U Fim de Semana

My first weekend in Floripa has been a fun one for sure.  After a big night out on Thursday, I took it easy Friday night and went to dinner with my buddy Hans and our friend Alessandra.  We had dinner at Fatto a Manno, which is a great Italian restaurant in the Lagoa.  Yesterday I surfed for a few hours and played some tennis.  It has been immensely joyful to get my mind off work and all of the things that I'm used to thinking about back home.  I have a cell phone here but it seems that nobody here ever uses them (and I don't know a lot of people) so I have very little connectivity other than my laptop, which I think is a very good thing.  Last night we had dinner at a new amazing French restaurant, Confraria das Artes, which is also a night club.  We went there back in November but the restaurant was not there at that time.  I had filet mignon for the third night in a row (it's tough to pass up).  My total bill for the filet and three beers was around $30 (tough to believe, I know).  The owner's fiance was there making the rounds.  She's one of the most beautiful women on the planet and she's actually on her way to the US for her own cooking show (go figure!).  There was also a Playboy bunny party right next to us to celebrate the end of the TV show, Big Brother, which I guess is a very popular show here in Brazil.  I continue to be amazed at the beauty of the people here.  It definitely is special.  There were two Americans that got in yesterday and joined us for dinner.  They couldn't stop talking about how unreal Floripa is and they were only here for a few hours.  

Today was full of hikes.  We were supposed to make a day trip to this amazing beach but my friend had to work so we had a change of plans.  Instead, early this morning I went on a hike with Alessandra to the natural preserve behind my house.  It's a gorgeous area and I'm very glad that the government chose to protect the area (all of us in the neighborhood are equal owners of the land).  It's a short hike but very steep and once you're on top, the view is unbelievable (see the pics).  After relaxing in the pool, my friend's work problems were over and we all went over to the Lagoa for another hike.  This hike took over an hour and was unbelievable.   It felt like the Amazon and people actually live in this area.  It's pretty incredible as the area seems very remote.  Apparently, there is a boat that brings food and other supplies every few days.  The resourcefulness of these people boggles my mind.  

A few random things: I haven't watched TV since being here and I don't miss it at all.  I take a nap every day now (sometimes two!) and can't imagine living without it.  Portuguese is a very tough language (I spend a lot of time with people that don't speak any English so I guess I'm getting the crash course).  I've spent a total of probably 10 minutes on the phone since being here.  I'm buying a car this week and can't wait to see how difficult it's going to be.  I had my first Mexican meal tonight and it was fantastic (the beef here is ridiculously good).

Pictures - 1st pic: my kitchen has a lot of black and white so I decided to spice it up with some yellow.  2nd pic - the view from the top of the hill behind my house (I live in the yellow house). 3rd pic - a random pic from the first hike.