Category Archives: travels

Snake and Birds

16 Wednesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, travels

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Today a saw a snake on the beach.

I am terrified of snakes, even if it is just a tad larger than a worm.  This finding makes me afraid of my morning walks and of going in the water.

I am not sure it had been in the dune vegetation and just wondered off too far, or perhaps a bird was carrying it and dropped it.

Since I heard the story of the hawk that dropped a snake on a woman and then both started attacking her, I am always aware of birds above me. 

“Even snakes are afraid of snakes.” — Steven Wright

After a few more minutes walking I encountered all these birds.  I am surprised they didn’t notice the snake.

 

Bike upgrade for Christmas

15 Tuesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, travels

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Last Christmas Michael upgraded my Huffy bike from Walmart to a Specialized from the local bike shop.

He wanted a different color but the only one available was black, and he wanted to make sure I had it for Christmas.

I love it! Classic and understated 🙂

The difference is amazing, it rides so smooth.  I also love the accessories that Michael added: the mirror and the lights. And let’s not forget the bright yellow helmet!

I am a lucky girl!

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle

New wheels

New wheels- classic black

 

My black and blue beauty

My  old beauty is for when my sister comes to town.

Sunset Bike Rides

14 Monday Apr 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, travels

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

I am blessed to start my day with walks on the beach, and to end it with bike rides along the Indian River.

I love discovering new neighborhoods and seeing all the different styles of houses, there are old Florida styles alongside very modern new homes.

But the best part of my evening rides are the sunsets at the Melbourne Beach Pier on the Indian River.

It is just spectacular!!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days.

One walk at a time

11 Friday Apr 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, travels

≈ 31 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

I have started taking daily walks before going to work.  It has become a good routine that has improved my day.  It makes me feel even more blessed to be able to have this contact with nature first thing in the morning.

On the first day I saw some garbage and other items left behind by the beach goers and decided to pick it up and throw in the trash bin.

In the following days I started taking a bag with me to help with the garbage collection. For the first few days I threw everything out. But the last couple of days I decided to keep some of the children’s toys.  See the 2 pictures below.

The items I find the most are:

  • Children’s plastic toys
  • Hair ties
  • Bottles, cans, bottle caps, plastic cups and straws
  • Suntan lotion bottles
  • Food and candy wrappers
  • Socks (I found 3 pairs in 2 days)

Today I decided to take 2 bags, one for real garbage and one for toys.  Guess what?

Nothing was found, except for a couple of bottle caps.  I am happy to see the beach clean. Today is Friday, I am guessing the beach is the worst after the weekend. I will report back after Monday’s walk.

Wishing everyone a blessed weekend! 

Birthday weekend – beach, massage, shopping, eating, gambling, and loads of fun

08 Tuesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Food, travels

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

The weekend before last I turned 59. 59!!!! I can’t believe I am 59. I don’t feel 59. But then again, what is 59 supposed to feel like?

The scary part is that 60 is just around the corner… and I have so much to do. Will I have time to do it all?

But, getting back to last weekend, my identical sister flew from NY to Florida so we could spend our birthday together.

I was excited to see her and for her to see my new place.

She arrived on Thursday night. On Friday we walked on the beach, went for a quick bike ride, then I took her to see my new office. Then we went to get massages, but they only had space for only 1 person, so I let her have the massage while I waited.

After that we went to a pizza place for a quick bite.  Then we went to Ross stores I had never been there before because of my growing dislike of shopping.  I don’t like going, but once there it was enjoyable, and my sister bought a bunch of stuff.  It was very similar to Marshalls.

After Ross we were going to Bealls, but my sister had no more room in her carry on so we skipped it.  We went back home and rested for a little bit, before getting ready for dinner.

For dinner we went to Estampa Gaucha, a Brazilian steakhouse. The meats were divine, but the salad bar and the sides were just okay. We had the typical Brazilian drinks, caipirinhas, and they were good.

On the Saturday we decided to take a casino cruise, Victory Casino Cruise. I was curious about it and figure it could be fun, since my sister is a fan of slots machines as well.

It was better than I expected. I won, my sister lost, but we all had fun.  The waters were choppy, so was a bit shaky at times.  I saw a young not feeling well and gave him a Dramamine pill.  I saw him a couple of times after that and he was very grateful.

