Friday, December 23, 2016

In holidays...



From Dec. 15th to Jan 04th I'll be in holidays, exchanging the heat and sun of Brazil to the cold and snowing America. :)




Wishing you all a peacefull Christmas and a very happy New Year, full of success, health, joy and love.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Two sides of the same country...




This country is truly amazing and there is so much to explore… I always say that Brazil is eclectic because it pleases all kind of preferences. In this post I’ll show you two examples (from many)…
EIN PROSIT!
I already talked about the Germanic origin in my first post… the Germans brought many rich traditions and habits. One of them is celebrating the Oktoberfest! I read about the Oktoberfest's history, and I found out that it began in 1810, in Germany. “Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become 
King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12th October 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event. The fields have been named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's fields") in honor of the Crown Princess ever since, although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n". Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest. In 1811 an added feature to the horse races was the first Agricultural Show, designed to boost Bavarian agriculture. The horse races, which were the oldest and - at one time - the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today. But the Agricultural Show is still held every three years during the Oktoberfest on the southern part of the festival grounds. In the first few decades the choice of amusements was sparse. The first carousel and two swings were set up in 1818. Visitors were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands which grew rapidly in number. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of the breweries. The remainder of the festival site was taken up by a fun-fair. The range of carousels etc. on offer was already increasing rapidly in the 1870s as the fairground trade continued to grow and develop in Germany.”

I’ve never been to Munich, so I have no idea about how the original Oktoberfest is like… but in Brazil, I’ve been to the 3 main celebrations that happen in 3 different cities: Blumenau, Santa Cruz do Sul and Igrejinha. You can drink chopp, eat good food (german, of course!!), the music is typically German, as well as all other attractions and parades. People wear German costumes and the whole cities which celebrate it here ‘breath’ the Oktoberfest.  It’s really fun if you like crowded places, loud music and many crazy things that you can only find in Oktoberfests (because people drink a lot, so they surely do crazy things!).





The first celebration in Brazil was in 1966, which started more like a “Tobacco Celebration”?!?!?!?, mixed with the traditions of the German Oktoberfest. It was a Tobacco Celebration because tobacco was grown in that area, and all the economy was related to it. In 1972 they celebrated the second edition of “Tobaccofest”, and the major of the city in that time intended to create the Oktoberfest yearly, but they had no structure Years later,  in1984 they had the very first Oktberfest. Since then, the city celebrates it yearly. In Blumenau, the celebration also started in 1984, and in the first edition, it brought 102.000 visitors. Blumenau became one of the most visited cities in Santa Catarina State.  The celebration in Igrejinha happens since 1987 and they return a huge amount of money to the community. The money is given directly to the hospital, public schools, police department and to the fire fighters’ group. Since 1994, they have already returned more than R$ 9.000.000,00 (around USD 2.800.00,00) to Igrejinha’s community.
I’ wont share the links of the parties because there isnt English version, but here are some pictures. 


Jetzt Geht's Los!!
















CALM AS SNOWFALL…
Now the opposite… as I’m getting older, I’m more into this kind of programs, and my husband also love nature, wild life, etc, so we prefer this kind of trips than parties.
In Praia Grande, state of Santa Catarina, there is a paradise called Morada dos Canyons. It is in the frontier of the states Rio Grande do Sul with Santa Catarina. Morada dos Canyons is like a charming lodge, you can rent a chalet and the view is part of the canyons. You can join the groups which go for mountain tracks, rappel, you can see some nice waterfalls… there are lots of adventure options included on the packages. It depends on what you prefer. We like mountain tracks, so we went for it.

There are many hotels, hostels, and other kind of accommodation not only in Praia Grande/SC, but also in the nearby city called Cambará do Sul/RS. Both cities give you the accesses to visit the Canyons.  I’ve been there this weekend and I can tell you, it’s a great scape from the city, noises, and anything from the urban cenary!






Morada dos Canyons - Our chalet

The view... 

Cozy




The road to get to the canyon Itaimbezinho... I won't lie, the access is terrible, but the view worths it.


First view of the trail... really nice!

The best partner in crime! :P

Cascata das Andorinhas... great view!

My love and I... <3



Lunch at 720 meter height... not bad!

Canyon Itaimbezinho.. finally... after walking 3,5 km into the trail. Now we have to walk all the way back... 

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Something new is about to be posted...

Next time I'm going to tell you where those pictures were taken and add some more beautiful things from here!









Monday, September 5, 2016

Wineries Region




Don’t be surprised… we produce good wines in Brazil!!

Another rich heritage left from the European immigrants was the wine production. Of course the climate and soil conditions are different from Europe, but with some persistence and creativity, Brazil became the fifth largest wine producer of the southern hemisphere. China is the main destination of Brazilian wines, but it is also exported to the USA and Europe on a large scale (and good quality). I didn’t have the time to confirm this information, but I read somewhere that one of the wineries created conditions to grow grapes in the north of the country, in Bahia state, which is very hot and arid compared to the south. From that grapes, they launched a very special and unique wine (or a kind of ‘spumante’).
Here are some statistics about the global wine’s trade:


Anyway… talking about wine is great, but drinking it is much better!! 

