Just Another Day in the Tropics (Day 5 in Brasil)

Breakfast at the padaria (it's called Amanda after the owner's daughter). No photos of breakfast as my camera battery was charging. First stop this morning was Fred's office where I printed out my students' homework that was due Tuesday evening (I warned them that there is Internet in Brasil!) While Fred fought with a software supplier in Russia, I started grading.

Lunch was at a Brasilian Japanese restaurant (all you can eat). It was an interesting mix of mostly real Japanese, a little Chinese, and some Brasilian (where else do you end a Japanese meal with coffee?) The fried banana sushi was a little odd, and I never did figure out the sushi roll that had hot sauce dripped on it.

We eventually located a post office as Fred had to mail a letter. Apparently a class of students was being taught how to mail a letter; each went up and bought a stamp and then mailed a letter to him/herself. And people say snailmail is dead. While Fred was in the post office, the afternoon t'storm came through -- heavy wind and rain. And then it was gone.

Next stop was a delightful surprise -- the local fire station which included a museum in the beautiful mansion once owned by a coffee plantation owner. As some of you know, our daughter Kate is a critical care paramedic. She works in management (training, etc.) for a transport ambulance company and rides rescue one day a week out of one of the Sterling, VA, firehouses. So, we were very excited to be able to take photos at the Brasilian fire station. One of the firefighters gave us a tour of some of their trucks and then showed us around the museum. He is trained as a fire fighter and medical first responder. It was very nice that he spoke English (he is planning to move to Australia in the next 12 months). There are photos, but only Kate got all of the ones we took.

Fred then took us to an upscale grocery store so we could buy some things to take home (coffee, chocolates). I took some photos but then was asked not to by one of the store managers as he was afraid we were going to steal their marketing ideas. You will see interesting baskets of citrus fruits -- although most of  them are green, some are ripe oranges and tangerines (I bought one that you will see partially peeled to prove it's orange inside). Then it was back to the apartment for a brief rest.

While Mike caught up on his Big Bang Theory dvd's, Fred and Nancy visited some neighborhood shops -- a drugstore (many familiar products but at much higher prices), a very upscale chocolate shop (Copenhagen), and the local grocery store (we are on a quest for Mike's favorite Brasilian tea, but still haven't found it). The last stop was at the newest branch of the Santander bank, just around the corner. Their grand opening celebration was in the evening. Fred did go back to do some networking. When Cris got home (she had an afterschool meeting and dinner with a friend), we all stopped by the bank and then went to the padaria to pick up things for a light dinner (Nancy had cheese bread).

Here are day 5 photos.