After arriving at the port, on the way home we stopped at a Mexican restaurant called Tiny Turtle. We enjoyed our meal, and then went to Fat Donkey next door for ice cream, which was delicious.

On Sunday, we spent the morning at the beach, then it was time to help her pack and drive her the one and half hours to Orlando Airport.

Her flight was really delayed, she didn’t get to NY until midnight. But she had a great weekend and was happy to have been here.

We enjoyed all the food and drinks so much that we didn’t remember to take pictures.  I guess that is a good thing.

This was a laid back 59, perhaps I should start planning the 60 now!!

A little break for some snowy fun

25 Tuesday Mar 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Food, travels

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Life continues to be beautiful and chaotic.

In the midst of dental issues and audit headaches, Michael and I were able to get to our favorite skiing spot: Breckenridge. 

We were there for 5 days.  I only skied four days.  The first day I always struggle with altitude sickness. 

We had an amazing time.  There were some flight issues, but we were expecting those as we chose flights with connections.  We wanted to be able to use a small airport just 15 minutes from home.  

Every time we are in Breckenridge, we talk about buying a condo there.  That would allow us to spend more time there, and I would focus on improving my skiing. Skiing 5 days a year, or even 10 days, is not enough to see improvement.

Besides skiing, we didn’t do much. We spent some late afternoons at the hot tub and/or walking around in town.

We had some great meals. The most memorable was at Hearthstone Restaurant. We had an all-fish night. For appetizers we had pistachio crusted tuna and mahi-mahi tacos. For entrée, Michael had the salmon with a lobster sauce and I had the black cod with black rice.  To drink Michael had a beer and I had a cocktail called cornice fall (St. George citrus vodka, Domaine canton, lemon shrub and cava), absolutely delicious!

This restaurant also had an awesome view of the mountains.

We can’t wait to go back to snowy mountains!

 

Aleijadinho, Brazilian sculptor

25 Wednesday Sep 2024

Posted by in Daily Life, Mosaic and other crafts, travels

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Antonio Francisco Lisboa, better known as Aleijadinho, was a famous sculptor in colonial Brazil. He got the nickname Aleijadinho, which means “little cripple” because of a degenerative disease that caused immense pain,  and his body to be deformed. He lost some fingers and his feet.

His work can be found in many churches around Ouro Preto and the neighboring towns.  The churches that I was able to visit are gorgeous.  Unfortunately, some of the main ones that I wanted to visit were closed.  

Santuario do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinho

Santuario do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinho – an UNESCO recognized construction

In front of the church there are 6 chapels, and inside each there are sculpures describing the Passion Walk. The sculpures are done by he famous Aleijadinho and his team. at Santuario do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinho

In front of the church there are 6 chapels, and inside of each there are sculptures describing the Passion of Jesus Walk.

The Last Supper by Aleijadinho, inside one of the chapels

The Last Supper by Aleijadinho, inside one of the chapels

Church of Saint Francis

Church of Saint Francis

Churches in Mariana

Churches in Mariana

Tiradentes and Ouro Preto, sights and tastes

23 Monday Sep 2024

Posted by in Daily Life, Finding Me, travels

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Posada Casa da Tuta

Posada Casa da Tuta

In Tiradentes we stayed at Pousada Casa da Tuta. Cozy room, delicious breakfast. I would go back there for the chocolate cake alone.

a store in Tiradentes

a store in Tiradentes

In Tiradentes we had a delicious dinner in a restaurant that I cannot remember the name. It had a back patio with a jazz group playing great Brazilian jazz. I remember most the black rice risotto that I had, with fish and vegetables.

Pousada do Arcanjo

Pousada do Arcanjo

In Ouro Preto we stayed at Pousada do Arcanjo – a historical themed bed and breakfast. Great breakfast, comfortable rooms, but I would have prefered a more central location.

Pousada do Arcanjo

Pousada do Arcanjo

We ate at Tropea Cantina Armazen https://www.opassopizzajazz.com.br/tropea and Bene Flauta http://www.benedaflauta.com.br/. Both great restaurants, but I don’t recall exactly what we had. In one Michael had pizza and I had the chicken fried steak with pasta. In the other I had cod fish cakes and salad, and I cannot remember what Michael had.

Bene da Flauta Restaurant

Bene da Flauta Restaurant

Everywhere I went I would choose a drink of passion fruit and cachaça, but at Tropea I tried a drink with gin, passion fruit and ginger foam.  It was delicious.

