Brazil

A few months ago, we heard that our friend, Pieter, who we thought might possibly be a bachelor forever, was finally getting married! He had met a Brazilian girl, Dani, in business school in France and now had moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil to be with her. So when we got their wedding invite, I decided that we had to see Pieter get married with my own eyes. And yes, I say "I" because Andrew wasn't so sure we should go ... but I definitely wanted to experience a Brazilian wedding (since the wedding was in Sao Paulo, Brazil) ...

Andrew, I think, secretly was a travel agent in his former life ... he loves using miles and hotel points ... he loves scouring travel sites for the best deals and then waiting on it until he is sure that the deal is the best ... he just really loves any good deal. So after we decided we were headed to Brazil, he had found us flights to Brazil using miles and within 24 hours, we were on our way. Hotel bookings, however, took a few weeks to finalize. It's kind of funny because growing up, my mom taught me the joys of staying at a nice hotel ... and it has carried on into my adult life. I am slowly teaching Andrew this same joy ... more on this subject later.

Onto our actual trip to Brazil ...

You might wonder how we made it through 14 hours on a plane on our way ...
Curious George on the iPad!

Sophie distracted by Daddy iPhone in Chile during our 6 hour layover.
Fortunately, we had access to the American lounge because of Andrew's airline status.
It saved the day.

One major thing that happened mid-flight was Sophie's croup incident. You see, we all left LA with at least a slight cold ... let's be honest, since Sophie started preschool, we've been one continuous coughing, sneezing, runny-nose mess. And of course, we were still a cold-ridden-mess leaving for Brazil. And mid-flight, on our way to Chile, we noticed that Sophie's cough was sounding drier, raspier and very croup-like. Croup requires medical attention ... we were heading to Brazil ... and didn't know anything about the health care situation. So, we immediately emailed Dr. Bui, Blake's pediatrician (yep ... Sophie has a different pediatrician in the same office but we've really hit it off with Dr. Bui so I tend to lean on her more for the kids medical needs ... and she is the best pediatrician in the world!) who told us to keep an eye on her. If it got worst, we'd have to find a doctor so we were definitely praying that Sophie wouldn't get any worst. Thankfully, after a good nights sleep, Sophie woke up to our first day in Brazil sounding less raspy, less croup like. We figure it was the dry air in flight ...

It's so different traveling with kids.
I don't think anyone slept very well in flight ... Sophie tried to sleep
but couldn't find a comfortable spot.
So, by the time we got to Brazil in the early evening,
we all were already for bed.
This is how I found Andrew and Sophie who were (apparently) already sleeping
as I was getting ready for bed.
And just so you know, Andrew, Sophie, Blake and I slept
13 straight hours that first night.
It was a miracle.

Relaxing with the iPad our first morning in Brazil

In every hotel, there were apples.
Red and Green ones.
It was weird.
But Sophie picked one up.
Every
Single
Time

Brazilian BBQ
The shame of the matter is that we went to Fogo de Chao.
After sitting down, we realized that Fogo de Chao exists all over the world.
Including right here in Beverly Hills ...
It was delicious but after we found out,
it didn't seem all that authentic.

We went to Pieter and Dani's Cocktail Hour Friday night
to start out their weekend of wedding celebration.

Dani and Pieter
Apparently Dani had the flu the night of the cocktail party.
Poor thing was feeling pretty badly ...

Blake and Daddy in Sao Paulo
One of my most favorite images of my two favorite guys!

Heading to El Jardines
The only sight seeing we did in Sao Paulo

Ahhh ... Acai

Sophie LOVED it!

The reason why we went to Brazil ...
Pieter and Dani's Wedding

Mr. and Mrs. Cilliers

It was a beautiful wedding ...
an experience ...
with a choir in the rafters.

And the reception ... well, the reception was really something.
No expense spared and the party ... wow.
There is really something to be said about a Brazilian Wedding!

First Dance

With the Bride and Groom!

Sophie partied hard, dancing the night away, until past midnight.
In fact, neither Blake nor Sophie headed to bed until about 1am
Thank God for jet lag!

My family.
All dressed up.

There was an amazing samba band that arrived about midnight.
Even though I was preparing the kiddos to go, we just had to stay to watch.
Andrew was staying a few more hours to party it up
... and experience a real Brazilian wedding reception!

Congrats to Dani and Pieter Cilliers!

The morning after the wedding, we woke up, all cranky and bleary eyed ... but excited (at least Mom and Dad were) ... to head to Rio de Janiero. Sophie was, at the time, obsessed with the movie "Rio" so we kept telling her we were going to find Blue Bird, the main character in "Rio". I don't think she bought it ... good thing, because we never did see Blue Bird!

We stayed (at least for the first 2 nights) at the Copacabana Palace
It is the best hotel in Rio ... and we stayed there thanks to my love of (expensive)
nice hotels (:)) and my husband's crafty ability to find good deals ...

The first thing we did, was looked up ...

And saw this ...
the Jesus statue.
It was really quite remarkable.

The view of Rio from the Jesus of Redeemer statue
with Sugarloaf in the distance.

We headed to the famous Copacabana Beach ...
and then the Chocochito meltdown happened ...
A 2 year old, a massive tantrum and drippy ice cream -
oh joy!

I think it was Blake's first time on the beach
Yes, we live in a beach community
Yes, it took 6 months for this experience.

Sophie recovered from her messy tantrums to build castles.
She LOVES sand castles!

So, the first day at the Copacabana Beach, I noticed a girl wearing nothing
short of butt floss and triangles ... otherwise known as the Brazilian Bikini.
I told Andrew I would NEVER wear anything like it ... little did I know,
I had forgotten my own swim suit. So ... I searched and searched - until I had my own
teeny weenie tight bikini! Thankfully, I had a bit more coverage on my bum
and was able to stretch the triangles out for a bit more coverage
... but I was still slightly embarrassed and I think you would be too!

We discovered these yummy little treasures.

And went there two times

And then, on our 2nd trip, this ham and cheesy goodness came
fresh out of the oven. It might have been the best thing
I have ever eaten in my entire life ...

I just love my girl.
Look at those flip flops!

We spent our last night in Rio at the JW Marriott
thanks to my husband's crafty use of hotel points.
The Marriot has a rooftop pool which was a little bit underwhelming.
But Sophie and Andrew still loved it ... and Blake and I loved watching from the sidelines!

We went to Impanema Beach on our last day.
It was very windy but at least we were able to enjoy some coconuts!

My little guy!

I love him so!

Smiley guys ... Blake and Daddy!

I thought I'd end with this photo.
I have no idea why ...

Abrigado Brazil!