Seeing as how I have no idea how to post pictures yet (need to request a tutorial from my roommie!), a few words will need to suffice tonight Another amazing day! Finally, some local shipping in Santa Teresa...wonderful boutiques filled with the work of Brazillian artisans. We participated in a sewing circle organized by Sao Paulo women and enjoyed a delicious lunch they prepared. Tonight we were part of a Taize service at the cathedral. Beautiful music, powerful prayer and soft candlelight. It misted and was cloudy mostly all day, but our All Saints' pilgrims and our larger community including our new friends caused this day to be warm and happy. Arlinda, the cathedral's very cute and lively deacon, drove Elizabeth and me to an ATM to get cash since the local ATM ran out yesterday. It was an exciting and fast car trip--which some might dub slightly harrowing. Arlinda is a character in the very best All Saints' sense of the word! We loved it.
OK, so today is tastes. I've decided to try to id my Top 10 because while there are oh-so-many more, bed is beckoning:-).
10. Beans and rice. From the 2006 student pilgrims' tales, I had assumed this would be daily fare. It hasn't been at all. In fact I've eaten it only once (yesterday at the kilo restaurant lunch in Araras). It was absolutely yummy!
9. CAKE at breakfast! Today's we think was coconut. Past days we've had some kind of poppyseed-like cake. Yummmmm. With fresh fruit and steaming coffee, it's divine.
8. German sausage sandwich for a morning snack enroute to Araras yesterday. Inamar guaranteed it would be delicious and she was SO right.
7. Cold, local beer imbibed in by Richard and me to celebrate the sweet fact that Brazil was ahead halfway through last Sunday's World Cup soccer win. Here's to the next win (and another celebratory beer or two) on Friday!
6. Cookie found, bought and shared by Richard--coconut and sugar and crunchy. Very sweet and very good.
5. Warm cheese bread given to us as a surprise by Arlinda at the coffee/pastery famous restaurant in central Rio on Monday. It hit the proverbial spot!
4. Goolash, a German dish, served today with boiled potatoes at the luncheon prepared by the cathedral's Quilting Group. Hot, filling, outstanding.
3. Smallish fresh bananas. I'm with Richard: these local bananas are sweet and delectible. We've eaten them at our hotel breakfasts and witnessed a huge, heavy bunch of them being harvested at the organic garden.
2. White chocolate pudding with cookies along the edges at the kilo restaurant in Araras. Unbelievably good. Tasted French. Sweeter than most Brazilian desserts I've had.
1. Molten, warm, thick, liquid chocolate. I have to go with this as my #1 Choice. Sipped or spooned from a cup yesterday in Petropolis, this wicked chocolate liquid was totally decadent. Della And I split a small cup (the ungluttenous thing to do--weren't we good?). Truly, the taste was out of this world divine.
Here's to the incredible tastes of Rio.