Tropea Restaurant

Tropea Restaurant

Downtown Ouro Preto

Downtown Ouro Preto

“We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.” ― Epicurus

The child becomes the parent

09 Tuesday Jul 2024

Posted by in Daily Life, travels

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

“No man is an adult while his parents are alive. Until they die he is merely a performance to either please or punish them.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Adjustment Day

Things have been crazy for me in Brazil.

I am juggling work and the household operations at my parents. My brother helps my parents, and as they age he has to step in more and more. I came to Brazil to see my parents, but specially to give my brother a break.  He just took off on 2 weeks vacations now, and I intend to have him take some more time in August.

We have 2 ladies that come to clean and cook. One comes Mondays and Fridays and the other comes Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are fairly new to the house, so they are a bit lost, and still have to been told what to do. We used to have one person 2 days a week.  She was great, but she relocated and we haven’t been able to replace her.

I got here right at month’s end and beginning of the new month – my busiest time at work. I have an audit to do and bonuses to work on, so it will get a little crazier before it gets better.

I have been cleaning and organizing. Every time I come to Brazil, I try to leave things better than I found them.  I like to think that I often succeed. 

I have been able to start Pilates. I will be doing it at least 3 times a week. Some days it will be at 7am and other days it will at 7pm. My body needs it. My body is showing the effects of over indulging in the cruise and all the amazing Brazilian sweet desserts.

Have you ever Coffee flavored Coke?  I tried and I am not a fan.

Coca-Cola com CafeCoca-Cola com Cafe

I want to be persistent as this flower.  They grow anywhere, even sprouting from the cement in my mom’s backyard.

Persistent Flower

Persistent Flower

Michael adores animals, specially these little monkeys that we have in a park in a neighboring town.  There are about 50 of them living there. Unfortunately, I have been told that most of them have diabetes because people feed them sweets.  They live in an area full of kiosks selling all kinds of treats,  so it is very easy for people to give them some, without realizing the harm they are doing.

 

Skiing in Park City, Utah – Dec23

24 Sunday Dec 2023

Posted by in Daily Life, Food, travels

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

If you don’t do it this year, you will be one year older when you do – Warren Miller

Hi Friends,

The busyness of the season has kept me away from here.  I am promising myself to budget my time better in 2024. The hope is to post more, to connect more.

The trip to Park City, Utah was perfect.  Michael and I had been there in March.  That was our first trip together, just a couple of weeks after we had met.  Here is the post about that trip: https://blessedwithastarontheforehead.com/2023/03/24/where-fear-and-happiness-meet/

This time we traveled directly to Park City.  We didn’t rent a car as we stayed right at the mountain.  We skied 3 days. There wasn’t a lot of snow.  They made some snow, but a lot of the trails weren’t opened. Still, for me, the green trails that were opened were enough.

We went out to eat 3 evenings.  We ate tapas at 710 Bodega Tapas, Italian food at Buona Vita and Mexican food at Don Gallo.  All three restaurants were delicious. The most memorable item for me was a dessert at 710 Bodegas,  called Broken pavlova; meringue, strawberries and whipped cream. We had it on the first trip and I wanted it again.

To summarize, the trip was a success. I always want to go skiing in new places, but I am finding joy in visiting a familiar place. I think we will be going to Park City every season.

Back home, I am swamped with end of the year work stuff. As usual, I can handle it.

We managed to go to see a Broadway show yesterday: Some Like it Hot.  Really well done and fun!  After it, we had dinner at Via Brazil – we had a lot delicious food: skirt steak, chicken fried steak, potato puree, rice, beans, yucca fries. Michael doesn’t eat meat so he had a hearts of palm stroganoff, which was equally delicious.

I think that will be a new holiday tradition for us: Broadway and dinner!

I am wishing you all a blessed holiday, celebrated in a way that brings you the most joy: with delicious food, with loving family and friends, with gratitude in your heart.  Thank you for stopping by, and being a part of my journey!  Thank you for your thoughts and great wishes!

Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.-Oprah Winfrey

Some photos of our trip to Park City:

Skis are not just pieces of wood, steel & fiberglass. They are tools for escape, a medium for personal expression, a way to challenge fears, push limits and share incredible experiences with your friends.”- Unknown