A few weeks ago, Kevin needed to be in Porto Alegre for work. Since Monday, the 15th, was a holiday, we decided to leave early and visit Gramado, which is located a few hours north of POA. Gramado holds the most famous Christmas celebration in Brazil and people from all over the country descend on this little German town in the mountains.
After unloading our suitcases in the hotel room, we took a taxi downtown and made our first stop at the Planalto chocolate store. Homemade chocolates are undoubtedly the best souvenir to buy in Gramado! Kevin was prepared for this trip and we talked on our way to Gramado about what my budget for chocolate would be. I made it out of the first store without spending a dime:)
We spent the evening walking around the town, waiting for the lights to come on. Cheesy Christmas decorations filled the windows of every store on the main strip. The city streets, though, were beautifully decorated. Most impressive to me was the fact that almost all of the decorations were made out of recycled, plastic, two-liter pop bottles. I've never seen anything like it!
We spent the evening walking around the town, waiting for the lights to come on. Cheesy Christmas decorations filled the windows of every store on the main strip. The city streets, though, were beautifully decorated. Most impressive to me was the fact that almost all of the decorations were made out of recycled, plastic, two-liter pop bottles. I've never seen anything like it!
Restaurants here usually open around 7p.m. Because we're American and like to eat our dinner at a decent hour, we're always the first customers to enter and order our food. We actually enjoy it now because the restaurants are quieter and it just feels kind of private. Dinner in Gramado Sunday night was no different. We entered, ordered, ate and left just as a group of Brazilians was entering. We walked back to the main Christmas tree in the center of town and took our places to watch.
At exactly 9p.m., the show started. The lights on the tree were sychronized with music from loudspeakers. As the sound of the music grew, the lights became brighter. Spotlights from several angles made the tree appear to be changing colors. I really was impressed!
For about 10-15 minutes, we watched as the tree lit up more and more. Finally, with a few loud cymbal crashes, every light on the main street was turned on. Everyone cheered and then the crowds dispersed.
As a last-minute thought, I grabbed Emma's winter hat and gloves for the trip. It's been in the 80s and 90s here, but since Gramado is in the mountains, I wanted to be prepared. I'm so glad I had her things. It was on the verge of cold! She loved all the lights and couldn't stop talking about them!! I loved seeing the excitement on her face!
The chandelier above and the chandeliers in the center of the draped lights below were all made of recycled plastic. Christmas lights were strung through them. Some very dedicated people take a lot of time to manufacture decorations for Gramado's Christmas Festival.
Rua Coberta (the Covered Street) is probably the most famous street in Gramado. When the Kikito awards (similar to the Oscars) are held here, the stars walk the red carpet under the covered street and enter the theater for the awards. It's lined with restaurants and cute shops.
This is the Igreja Sao Pedro, or Saint Peter Church, built in 1942. This was our third trip to Gramado and it's the first time I remember seeing the church. It's not near as big as the one in nearby Canela, but it's still beautful. I love old stone churches.
We decided to head back to our hotel around 10ish, but the taxi driver told us he couldn't take us to our hotel because the road was too blocked with traffic. We had to walk. We had the umbrella stroller, but Emma spent most of the walk on her daddy's shoulders. The view was better and she had fun grabbing his hair:) We stopped at the lake to watch part of a show there, but we didn't stay long. Had we known to buy tickets for that show ahead of time, we definitely would have gone to it. However, by the time we arrived in Gramado, the show had been sold out. I later read that people start buying tickets for Gramado's Christmas Festival in July!! I was a little late! I'm still so happy we were able to be there for a night!!
