Soulard on Steroids - The Rio Market

My friends in St. Louis know the history of the Soulard Farmers Market.  It’s still a great place for fresh produce and farm-raised poultry and meat.  When we visit St. Louis it’s one of our favorite places to visit on Saturday mornings.  Our children even enjoy the Soulard visits. 

Today we caught a glimpse of the farmers market in Rio de Janeiro.  This one is located one block west of Copacabana beach and about two blocks north of our hotel.  I would love to tell you we planned it and knew it would be there; alas, we’re not that smart.  As we left Sunday morning Mass at Our Lady of Copacabana it was staring us in the face.  Four blocks of produce, fresh meat, fresh fish and shellfish, cheeses and street food - our kind of place.

The photos below tell the best story…

These were some of the tiniest, most colorful peppers I’ve seen.  They looked incredibly hot.

We did run across this unusual looking fruit.  You can see the lady in the back separating the edible part from the fruit.

A bit later we asked another man about the strange looking fruit.  He pronounced it “jaka” (sp?) and offered us a sample.  It reminded us of a sweet apple – dense and richly flavored.

How can you visit a market like this and not sample the street food?

In the background, the young man is grinding fresh sugar cane while the man in the foreground pours the fresh, sweet nectar into glasses.  We enjoyed it with our pastel de carne (fresh meat pie) for R$ 5.5 or about $3 USD – a great deal.

 

What a Day - Sao Paulo to Rio

First, the trip was not that bad.  A bit of traffic on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, but overall a very nice, scenic drive throurgh east central Brazil.  It took us about 5 1/2 hours of actual drive time from the western suburbs of Sao Paulo.  Once you leave Sao Paulo it quickly turns into rolling hills with lush green, tropical vegetation.  Around Sao Jose do Campos you begin to view the industrialized side of Sao Paulo state and the multitude of multi-national corporations - Nestle, Mars, Guardian Glass, Embraer and Volkswagen. 

The last half of the trip becomes mountainous with some very curvy switchbacks about 90 minutes from Rio.  Tracy took some great photos.  It was a memoroable drive.

Rio's infrastructure has some catching up to Sao Paulo.  It's also much smaller than Sao Paulo.  If we had not been to Sao Paulo first, then Rio would have seemed much larger.

As much as we enjoyed the drive the real surprises were yet to come.  Kudos to the JW Marriott on Copacabana.  They could not have been located any better.  Check out the photo from our hotel room.  It's located right in the middle of Copacabana beach on the east shore of Rio. 

We took a walk down the beach and enjoyed a couple of draft Brahma beers before returning to the hotel bar for dinner and drinks after sunset with two more surprises yet to come.

I love pizza - New York style, Chicago style stuffed  and our favorite - super, thin crust St. Louis style with Provel cheese.  Finding a pizza that leaves a lasting impression is not easy; they are all good.  However, the combination of ingredients on tonights pizza were unusual, memorable and one we'll work to replicate when we return home.  The magic toppings were prosciutto de parma, artichoke hearts and blue cheese over a thin crust with small amount of pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese - pizza kismet.

If that was not enough while we we were enjoying our drinks I thought I recognized a gentleman at the bar - an American no less.  The problem was that I could not completely recall his name.  Pretty sure that he was on ESPN and one of the originals - something Lee, Sunday mornings, Outside the Lines.  What was his name?  I picked up Tracy's iPad and did a quick search - Bob Ley.  We introduced ourselves; learned that he's doing a story on preparation for the 2014 World Cup and he graciously agreed to the photo below - 6000 miles from home.  It was quite a day.

We haven't even been to Corcavado with Cristo Redeemer or Sugarloaf Mountain yet.

Traveling with Technology - The Good and Not So Good

We have been aided greatly by modern technology on our latest trip.  We have used a number of gadgets and tools to take advantage of digital technology in our connected age.  When you don't speak the language, Technology is your friend.

