Sugarloaf Pictures

Sugarloaf

This morning we decided to go up to the Sugarloaf Mountain. We left at 11:30 and caught a bus to the base of the mountain. There are two mountains that are connected by cable cars, the smaller of the two is called Morro da Urca and then the more famous larger one is the Pao de Acucar. Having been told that there would be a few hour wait just to get tickets we planned on getting there by 12:30-1 so that we  could be up there for the 5pm sunset. However, because the majority of the tourists have left Rio, we didn't have to wait at all and went straight up! While this was convenient for us, we had already had our heart set on wanting to see the sunset so we had to come up with some stuff to do to pass the next 4 hours... :) Luckily we had packed sandwiches, water and granola bars, so we were all set on food. We went down to a lower part of the mountain where it was shady and we could still see the view. After 5 minutes our legs started to get itchy and we realized that there were mosquitoes everywhere. So we decided to go up closer to more people so we would have a smaller chance of getting bitten. We went up to where they had a gift shop to see what they had. They had the most expensive things ever!! A keychain was at least 20R which is about $10. Everything was so overpriced! We did not spend very much time in there, especially since every shelf and wall had a sign saying please do NOT TOUCH!!! ha. that didn't stop us or anybody else, after all who wants to spend money on overpriced things that they can't handle! An argument broke out between a customer and an employee about God knows what so we left to find some shade to sit it for a bit. While we were sitting, we saw the trees moving and then I saw a little monkey poke it's head out of the trees. I got closer for a better view. It had little brown eyes, a long tail, and  a brown body with some white whiskers on it's face. It jumped on to the railing and was eyeing us. I took many pictures of our monkey friends. They posed a good 20-30 min for photos :) We took a bathroom break and realized that we could use paper towels for origami. We found a table by the concessions and I showed Nisa how to make cranes. Nisa attempted to show me how to french braid my own hair but I got frustrated very fast! We were hungry by now so we ate our almond butter and apricot jam sandwiches to fill us up. By then it was 4:30 so we got a spot to watch the sun go down. Only 10 minutes after we had gotten a spot there were tons of people behind us with cameras, phones and GoPros ready for the sunset. When the sun was going down we got as many pictures as possible. 10 minutes and the sun was basically gone but while it lasted, it was beautiful!! We headed back and by the time we had gotten to the bus stop to go home it was dark. We had an amazing, fun, and beautiful day!

Today we got manicures. I was going to post a picture but it doesn't work. Nisa got baby pink and I got indigo. We went to the mall because Tia Lulu was going to get her hair done so we got manicures. After, we went to an Arabian restaurant and had pita and hummus. We went up to the 4th floor and saw was movies there were. We saw that they were playing The Grand Budapest Hotel so we decided to come back for the later viewing but since Tia Lulu is coughing a lot and doesn't feel good we are going to skip it. That is the update for the past week and will will post more when possible!

We're Back!

Two nights ago we got back from a five day trip to Petropolis. Petropolis is a city a little over an hour away from Rio in the northern mountains. Since it's in the mountains, it's quite a temperature difference from Rio. Instead of shorts and a t-shirt, it was pants and a sweater.

Day 1 (Monday): 

We hung out most the day, cleaning our apartment and packing for the trip to Petropolis. Around 3pm Tia Lulu took us to her niece's work, a hospital in Barra de Tijuca, which is about 30 minutes away from our place in Rio. Marcia (the niece) wasn't off of work for about an hour and since we were not allowed to go inside we took a stroll down the block to a mall. We took a few laps through the mall, popping our head into some of the shops and ended up at the food court :) we both settled on the healthiest looking restaurant, and got a fresh squeezed juice and smoothie. After some time at the mall we headed back to the hospital. Her husband (Carlos)was waiting for us so we loaded up our belongings and the four of us headed out for Petropolis. There was so much traffic but after a bit it cleared up and we were able to roll down the windows and enjoyed the fresh air. On the way up there was this very windy road up. For about 25 minutes we were turning left and right and it was terrifying. We would start to turn and the tires started squealing and I thought we were going to fall off the mountain or flip over. Finally we got on the main road and it only took 10 minutes to get home. We got our stuff and went up to their house. We met their 2 kids Maria Luisa(11) and Cecilia(19) and we settled in to ou room. We were hungry because we didn't have lunch and the smoothies didn't have much protein so we looked to see was food there was. Marcia told us that they don't eat dinner they just snack. So the only big substantial meal was lunch. So that night all we ate was 3 rolls with cheese.

