More About Brazil

The topic of ice cream in Brazil needs more explanation and if I was wise, I would open a sorvecharia here in Phoenix. Getting ice cream is self service. You choose the size of your bowl and then move from freezer case to freezer case scooping out however much you want - mixing and matching the flavors. Toppings are also available. The weigh it and you pay - and it is a bargain compared to American ice cream - a moderate sized bowl with two or three scoops costs less that three dollars. There are at least forty flavors - the standards like chocolate and strawberry - morango, pistache, lemon, chocolate chip, but there are lots of others like Romeo and Julieta which is made from guava and cheese. It sounds bad, but it is really pretty good. I had it more than once. They have caipirhina - which is actually better than the drink - at least for me. There were also lots of flavors from the various fruits and several with coconut mixed in. After you purchase your ice cream, you can sit inside or outside at small tables and enjoy.

Campinas, where Lindemberg lives, was originally home to tobacco barons and there are many beautiful old houses tucked in between the high rises. Most of them are no longer private homes, but offices or restaurants. We went to one last Saturday and it was very beautiful. The house had been coverted well and we enjoyed seeing it. But the real show-stopper was the food. Different areas of the restaurant were set up as buffets. One had about twenty kinds of salads, some recognizable, some mysterious. I liked the quail eggs which were very tiny and hard boiled and mozzarella balls which were fried. Talk about calories! There were choices of meat, steak, salmon with shrimp, my favorite picanha, chicken with cheese sauce. Another area had sushi. Toward the middle of the room, there was a table with eight large black cauldrons. They contained different parts of the feijoada - which is made of black beans and pork - ears, tail, feet, bacon, pork ribs, two types of smoked sausage and jerked beef - loin and tongue. I passed on this but David and Lindemberg had a plateful. There was also a table of desserts - my favorite - dulce de leite - made from milk and sugar that are cooked until the mixture carmelizes. It is the typical dessert of Minais Gerais - which is Monica's home state and her home made version of it was better than the restaurant's. We ate an enormous amount that day, at a leisurely pace and thoroughly enjoyed it. Dining out in Brazil is about half the price of dining out in the US.

Before I left, I offered to bring back Brazilian bikinis for anyone who wanted them but we American women are much less comfortable with our bodies. We saw all shapes, sizes and ages on bikinis on the beach - with all the lumps and bumps on display. The bikinis are quite small but no one seems the lest concerned about coverage! How different cultures can be!

We had a wonderful time in Brazil - it thoroughly exceeded our expectations. Monica and Lindemberg were wonderful hosts and did everything they could to make our stay memorable. We were sad to leave, but our visas are good for five years, so we hope to travel there again.
Tchau!