The purpose of the article is to show the beauty of the wineries region.  We call it here as “Vale dos Vinhedos” (Vineyard Valleys, in English) and it is 130 km far from Porto Alegre. The grapes are grown basically in 3 cities: Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi and Monte Belo do Sul. Besides the great wines, the gastronomy is great and there are some nice tours to know more about the historical and cultural development over the years. This area is close to a large city called Caxias do Sul, which is home of some of the biggest industries of Brazil in the automotive and agricultural fields, like Marcopolo, Randon and Agrale. People can find here everything a big city offers: malls, nightlife, great hotels, good restaurants… however if we visit the inner city areas, we can find families which live in a way that sustains the traditions from the Italian immigrants, producing their own cheese and wines… that old ‘nonnos and nonnas’ cooking their own pasta and the typical ‘polenta’… that’s the part that I particularly love the most. There are some tours that include visiting those areas, get in touch with those local families and learn more about them. As a plus, the landscapes are a gift that comes with the package.

This is a spa... it offers 'winetherapy'. Never tried it, but should be good!

Miolo Winery... beautiful!


Casa Valduga Winery


Maria Fumaça Tour - a tour by train between the cities Bento Gonçalves and Garibaldi


Salton Winery

Inside the wineries - The best part is that you can taste the wines... yaaaay!

Caxias do Sul tour - The Wine Route

Grapes grown in Bento Gonçalves

Bento Gonçalves


If you got interested, you can find more information and pictures in the websites below:
  


Friday, August 19, 2016

Looks like Europe, but it’s Brazil!





This is my first post and I’m not going to write long texts. I would like to show the Brazil that most foreigners don’t know, and of course if anyone gets interested in more details, I can send them by email. I’m not a touristic agent, and I’m not earning anything doing this, but I’m a local resident who loves Brazil and the real beauty we have here (which is not Carnival, beaches and football).
Gramado and Canela are two cozy cities located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (south of the country), and they are one of the most popular destinations in Brazil chosen usually for couples in their honeymoon or families. They are small towns, however they are always crowded not only because of the attractions, festivals, museums, theme parks, but also because the breathtaking landscapes. The climate here (in the south) is different from the rest of the country. We have a cold winter starting in July and ending in September. It even snows in some cities (surprised?!) and because of that, the mountains region is compared to Europe. By the way, the temperature this weekend will be around 0° to -3°C.
The nearest airport is in Porto Alegre (POA). Both cities are around 130 km far from Porto Alegre and distance between Gramado and Canela is 9,5 km. As they are very close, people can easily stay in one of them and visit both.
Is not difficult to rent a car or get there by bus. Most of hotels there offer the transfer service, from the airport to the hotel. This is included in the hotel price, however can be negotiated.

GASTRONOMY:
This is certainly something that people enjoy there! If none of the attractions catches you (and that I doubt!), the restaurants will surely do! Is possible to appreciate the local gastronomy, which is different from other states of Brazil as we have a strong influence from Italian and German cultures here, but also you can easily find restaurants that serves the best of the international gastronomy.

FESTIVALS:
The annual Brazilian Cinema Festival takes place in Gramado, usually in August (by the way, is happening this week). There are premieres, famous Brazilian and South American artists and trendy parties. The best actors, actresses and movies are awarded with a statue called Kikito.
In the Christmas time, the city really celebrates life. In Gramado, this festival is called Natal Luz. In Canela, it is Sonho de Natal (or Christmas’ Dream). From the beginning of December to January, the cities are decorated with lights and many other Christmas ornaments. There are lots of attractions that pleases different preferences (music, parades, art, theater plays, etc).

MUSEUMS AND THEME PARKS:
Besides the historical museums, showing in rich details the history of those two cities, there are also very interesting and different museums, like the delicious Chocolate’s Museum, the amazing Super Cars Museum, Fashion Museum (one of my favorites) and the Wax Museum. For those who are not that into museums, there are the theme parks like Snowland, Minimundo and Mundo a Vapor.

LANDSCAPE:
The pictures will speak louder than words...
Autumn in Gramado


Lago Negro (Black Lake)


Spring time


Yeah, it snows here... sometimes!


Mini Mundo - Miniatures of the most impressive and important buildings around the world.


Natal Luz


Natal Luz


Natal Luz


Natal Luz - Gramado


Parque da Ferradura - Canyons in Canela


Parque da Ferradura


Cascata do Caracol - Canela (Caracol Falls)


Cascata do Caracol - Canela


Sonho de Natal - Canela


Sonho de Natal - Canela
  
Vale do Quilombo - Gramado (Quilombo Valey)

Hope you enjoyed it and I would love to know your opinion about this place!