Tracy has an iPad 2.  It has been invaluable to assist with our journey.  Google Earth and Google Translate have worked well.  Tracy showed the young girl at the hotel front desk the aerial view of the neighborhood to locate the Catholic church.  The directions we had previously received were incorrect and the few minutes spent with the young lady with an interactuve picture made the difference. 

We also loaded Skype onto the iPad before we left.  Skype has allowed us to stay in touch with friends and family - inexpensively.  We just have to have an internet connection which is no longer a problem.  It's been nice seeing our grandsons through video chat.  My mother-in-law has really got a kick out of her webcam and video chats with Tracy.

We're also using Facebook, Blogger.com, digital photos and my laptop to chronicle and share our experiences as well as stay in touch with news, sports and weather back home.  It was a pleasure to see the Blues advance in the playoffs and the Red Wings eliminated.  The Cardinals are off to a good start.

MapQuest has work to do to be relevant outside of the US.  We struggled to navigate their website to the correct cities and corresponding maps.   Specifically, in and around Sao Paulo were not very helpful.  We actually used two GPS systems in tandem to navigate our way to Campos do Jordao.  One was a TomTom that spoke English and the other was standard in the Honda Accord.  The Honda version does not have an English language file so the voice is Portuguese only.  The verdict - neither one delivered us to our destination without incident.  The Honda system locked up about 10 miles from our destination when we needed it most and the TomTom was not quite up-to-date.  Both systems would get us close but we had to use our instincts,  a couple of maps and local landmarks to reach our final destinations.

Brazil with a little bit of Argentina – Libertango

Truth be told I fell in love with Buenos Aires the first time I visited in 2002.  For me it was the European feel of the wide boulevards, café’s, preference for wine and the music of the tango.  The soulful, mournful tones with the accordion in the background drew me in.  The pace was a bit slower, meals longer and the emphasis was on relationships and good conversation around the table – my kind of lifestyle.  I have always said of the cities I visited, Buenos Aires was at the top of the list to take Tracy.

When we arrived in Campos on Saturday it was raining steadily and getting wet.  We needed a place for lunch and to dry off.  We basically popped into the first place we came to which was Famiglia Parmigana and we met “Little Jorge” Serodio, the owner and manager.  Little Jorge had lived in Orlando for 5 years with his family and was pleased to offer us service in English – yeehaw!  We enjoyed Beef Parmigana and Trout Parmigana for lunch.  As we spoke with Jorge we learned that his family also owned Libertango on the other side of the covered walkway.  They would gladly accept our dinner reservations for Saturday evening.

We were quickly greeted by Jorge, Sr and his other son – Chiago (likely just butchered the spelling).  We couldn’t help but be drawn in by their passion for food and hospitality.  They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable.  We enjoyed a 2008 Malbec from Argentina with our steaks, chimichurri and a side dish of mashed pumpkin and gorgonzola.  Our dessert was a crepe filled with dulce de leche and topped with fresh ice cream.  It was a memorable meal.

If there is a better combination of good beef, blue cheese and red wine I'd love to know what it is.

Campos do Jordao – An alternative to the beach

How many of you know that within Brazil that there is a European-style mountain village?  It’s only recently that we learned of Campos do Jordao in Sao Paulo state.  It sits about 5000 feet above sea level and is patterned after a Swiss mountain village.  It is a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of Sao Paulo. 

When North Americans think of Brazil generally a few sites and landmarks come to mind…

·         Rio de Janeiro and Carnival

·         The Amazon

·         Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches

We are learning that there is much more to Brazil.

Our hotel is Pousada Recanto Almeida – strongly recommended.  The staff has been gracious and Max at the front desk speaks English.  We found this hotel through Expedia.  The customer reviews on Expedia were spot on.  Our room is large and comfortable with a terrific view of the countryside. 

When we were out on Saturday evening it was comfortable in the mid-50s; a little damp but no wind.  My sweater was really all I needed for warmth.  For Brazilians on the other hand, any time the temperature is in the 50s it is cold.  They were all wearing winter coats, gloves and hats.  The upper Midwest winters have prepared us well.

