On the night of the 13th we had dinner at our favorite restaurant in Ipanema. The name of the restaurant is Manoel & Juaquim. It is located on Rua barao da Torre on the main gay strip. The food is really delicious. A friend joined us and the three of us had steak, rice, french fries and three bottles of wine. We were all pretty drunk by the time we finished. We jumped in a tax...sped through the two tunnels it takes to get home. The tunnels go under the mountains.
The next day we had a late start. The other day Toni noticed a leak in the kitchen wall and we had to wait for someone from the building management to come take a look. We drove a car toni has been using. It belongs to his friend Antonia. We drove to Copacabana to go shopping for furniture for the apartment. It took us twenty minutes to finds a parking space but we finally got one on a side street that cost 4 reais ( 2 dollars ). The shops we went two all had electronics in the front and furniture on the top floors. We went to four places and then decided to eat lunch. We went to a restaurant where you pay by kilo which is pretty normal there. I got a plate and picked salmon, pasta, chicken and some potatoes. After lunch we went back to the one store that was named Punto Frio. We choose a sofa, a sofa that turns into a bed for the spare room, a TV, a TV stand and a dresser for our shoes. It only took about an hour to pick it out but for ever to finish. First they did not have the first four tv stands we picked out. Then Toni had to bargain to get us a good price. We went to pay at the cashier who was a strange lady who kept screaming at everyone. I was loosing my patience. I know things are slow in South America but I really did not know our shopping trip would be an all day affair. Toni paid for half and I paid for half. Of course two of my credit cards did not work so I had to put it on my debit card. It all came out to $3800 ( $2400 US dollars ) When we were leaving Toni noticed that our sales person added extra charges to the bill so he would get a bonus. Our salesperson had sneaked out the back. We then had to spend another hour discussing it with a manager and finally we got 180 reais back in cash. I was past exhausted so we walked a few blocks to the beach so i could drink two Capairinhas. We then went to the grocery store. Thankfully this shopping trip was a lot easier and a lot more fun. We picked out our groceries together and purchased a bottle of whisky. When we got home Toni cooked and I checked my emails. Toni make a fried chicken served in a brown sauce with potatoes.. Beans with sausage and peppers. He also prepared white rice. We drank the whisky with Red bull while he cooked. After dinner Toni showed me his old photos of his family. In Brazil I notice they don't race to refrigerate there leftover like we do in the states. Toni left everything in the pots on the stove and just put the lids on. For the next couple days we will keep on eating it. They aren't afraid it will go bad overnight like I was always taught.
The next day Toni had to work. We walked to the plaza a couple blocks away and took the bus. The buses are a little crazy because the roads aren't as well kept as in new york and the drivers still go pretty fast. I found I had to hold on pretty tight or end up sitting on someones lap. The bus took a little longer then we though because it went east to Botofago and then south to Copacabana. Toni went to meet his client and I went to the beach. It was warm but it wasn't the best beach day. The wind was really strong. The man had to come and close my parasol ( umbrella ) to keep it from being blown away. Toni took longer then expected, but I wasn't surprised. I read my Portuguese book and drank three beers. It started to rain so I decided to leave. I packed up everything and paid. I walked along the beach and noticed that I was actually burnt on my legs and stomach. I called Toni and met him outside his clients building. We took another bus home. This bus took a better route but unfortunately there was a huge traffic jam so it still took us forever to get home. Toni heated the leftover up and I ate chicken and beans again. In the evening Tonis' friends Romulo came to visit. I was glad I finally got to go to the beach even though i foolishly let myself get burnt. And even though the shopping for our home was not fun I will be very glad when everything gets delivered in the next day or so. I like our apartment but i am not sure about taking these buses around. I don't really like the buses in NYC and at least there I know what everyone is saying. I have a lot of things here to get used too.
The next day we had a late start. The other day Toni noticed a leak in the kitchen wall and we had to wait for someone from the building management to come take a look. We drove a car toni has been using. It belongs to his friend Antonia. We drove to Copacabana to go shopping for furniture for the apartment. It took us twenty minutes to finds a parking space but we finally got one on a side street that cost 4 reais ( 2 dollars ). The shops we went two all had electronics in the front and furniture on the top floors. We went to four places and then decided to eat lunch. We went to a restaurant where you pay by kilo which is pretty normal there. I got a plate and picked salmon, pasta, chicken and some potatoes. After lunch we went back to the one store that was named Punto Frio. We choose a sofa, a sofa that turns into a bed for the spare room, a TV, a TV stand and a dresser for our shoes. It only took about an hour to pick it out but for ever to finish. First they did not have the first four tv stands we picked out. Then Toni had to bargain to get us a good price. We went to pay at the cashier who was a strange lady who kept screaming at everyone. I was loosing my patience. I know things are slow in South America but I really did not know our shopping trip would be an all day affair. Toni paid for half and I paid for half. Of course two of my credit cards did not work so I had to put it on my debit card. It all came out to $3800 ( $2400 US dollars ) When we were leaving Toni noticed that our sales person added extra charges to the bill so he would get a bonus. Our salesperson had sneaked out the back. We then had to spend another hour discussing it with a manager and finally we got 180 reais back in cash. I was past exhausted so we walked a few blocks to the beach so i could drink two Capairinhas. We then went to the grocery store. Thankfully this shopping trip was a lot easier and a lot more fun. We picked out our groceries together and purchased a bottle of whisky. When we got home Toni cooked and I checked my emails. Toni make a fried chicken served in a brown sauce with potatoes.. Beans with sausage and peppers. He also prepared white rice. We drank the whisky with Red bull while he cooked. After dinner Toni showed me his old photos of his family. In Brazil I notice they don't race to refrigerate there leftover like we do in the states. Toni left everything in the pots on the stove and just put the lids on. For the next couple days we will keep on eating it. They aren't afraid it will go bad overnight like I was always taught.
The next day Toni had to work. We walked to the plaza a couple blocks away and took the bus. The buses are a little crazy because the roads aren't as well kept as in new york and the drivers still go pretty fast. I found I had to hold on pretty tight or end up sitting on someones lap. The bus took a little longer then we though because it went east to Botofago and then south to Copacabana. Toni went to meet his client and I went to the beach. It was warm but it wasn't the best beach day. The wind was really strong. The man had to come and close my parasol ( umbrella ) to keep it from being blown away. Toni took longer then expected, but I wasn't surprised. I read my Portuguese book and drank three beers. It started to rain so I decided to leave. I packed up everything and paid. I walked along the beach and noticed that I was actually burnt on my legs and stomach. I called Toni and met him outside his clients building. We took another bus home. This bus took a better route but unfortunately there was a huge traffic jam so it still took us forever to get home. Toni heated the leftover up and I ate chicken and beans again. In the evening Tonis' friends Romulo came to visit. I was glad I finally got to go to the beach even though i foolishly let myself get burnt. And even though the shopping for our home was not fun I will be very glad when everything gets delivered in the next day or so. I like our apartment but i am not sure about taking these buses around. I don't really like the buses in NYC and at least there I know what everyone is saying. I have a lot of things here to get used too.
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