Two Beers and a Pretzel

Merry Christmas from Santa Caterina Island!!

We got into town just before sunset and headed to an Italian restaurant that is apparently my Grandpa’s favorite place from when he visited ten years ago.  I don’t know exactly what this was, but it had ham, mushrooms, a rich cream sauce, and cheese stuffed pasta shells.   Not traditional Christmas fare, but doggone yummy!

Other than that, it was an uneventful day of riding in a car for 6-7 hours.

Look for the Statue of Liberty at 27 seconds into the video…

I took a long exposure of Porto Alegre at night with the G9:

Then my aunt’s younger sister came by after midnight to take me out for a few hours to a live music Samba bar with her friends.  They all spoke some English, so we could communicate pretty well.  We got the fundamentals down…

hello  =  olá

beer  =  cerveja (cer-vay-cha)

thank you  =  obrigado (ob-ree-ga-do)

bathroom  =  banheiro

I’m sorry  =  desculpe

you got your chocolate in my peanut butter  =  tens o meu chocolate em manteiga de amendoim

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Tonight is the big Christmas party, then tomorrow we’ll be on the road all day to Florinopolis.  I’m not sure about out web access, so if I don’t get online….

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

My Christmas present to myself..  I’ve already lost 16.5 pounds since I left home 6 weeks ago and more than 22 pounds since I quit work!!  At this rate, by the end of this trip I may hit my college weight from back when I was on the University of Cincinnati rowing team.