Wow... so much to say about this 8-day trip to Brazil to see my girlfriend, Tati, for Christmas and New Year's... We did so many fun things, but I will try to be brief. When I landed at the São Paulo airport at 7:30am on Christmas morning, she was there at the gate waiting for me, and it was like magic when we saw each other again for the first time in over two months. It had been a long wait, but it was worth it.

She had already booked another flight for us that left out of the same airport at 9:30 that morning, so we had a while to catch up before our departure. It was Tati's first time ever being on an airplane, so she was a little bit nervous, but she made it. After we boarded the plane, I gave her a Care Bear as her first Christmas present, and that helped to take her mind off the flying. We landed on the island of Florianópolis (Floripa for short) about an hour later and we then lined up our rental car and made our way to the pousada (the Portuguese word for bed & breakfast). The pousada was just perfect! We were very happy with it.. Tati had made the reservations online, but the web site really did not capture the beauty of this place... so I've included several pictures of it. That evening we had dinner at Ponta Caranhas, a little restaurant on the inland lagoon... some of the best shrimp I've ever tasted!

In the morning, after eating a wonderful breakfast prepared by our host, we did a little bit of sightseeing and shopping. We stopped by a huge sand dune on the way to a popular beach. Some people were sandboarding there... I was tempted to try it, but passed. Getting back to the car, I was struck with the harsh reality of locking my keys in the rental car! Ouch! We walked to the beach (not too far) and called the rental car company. Lucky for us, they were able to unlock the car for us while we were at the beach, and left the keys for us under the mat! We were really happy to come back to an unlocked car! We happily took off in the car and drove to another beach, about 30km away on another side of the island. We got back to the pousada around dusk, so we took a nice little walk along the beach. Then we went back to clean up and went out for some more seafood at a place called Barracuda Grill. Good eatin there, too.

The next day, we got some more of that great breakfast, then relaxed and wandered around the area for the afternoon. We then drove into downtown to drop off the rental car and catch the bus to take us to Ilha Comprida, the beach town where most of Tati's family lives. It was a rough over-night bus ride, and the next morning we were exhausted. I met her family and we exchanged some Christmas gifts, then we checked into another pousada and got some sleep. Later, we ate a terrific meal that Tati's step-mom, Bene, had fixed for us, and then we all went out for ice cream. They all made me feel very welcome.

In the morning, we took a nice little walk back from the pousada. Bene was already preparing another great lunch for us. While it was cooking, we walked to a surf shop and got me a new tank top. We made a quick stop at the beach, and then took at dip in their neighbor's swimming pool. Mr. Cardoso was proud to show the pool to me because he takes care of it for his neighbors. Tati and her sisters, Bruna and Silvia, came to swim, too. Neglecting to use sunscreen, I managed to get quite a nice little sunburn! After lunch, we cleaned up and then went out for more ice cream! But that afternoon we had to catch our bus back to the city, so we said goodbye to her family and rode five more hours to São Paulo.

Tati's friend and boss, Alexandre, invited us to his apartment to visit and play cards because it was his birthday on Dec 30th, so Tati's sister, Vanessa, picked us up and we all went there. Alexandre did some magic tricks for us and taught me a new card game. Afterwards, we ate dinner at Jardineira Grill, reportedly the best churrascaria in the city. We also walked around in a shopping mall, which had many fancy stores and a huge Christmas exhibit.

On New Year's Eve, we met up with Vanessa and her son, Felipe, and ran around some of the different places in the city: a gourmet ice cream shop, Vanessa's apartment, and São Paulo's scenic overlook. I wanted to take a picture of the monkeys who live in the forest at the overlook, but we couldn't find any. I was scheduled to fly back that evening, but I called the airline and rescheduled for a flight departing the following evening. We were both so glad that I was able to reschedule so that we could spend New Year's Eve together. We stayed in Tati's apartment and she cooked dinner and we danced, and later we watched the fireworks over the city from her apartment window. The view was fantastic! Fireworks were shooting from every direction.

My last day there, Tati took me to see the downtown district of São Paulo. We did a little bit of rain-running and got a little bit wet, but it was just a quick shower. We stopped at a shopping mall, but everything was closed for New Year's Day. We made another stop at a Catholic church to see a Christmas exposition where artists from all over the world had presented their own depiction of the Nativity Scene. That was very interesting. And then we rode the bus back to her place and I got my things together to leave.

I was so happy to have an extra day to spend there, but still, saying goodbye at the airport was very tough. It was another perfect trip, though... everything went so well. It was great that I got to meet her family this time, too -- they were all so nice. It's still uncertain when we'll be able to see each other again, but now we are even more sure about wanting to stay together.