André, Leandro and I went to the X Games Brasil on Saturday and it was one of those days where everything was going wrong! We got lost a few times trying to find our way to the Sambadrome (where the carnivale is held every year) and when we got to the parking we had no cash to pay so the guys had to find an atm somewhere! Next Andre pulled him bag out of the car boot and the video camera fell out onto the road and broke! (but I think it is fixable).
As we went through the gates our huge water bottle was seized, I was okay with this because at most events they take your water bottle but there is usally a free water tap inside the event, but not in Brasil! They day was extremely hot and not a cloud in the sky! I didn't realise there would be no shade either so we bought a X games cap :) Then we went walking forever trying to find some free water because the line to buy tickets which would in turn allow you to line up to buy water was extremely long! In the meantime we lined up in a shorter line to claim some free icecream, it was really yum but didn't quench our thirst at all. We felt like we were in the middle of the desert with no water!
Eventually we found some people had managed to sneak in some boxes of water and icecreams and had started selling them within the grandstands. But we didn't have much money left! Thankfully Leandro's friend met up with us later and lent us $20 so we could get some crappy burgers sold in plastic bags :) The other thing that is different about Brasil is that their events are not smoke free like in australia, I think the only place they stop you from smoking is shopping centres! And lots of people smoke in Brasil, so we came away with very red,sore eyes!
Oh yeah, and the X games, lots of bmx, skateboarding and motorbikes doing tricks n stuff, very exciting, at least the guys thought so! Hehehe, anyway it was an experience after all.
As we were leaving we noticed a free expo going on in a huge hall nearby. It was a North Brasil tourism expo and we thought it would be good to check out as we had some flights booked to visit Bahia. There were lots of people in fancy costumes, some food and cooking classes, caipirinhas and arts n´ crafts. We tasted some sweets made from pumpkin (kinda strange) and coconut and had some R$3 caipirinhas. We thought our day had finally started to get better when we got to the car and realised the battery was flat!!! After some searching we found a guy who helped us out - but then asked for $20! We gave him $10 and our thanks eheheh :)
Went we got home we crashed, feeling a little sunburnt and aching!
The next day Andre, his parents and I went out for a nice nice lunch on the river out of the city. After a little searching Andre found a restaurant that he said he had been to before and was really good. It was a cute boat on the river that had two floors. We decided to sit on the lower floor as it was cooler but had to wait a little while for a seat. We ordered some batida espanhola to start with which was amazing :) I couldn't really figure out what was in it except for red wine and some thing creamy. Batidas are the word they use for cocktails (Ba-chee-da) and they are really good! But unfortunately they were the best thing on offer at this restaurant! Everyone was really disappointed with the food, I thought it was ok, just a little plain but Andres dad ate almost nothing! The worst part was the bill I think! Andre complained and they gave us a discount of R$4!!!
All in all it was nice to go out with Andrés parents and the view was really nice across the river :) And this day ended well unlike the day before, we went to Andres Aunt Renilde's house to learn how to make Pão de Queijo, my favourite :)
Lots of people were there, cousins, Aunts, uncles and Arleide came along too. I got her to write down the recipe for me! Before the Pão was ready someone had gone to the bakery and bought some Bolinhos de Queijo and Bolinhos de Bacon; little round fried balls of potatoe with a melted cheese or bacon filling! Really yummy I ate heaps! Then we had the Pão do Queijo which was slightly different to the one I had been eating from the bakery but just as tasty :) They puffed up really large in the oven but were hollow and cheesy on the inside. So our dinner was very cheesy that night, and me and Andre collapsed into bed with a huge stomach!
YUM CHEESE...
