On our last day in Brazil, we had lunch with our friends who introduced us to Southern Brazil and inspired us to come on this trip. We ate at a “Canadian Restaurant” which had the same menu as every other restaurant in Brazil (beef everything) plus poutine.
As we leave this vibrant, welcoming, and diverse (part of this) country, we reflect on some of our favorite things:
Best Drink: Caldo de Cana (with Limao)
not your average sugar cane juice, this is more like the world’s best limeade with no water added, just freshly pressed sugarcane and lime!
Best Grocery Store Buy: Block of Guava
One block of guava is so rich in flavor, it lasts for three weeks of breakfast and dessert for Baby Bear. New home recipe: pulled rotisserie chicken, guava and butter panini!
Best Cup of Noodle flavor: Feijoada
We love seeing what unique Cup of Noodle flavors they have in every country. In Brazil they have Costella, Churrasco, but the best was Feijoada with real black beans.
Best Snack: Pao de Queijo
Tapioca cheese bread is consistently good and yet there is amazing variety as each grocery store bakery does it slightly differently. Plus, they reheat nicely in the oven at home!
Best Pool: Dos Ingleses
The panoramic view from the rooftop pool was amazing. It’s great to swim with a view of the ocean.
Best Beach: Laguna in Bombinhas
This little beach had everything: a beautiful view, shade to sit under, tons of little crabs around the rocks, and convict fish that swim around your ankles when you feed them.
Best Food Courts: Friends and Family and Jurere Open
Brazil has food courts that combine live music, restaurants and bars, and childrens’ free and paid playgrounds. We loved the one in Campeche and also Jurere Open which had international dining just a few hundred feet from the beach.
Best Store: Floryball Chocolates in Gramado
There are dozens of these stores in the Gramado area, and each one is uniquely decorated with amazing sculptures and playgrounds. They always have free samples, water fountain, bathrooms, and some have great views too!
Best Hike: Cânion Itaimbezinho
Though it required driving on ridiculously rocky roads to reach, the Canyon itself was beautiful, like a scene out of Up, the Pixar movie. We truly felt live explorers, though our car did all the work.
MVP: our car Beluga
For five weeks, Beluga drove us across crazy roads, through giant storms, and through mini-ponds and rivers. After we dropped her off, we walked to the beach where she drove right by us again to say bye!
Best View: Eco360 in Bombinhas
We sat here for over an hour enjoying the 360 degree view of the peninsula and leaf cutter ants.
Best animal encounter: Capybara
We never tired of visiting the capybara in Parque Barigui. There’s something special about making friends with wild animals (that have the option of walking away).
Best Pastel: Capybara Pastel
Pastel are meat, cheese (and other fillings) wrapped in dough and then deep fried. The best tasting and looking pastel: one shaped like a capybara!
Best Park: Capybara park (Parque Barigui)
Yes, we loved the capybara here, but this park also had numerous birds, fish to feed from the bridge, a Christmas show, a little carnival, and gorgeous sunsets over the lake.
Best Capybara: Friendly
This little capybara walked up to Baby Bear to get pet, and then laid down to enjoy the attention. A true friend!
Most Surprising Animal:
At a viewpoint cafe, we found a friendly rooster who liked to read the newspaper and chill
Most Exciting Animal: Tatuira
After Baby Bear discovered this sand crab, we went from spotting a few to collecting thousands of these little critters on every beach we visited.
Best Mall: Park Barigui and its endless Food Court
The malls in Brazil put American malls to shame. We relaxed on couches watching the colorful TV demo reals (that violin is cake!) and feasted at the enormous food court. The middle eastern food was amazing.
Best Restaurant: Jardins Grill in Curitiba
This high end Rodizio had amazing service and a glorious “salad” bar along with the excellent meats.
Best Christmas Lights: Madalosa Family Street Lights in Curitiba
Originally started by an Italian family outside Curitiba, this grew to become a giant ticketed event!
Best Photoshoot: Hot Air Balloons
A hot air balloon landed along our morning walk and the workers putting away the balloon were excited to have us climb all over the balloon and take pictures!
Best Show: New Years Eve Fireworks at Balneario Camboriu
A million people. One beach. Seven identical fireworks shows across the wide vista. Amazing.
Best New Friends: Floripa Family
We met so many great friendly people in Brazil. But we had so much fun with a family in Floripa who ran a tech startup and had previously lived in SF. The kids were instand BFFs!
