Hello from Brazil. My mom turned 90 years old on May 1st. Since the trip to the US has become too much for her, Michael and I traveled to Brazil to take her to Argentina for a few days.
In Brazil, casinos are illegal, and the closet casino is in Argentina, near Iguaçu Falls. She loves slot machines, so I chose a hotel that has a casino on the premises.
This was a very short trip, only 4 days, as I didn’t know if she would be okay. Her problem is her back and hip. She needs a hip replacement, but at 90 years old with a heart condition and other issues, it is not safe to operate. At this point is all about pain management.
We drove 2 hours from our home in the suburbs of Sao Paulo to the airport. Then it was just one hour and fifteen minutes plane ride. We traveled to an airport in the Brazilian side of the border, and the hotel came to meet us there. We crossed the border by car.
We stayed at the Iguazu Grand Hotel in Misiones, Argentina. Everything about the hotel was great, specially all the staff. On mom’s they brought her a cake at breakfast and they all sang, along with the other guests. She was over the moon. The cake was delicious.
Since it was a short trip my mother decided to mostly stay at the hotel. We just took a trip to the Triple Frontier – 3 borders comprising of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguai. There is a gorgeous view there and some little stores.
Michael went to see the Iguaçu Falls and he also went to the Bird Zoo. Since arriving home, mom regrets not going to see the falls and the Zoo. Next time…
Iguazu Grad Hotel
Iguazu Grad Hotel
There are slot machines in 3 currencies: Argentinian Peso, Brazilian Real and US Dollar.
Argentina is the best place to eat meat. This is chicken fried steak. It was to die for. We had other beef dishes, but I didn’t remember to take pictures.
Best drink ever: Rum, passion-fruit, lime and mint.
Last weekend we went to a follow up with my dental surgeon. According to him, all is going well. I was hoping it would look and feel better, but I know not to have too many expectations when it comes to my teeth.
The surgeon is located a couple of hours away, and it is not too far from some casinos. Since I like casinos, we always stop by one of them.
This time we went to the Hard Rock in Hollywood. The guitar shaped building is so cool. We had a great meal at their restaurant. I had a flat smashed burger with burger and caramelized onions. It was delicious. Michael had the impossible burger, since he doesn’t eat meat. He enjoyed his as well.
To drink I had a cosmopolitan. I had to stop and congratulate the bartender. It is the best one I have had since my nights in New York City. Michael had a Bahama Mama and it was equally delicious.
We are finally seeing a lot progress in our building renovation. This renovation started in March last year. We bought it in June, but didn’t move in until September. We didn’t expect to last this long and cost this much. The cost is still increasing as at every turn there is a new costly discovery, and more assessments.
We finally have a couch. Since we moved in, Michael and I decided we wouldn’t really get any furniture or spend any money until the construction was finished. But there were things we needed to do. We got a cheap bedroom set, an Amazon one that we put it together ourselves, and a couple of TVs.
As you can see in the pictures, the TV is sitting on Tupperware. We are still debating if we are going to have it on the wall or on a rack. The rug is an extra one I had in NY. This couch has made us so happy. It signal to us that this project is almost done, if feels like a huge step forward.
We also had contractors to do part of the tiles to match the part that it was damaged with the construction. To do the entire floor, it would be costly and too much disturbance. We also had the walls and floors painted. We just left the second bedroom out, it has a wall painted with flowers, so I will leave that as is for now.
Once the building is complete than we will work on decoration and the rest of furniture. With that being said, we don’t want a lot, we want simple and minimal. We want it to be practical and comfortable for us.
Mom is here! That means a few casino trips and at least one long weekend at the Foxwoods Casino and also Mohegan Sun (they are located 15 minutes apart so it is impossible to go to one and not stop at the other).
I decided to take Ex’s mother with us. My mother and I enjoy her company and we thought it would be a nice for her to take a break from some issues that she has been dealing with. Yes call me crazy, but I still have a relationship with his mother. At times I have questioned this decision but ultimately I decided that I didn’t need to punish the mother for the sins of the son.
She will mention him and also the girlfriend every now and then, but overall we don’t discuss him. She has made it clear that she would like to see me back in his life. I also made it clear that it will never happen, that I wish him happiness and that is the end of the story. Throughout the last 3 years my feelings have been evolving. In the beginning when she spoke about him my feelings were of sadness and pain, and then there was anger, now it alternates between indifference and joy. I feel blessed not to be in his life right now and to be free from all his life entails (the good and the bad).
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
The weekend was fun even though we didn’t win any money. We didn’t lose either so that is a major win in my view! Casinos are entertainment, to make money I go to work. I only take whatever money I can afford to lose and make the most out of it.
We had tickets to see Michael Amante, a singer that I had never heard of. I was we took and chance and went. I found him very talented and entertaining. I like that he talked to the audience and that he gave us some insight on his life and on the songs he sang. He explained he sings only about love. He sang a little from everyone from Elvis Presley and Tony Bennett to music from Puccini and the Phantom of the Opera.
We also enjoyed great meals! I really enjoy the restaurants there, especially at Mohegan Sun. My mother adores the bread pudding on the buffet at Season’s so we always make a stop there.
The was an interesting episode during lunch at the buffet. The waitress was not friendly. She was not mean either, she was just serious. She was probably my age, but looked older (I think that smiling people always look younger). There was none of the “My name is ___ and I will be your server today”. When I asked for a mixture of cranberry, orange and grapefruit juices she gave me a weird look. I assumed she didn’t like her job and perhaps should look for another profession. Well, I thought to myself, this is a buffet so we don’t really need a waitress other than for the drinks.
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” ― Isaac Asimov
Halfway through our meal I looked at the table next to us and saw that this couple got up and left on the table 2 dollar bills! I was shocked that they would leave only a $2.00 tip. We are at a casino and this couple probably threw money away gambling and all they left was 2 dollars? I know I was being a tad judgmental, and perhaps the waitress was not the nicest in the world, but she was doing her job. I felt extremely bad and even before we were finished eating I called her over and gave her a $20.00 tip. I normally would have left 20% or $5.00 per person whichever was higher, so giving her $20 was not crazy, but clearly was more than the table next to me. She thanked me and I went back to finishing my lunch.
We finished and got up to leave. The waitress come after me and taps me on the shoulder. I turned around and she hugs me and tells me how much she appreciated the tip. She looked like she would start to cry at any second. I said I appreciated her work and felt bad that the table next to me had left so little. She wished me luck and I walked away.
I was shocked as that seemed to come out of nowhere. I felt good that my simple gesture made an impact on her. But more than that, this showed me that I should not ever be so quick to judge and assume anything about others. I should always give people the benefit of the doubt.
I don’t want to make excuses for her as I still think that everyone in the service industry should always have a smile on their faces, but we don’t always have the whole picture. Not everyone is able to hide the pain and troubles they are going through. We never know what battles someone is fighting, even if they are putting up a happy front.
“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald
When we returned I dropped Ex’s mom at one of his businesses since I don’t want to go to his house (she moved in with him after leaving her Midwest home in February). I actually would be totally indifferent seeing him, but I don’t want to see C. (the dog). I miss C. immensely and I know he misses me. I don’t want him to think I am returning only to abandon him all over again.
Later Ex’s Mom texted me to thank me for the great weekend and she added: “You make it fun to live!” I thought that was such a great compliment.
I leave you with a song that Michael Amante sang – it reminds me that I should go see more operas:
Blessed with a Star on the Forehead 