Day 2 (Tuesday):

We woke up and had some more bread and cheese for breakfast and then headed out with Cecilia and Maria Luisa. We walked down the cobble stone hill and took a bus into town, which was much safer feeling than the buses we've taken in Rio. First we visited the Imperial Palace which was built for Don Pedro and his wife Isabel. They had built a summer home for their family in Petropolis and slowly a town was built around it, creating modern day Petropolis. Now a days it is used as a museum where you can walk through their house and see how it was set up back when they lived there. One of the coolest parts was seeing his crown which was covered in diamonds and jewels. The security guard kept close watch on Azu and I as we walked around this part of the palace, he must have seen us drooling at the crown :) We had to wear a special slippers throughout the museum because they had nice polished hardwood floors. We were not allowed to take pictures but they had the coolest paintings of Don Pedro's family and the town. The only picture we managed to sneak was one of the slippers we wore... and I have to say, all museums should have you wear slippers because its much more fun to slide around the halls then to walk!

From the Palace we walked to the Cathedral and snooped around. Pretty stained glass windows throughout and we also saw the tomb stones for Don Pedro and Isabel there! 

LUNCH WAS AWESOME!!!!!!! for lunches we went down to Tia Lulu's sisters house which is on the same property as the house we were staying. This was the first time meeting and spending time with Maria Cecilia and Christopher (her husband) and we loved them! They both are fluent in english and both very quirky and young spirited  :) so back to lunch... we had rice, beans, fish, pasta and salad. Of course we had double servings AND went up for thirds, little did we know that there was a massive amount of dessert to follow. We had the most amazing coconut tapioca pudding that Marcia made, ice cream and grapes. nom nom nom. Safe to say they had to roll us from the table to the living room after to watch brazil be massacred. sad day.

Day 3 (Wednesday):

The four of us went into town and explored the wax museum. I think we got some pretty cool shots with our waxy friends.

 After we went to the house of Santos Dumont who was a man who loved balloons and flew some of the first hot air balloons and flying contraptions in Brazil. He had a funky house thats now a museum.

Before heading home we stopped into a chocolate shop and got a few yummy truffles each.

and again LUNCH WAS AWESOME!!!!! we had rice, beans, salad, chicken, buttery potatoes and carrots. And again we stuffed ourselves and yet we managed to have a good serving of coconut tapioca and fresh mango. Delicious!

After lunch we learned how to play Meshi Meshi and fun card game that is very similar to the tile game Rummikub. We are still hooked.

That night we decided to watch some movies and came up with a schedule of movies we wanted to see for the next few nights. We ended up watching Toy Story 2 and Aristocrats.

Day 4 (Thursday):

Hard day, as we learned that our abuelita Luisa passed away. Also Zaachila's 17th birthday!!! scary.


We were going to lounge till the afternoon but decided to join the grandparents and Maria Luisa to a park where we ran/jogged/and walked a few miles. We came home, showered and went down to lunch. Obviously lunch was delicious. I have no idea what we ate, but it was delicious and was some combination of leftovers (no complaints here). Dessert was melon, ice cream and tapioca pudding again.

After lunch we went to the local brewery Bohemia with the grandparents and young girls (yes its a family event here). We went on a tour through the museum which was actually really interesting, we learned the origins of beer AND how to brew it.

It was pouring down rain when we left which was really nice and soothing. A few more rounds of Meshi Meshi to finish off the evening.

Movie night consisted of Dodgeball, Percy Jackson and Garfield.

Day 5 (Friday):

We slept in, then played Just Dance on the xbox which became quite the workout. Then we went to the grandparents house to have lunch followed by a couple games of darts and Meshi Meshi. We also spent a lot of time playing with all the dogs and cats.

Movie night consisted of Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Incredibles.

Day 6 (Saturday):
We got up early, showered, packed and went down to help get lunch ready. Tia lulu came to the house and we all had a wonderful lunch together and caught up. Tia lulu had been in Sao Paolo for some ballet stuff and we all had a great time going over the week. After lunch we played a tournament style game of Meshi Meshi before we headed back to Rio around 5.

Meet all the animals: