this old house and it reminded me of a scene from LOST. I would love to know the story about this house someday.
Tuesday night we crossed back into Brazil and stayed the night in Foz do Iguacu. We went to the Brazil side of the falls early Wednesday morning. Kevin and I had been there back in October, and we were so excited to show this place to our family. We were also in awe again as we walked through the park. Emma didn't walk much. She took full advantage of her grandparents!
Wednesday afternoon we visited a bird park. Sadly, two of our favorite places to visit within the park were closed, but it was still fun to see all the different birds from around the world.
Emma would barely look at Tim when they first arrived in Brazil. After a very short time, she was giving him the thumb. Then she was sitting by him. By the end of the trip, she was grabbing his hand so she could walk with him and she even let him hold her. I just loved watching their relationship grow. I smiled while watching them!
Brave little girl! Her daddy was proud! Why they have snakes at a bird park is beyond me?!
I love this picture! Emma thought it was hilarious to splash water in Grandma's face! She laughed and laughed!
Elephant ears. . .
On Thursday morning, we walked around Foz do Iguacu and ate some more beans and rice and meat. The Schrags packed their bags and boarded a plane to Rio and then went back to the US. I might have cried, but I had to get home and unpack my bags so I could do laundry and pack them again! On Tuesday, the 10th, we'll see the grandparents again!!
So, so much for blogging! I'll be in the U.S.A. for 4+ weeks! Maybe I'll send an update. . .maybe not:) I'm incredibly excited to see people I know and love!! Until I return. . .