Great Pizza, Good Friends and "Muito" Hospitality

 It's a bit embarrassing for me to admit but I had one year of Spanish in High School - that's it for my foreign language education.  I think back on all of the excuses and reasons for me not to learn a foreign language.  It's a regret.   The result is that when I travel abroad I am at the mercy and gracious hospitality of my hosts for them to speak in a second, unnatural language.  By the grace of God, English - by default- has become the international business language; otherwise, I would not be able to make it. 

Thursday night we dined at Bendita Hora with our hosts - Mariano Gracino, Otavio Dias and his girlfriend Priscilla.  Earlier in the day I had asked Mariano if there was good pizza in Alphaville.  The gracious host that he is wasted no time in finding a recommendation - Bendita Hora.  We loved it!!  The pizza was fired in a traditional wood-fired, brick oven with an abundance of fresh toppings.  Tracy chose the "Tres Funghi" pizza and Priscilla chose the "Bareu".  The thin, crisp crust was perfectly cooked and paired well with Argentinian Carmenere wine. 

As good as the pizza, the company and atmosphere of the restaurant were even better.  Our hosts educated us on the Portuguese language, culture and the rivalries and history of Sao Paulo futbol.  Pele' played for Santos.  The best player today is Neymar and he is only 20 and plays for Santos as well.  Mariano and Otavio like Corinthians while Priscilla supports Sao Paulo.  With this group it was all good-natured fun, but I have no doubt on game day that the rivalry matches that of Louisville - Kentucky or Michigan - Ohio State.  Our hosts patiently answered our questions in English while we enjoyed good food and wine.



The next night Tracy and I ventured out to the Tambore' shopping complex and visited Agua Doce (translated as "Sweet Water").  It reminded us of Buffalo Wild Wings.  The beer was cold and the food was similar to bar/tavern food.  We liked the small meat pies that were stuffed with cream cheese and corned beef.  Our waiter for the evening was proud of his English and helped us through our dinner - much appreciated.

Chaos!! Driving in Sao Paulo

Driving in Sao Paulo is not for the faint of heart.  In fact, if you are here for a week or less, then my advice is simple - don't drive.  Like most things in Brazil, I struggle to relate the experience to my friends and family in the tame, relatively tranquil, predictable midwestern United States.  Yes, we have tornadoes and violent Spring storms but in some ways they are more predictable than driving and traffic in Sao Paulo.

First, due to the length of my stay the company arranged a car for my use.  I am grateful; it provides a level of control and flexibility that I enjoy when I travel.  We can explore where and when we choose.  Plus we can take some sidetrips on the weekend - the beach or mountains. 

The car is a 2012 black Honda Accord with a GPS.  One problem, the GPS only speaks Portuguese!!  We thought we had it programmed this morning to English, but no.  We'll try again tomorrow.  Other than the language the car is perfect - very nice.

Here are some of the challenges you face when driving in Sao Paulo (don't imagine that Rio is any different)...

•  I swear that there are 20 million people in Sao Paulo and 30 million vehicles
• There are no trains for freight in a country the size of the US which means that everything, and I mean everything moves by truck - all shapes and sizes, makes and models and some slow and some fast
• Although they drive on the right side of the road (Thank God!) the traffic patterns are very different.  One-way roads, traffic circles, very few left turns, turn-abouts and merging traffic everywhere are some of the differences.
• Then we come to pedestrians, motorcycles and bicycles.  They are everywhere.
• The motorcycles are the worst.  They obey no rules of the road that I know of.  They drive between the rows of traffic and weave in/out at will usually on both sides of the car.  Their single rule maybe simpler than I think - get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

Say some prayers for us.  St. Christopher the patron saint of travelers is most welcome with us.

I'll relate one humorous story, my only regret is that I did not have my camera.  It was Friday night in stop-n-go traffic on the Castel Branco motorway heading west to Alphaville.  Cars were moving in and out of traffic and merging onto the highway while motorcycles sped between the rows of stopped vehicles.  A motorcycle passed me on the right with a large box duct taped around his waist and his chest. 

"Toto we're not in Kansas anymore."