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.
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!!
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.
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 – an UNESCO recognized construction
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
Downtown Ouro Preto
“We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.” ― Epicurus
“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 Cafe
I want to be persistent as this flower. They grow anywhere, even sprouting from the cement in my mom’s backyard.
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.
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.
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
“The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.” ― J.M. Barrie, The Little White Bird
After visiting with my aunt, my cousin gave us a ride back downtown – we had walked to my aunt’s. We went to Thermas Antonio Carlos to inquire about getting some spa treatments.
Thermas Antonio Carlos is a bathhouse that was built at the end of 1920s, and inaugurated in March 1931. It was a place for sick people to get sulfurous baths and other treatments. Today it has been completely restored and it is mostly frequented by tourists.
They have also added a couple of stores with natural products and also a café/restaurant. The café overlooks a water fountain and also leads to the outdoor areas that also has a few tables.
We scheduled an ofuro bath and massages for the end of the day. From there we went to the Bird Zoo.
We don’t like to see animals in cages, but this place is more like a sanctuary. They gave the birds a lot room. They also rescue old and sick ones.
We hadn’t had lunch yet when we got there, but the place had only sweet snacks. I had a brownie and Michael had a banana nut cake.
It was fun to see and read about the beautiful birds. We spent a couple of hours there. There are a lot benches throughout, so from time to time we sat and just took in the beauty of nature, and the realization of how blessed we are.
From there we went back to the bathhouse for our treatments. We could have the bath treatment in separate tubs, but we chose to be together in an ofuro – wooden soaking tub. We could choose a scent and an oil. We chose lavender and rosemary. It smelled delicious! It was so relaxing.
After having the bath on the second floor, we went to our massages. It was odd, my massage was on the first floor and Michael’s was on the third. It is a big place with many tubs and masseuses. We got the relaxing massage, and it was. I think I fell asleep. Next time I will probably choose another type of massage, such as a lymphatic massage.
After the massage, instead of eating at the café there we decided to walk around and see what else was out there. Michael mentioned pasta, so I decided to go to the oldest restaurant in town, Cantina do Araujo. The food was very good, but the service lousy. Our waitress was inattentive. She brought our order to the table and never came back. We had to flag other waiters to get water and then the bill.
On Monday morning, we returned the rental, got my sister’s car and drove to my hometown. I worked Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday we left Brazil and got into NY at 5:30am on Thursday. It was the perfect time to arrive. There was no traffic getting home.
Our next adventure will be in Park City, Utah. Park City was our first trip, just a couple of weeks after we first met. It will be nice to go back.
Here are some pictures of our Sunday in Poços De Caldas, Minas Gerais- Brazil.
“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.” ― Stephen King, Shawshank Redemption
“A waterfall cannot be silent, just as the wisdom! When they speak, the voice of power speaks!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
After spending 3 nights and 2 days in Sao Roque de Minas, we said good bye to our new friends and went to a small town called Capitolio.
Capitolio has many lakes and it also sits on the edge of the Furnas Reservoir. There is a lot to do there, but we only did one thing: We took a 3-hour boat ride.
The boat ride was great. Along the way there were floating bars with places to swim. We chose to swim at the third stop where there was a waterfall that we swam up to. There was also other waterfalls, and of course the Canyons.
The Canyons is an area with gorgeous rock formations. Unfortunately it was the site of a tragedy in January 2022. Part of a cliff collapsed on top of some boats, 10 people were killed and many more injured.
The collapse was attributed to rock erosion, and could have been prevented if there was any inspection done. They still allow visits there, but now it is inspected for erosion daily. There is personnel from the coast guard monitoring and only one boat can go through the area at a time, and it cannot get too close to the cliffs. And while visiting that area we had to wear a hard hat and life jacket.
We enjoyed the views, swam to the waterfall, ate cod fish cakes and had caipirinhas at one stop. It was really enjoyable. Normally they fill a boat with up to 10 people, but we decided to do just the 2 of us, and it was the best decision. We didn’t have to stay or stop in any place we didn’t want to.
After the boat ride, instead of spending the night in Capitolio, we decided to drive towards my sister’s apartment in Poços de Caldas. We made a quick detour to a small town called Campestre, where both of my parents were born.
Campestre is not such a small town anymore. There was a mass going on at the main church and there was nowhere to park downtown. It was also night and raining, so we decided to just take a small video to show mom and dad, and we continued on to Poços de Caldas.
When we got to my sister’s apartment was already night. I wanted to go out, but Michael was exhausted from all the driving, so we stayed in. It was the best decision as we were able to get an early start the next day.
Next morning, we went to the weekly craft market and then stopped by one of my aunt’s house. We walked up the hill from her house to a brand new lookout. It was so beautiful to see the whole city, and the Christ. Every Brazilian town has the statue of Christ somewhere. In this town in at the top of a mountain. There is a cable car that takes visitors to the top.
There was a roda(circle) of capoeira happening on the lookout. Capoeira is a an Afro-Brazilian cultural art of dance/fight. Some new students were graduating and they were having a ceremony. It was awesome to see that, specially for Michael that was not familiar with it.
Here are some pictures of Capitolio and just one from the lookout. Sometimes it is a question of enjoying the moment or taking a picture. The moment always win, so I am sorry for not having more and better pictures.
The rest of the day will be on the next post.
“There are some things in this world, if you enter their sphere of influence, they will close your world and only their world will remain! That’s what a big waterfall is like!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
