Homemade Pizza...a special tradition at the beach

Fred's sister is married to Pedro Martins, whose family is in the business of making and distributing flour.  Pedro's dad, Luiz Martins, has a fire-brick oven at his beach house where we stayed for the New Year.  On a recent trip to Italy, he and his wife had tried some delicious pizza, and after speaking with owner of the restaurant they discovered it was a mixture of different flours to make the delicious crust.  So...Luiz decided this year to try it the Italian way, using several different flours.  The pizzas were amazing- thin and crispy with delicious toppings.  I took tons of pictures to capture the event.

More Pictures from New Years 2012 at Barra do Sahy

 Fred and Pedro (Fred Brother-in-law)

 Fred and his Dad

                                                               

 Giant Pannatone, muito popular during the holidays in Brazil

 New Year's Eve Dinner

 The Beautiful Turkey

 The girls, all dressed in white and ready for 2012

 Party time!!!!!

It's Confirmed....Easter Island for our vacation in January

Easter Island is the world's most isolated inhabited island. It is also one of the most mysterious. Easter Island is roughly midway between Chile and Tahiti. The triangular shaped island is made mostly of volcanic rock. Small coral formations exist along the shoreline, but the lack of a coral reef has allowed the sea to cut cliffs around much of the island. The coastline has many lava tubes and volcanic caves. The only sandy beaches are on the northeast coast.


This should be a really interesting trip...tons of hiking, biking, exploring, and even some sun-tanning.  Fred and I are flying to Santiago Chile, where we will spend two days, and then we will fly on to Easter Island.  More photos to come after our trip....

The picture below is a view of our hotel, Hanga Roa Eco Village...brand new to the island

The Moai are monolithic human figures carved from rock- apparently there are 887 of them on the island

Feliz Ano Novo...New Year's in Brazil, a special experience

This New Year was definitely something special.  I left last Tuesday, December 27th for Barra do Sahy, which is a beautiful beach around 2 hours from Sao Paulo, without traffic.  Fred was working all week, so I made the trip with his parents.  Gazu (Fred's sister, it's her nickname), is married to Pedro, and Pedro's family has an unbelievable home on the beach.  Pedro's father and stepmother graciously invited Fred and I to join them for the New Year.  First I'll show you pictures of the house and the beach.....absolutely gorgeous, then I will show you everything else...

Of course I took tons of pictures of Joaquim, Fred's little nephew...sooo cute

Christmas in Sao Roque....More food than I could handle

Every year Fred's immediately family, including his first cousins, celebrate Christmas in a small country town outside of Sao Paulo called Sao Roque.  They have a beautiful home with a great yard for the dogs, as well as a vegetable garden.

Fred and I arrived on Saturday the 24th, which for Brazilians is the big day to celebrate Christmas.  They have a big dinner around 10pm, and then everyone opens gifts at midnight.  In Brazil, Santa, known here as Papa Noel, arrives on the night of the 24th.  The kids wait to hear a bell, which tells them Santa has arrived.  They run frantically around the house looking for Santa, while the parents bring the gifts out.  It's somewhat different in Brazil, because the gift part isn't as elaborate as it is in the US.  I remember as a kid coming down the stairs to 100 presents- games, clothes, animals sometimes, a new stereo, a new car, but here the kids receive a few nice gifts- a new pair of shoes, new clothes, maybe a board game, but nothing as extravagant as I remember as a child.  For the adults, Secret Santa is a very common way to exchange gifts.  Every family member shops for one person.  This year I coincidentally pulled Fred's name from the basket, which was nice, because I had an idea of what to get him.  After the Secret Santa, more gifts are exchanged, because everyone ends up buying gifts for everyone in the end.  Christmas Eve is a night of food, family, and lots of joking around.  Fred, his cousins, and his brother-in-law constantly pick on one another, which provides humor for the rest of us.

Christmas Sushi Party with Fred's close friends!!

Rubens and Carolina had the most wonderful Christmas party on Friday.  Two of Fred's closest friends recently opened a Sushi Restaurant, so they brought the food:))  It was a great night of laughs and good food. One of the highlights was Rubens' bulldog-- he looked just like my college mascot, UGA.

Update...Lots Happening

I have officially joined a gym, so I feel normal again.  It isn't Equinox, but it's the closest thing to it.  It's called Pele Club, after the famous soccer player.  I'm still a bit nervous about taking a class, as I probably won't understand what the instructors are saying...
http://www.peleclub.com.br/

Last night, we had the nicest dinner (formal, formal---so nice) at Fred's sister's husband's brother's home, kind of confusing, sorry.  Paula, the hostess, is a fashion designer, so her taste is impeccable.  Imagine an apartment with ceilings high enough to have a second floor, crazy modern cool decor, gorgeous chandeliers, with a balcony that could fit at least 20 people-- just amazing.  The attention to detail from the table settings to the hors d' oeuvres to the service--it was an impressive way to get ready for the big weekend ahead.  We had wine and cheese to start, followed by Beef Stroganoff, and of course a delicious dense chocolate cake with Brigadeiro chocolate sauce.  Dinner started at 10, which is something that is so interesting to me.  I think Brazilians can function on less sleep, because I was exhausted this morning for my 7:30am English class.

This weekend we are off to Sao Roque, a country town where Fred's family has had a house for years.  It is tradition to spend Christmas there with the entire family.  The 24th here is the big day.  Everyone opens presents that night, and the big dinner is the 24th as well.  Its going to be different, actually more similar to a Florida Christmas, because it's close to 85 and sunny here everyday.  Fred and I bypassed the Christmas tree, but we're hoping to do a better job next year with Christmas decorations.
http://www.saoroque.sp.gov.br/
Great Pictures of the mountains and countryside, Fred's favorite getaway spot

I'm really excited for my beach getaway coming up.  The whole family is off to the northern coast near Sao Paulo, normally three hours by car, but with traffic it can take up to 10 hours to get there.  I'm leaving on Tuesday, the 27th with Fred's parents, and I will be returning on January 2nd, but unfortunately Fred can't come until the Friday before the New Year because of work (the only upside is that he might have to take a helicopter to get there).  Either way, I'm definitely looking forward to a week away from the city.  On New Year's Eve everyone wears white and goes to the beach at Midnight, so I should have plenty of amazing pictures.  Fred's sister's husband's family has a big beach house there, so we will all be together.

Have a wonderful Christmas Holiday, USA style.....miss everyone very much!!