Corrina's Travels..

Thursday, November 30, 2006

bem vindo, Brasil!

James and I have safely arrived in Rio de janiero, after an overnight flight and a rather long bus ride through the city! We are staying with James friend Carolina and her family in the richest part of Rio in a very nice apartment, we have our own room and a live in chef/housekeeper!! Rio is beautiful, we are staying right between the famous beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana where they actually have designated areas for the beautiful people, gays, less glamorous locals etc. everyone is soccer mad of course and there are barefoot games of soccer being conducted everywhere as well as beach volleyball with buff girls in brasilian bikins doing their daily training. you can buy whole coconuts and drink the juice witha straw, pineapples, mangoes, banannas;; ahhh the tropical life- megusta megusta!! (i like i like!)


I can tell i am going to love and adore my time here, the shopping is great the people are laid back and beautiful, despite the very real threat of crime! I am very quickly trying to learn portuguese as her family speaks no english and we are having some pretty funny ´conversations´!! it has some similarities to spanish so i can pick up threads of what is being said but i have no way of responding which is very frustrating, so there is lots of laughing and smiling and tyring furiously to find the right page oin the phrase book!!

So is just a quick note to say i am very excited to be here, it is awesome having carolina and her sister Maria Sylvia to take us out, tonight we are going to a party at a bar that has a great view over the beaches for a friends birthday and then out to a small brazilian club and tomorrow night a live outdoor concert on top of sugar loaf mountain, we are coming back to have a proper brasilian christmas with her family after flying up north and may even be here for the new year. it all sounds amazing! Yes, bad things do happen here and it can be dangerous but we are going to be very careful and only take what we need out and about.

I bought my first pair of havayna thongs complete with brasilian flag so am very excited. we drank capriyanas (spelling??) in an outdoor bar last night whilst snacking on a delivious spread of local food in a setting that would have bankrupted us in europe but which is finally totally affordable here!

hope everyone is well, more photos soon!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

photos!

James in St Marks Square Venice, quite proud of this more artistic shot hehe
James by the grand canal, Venice. Incredibly picturesque spot in Venice which was a truly magical city.. that isnt a giant anaconda around his neck it is the scarf i bought in Venice- it was freezing there!

me in the same spot..
me sideways in the same spot..
Me on the bridge we were facing in the previous shots, one of the prettiest views of venice from up here and a great spot to see the sun go down
the happy couple
St Marks basilica, pigeons and us!
lifestyles of the rich and famous! and here is one of the plebians posing as a member hehe Monaco was yet another stunning seaside town, totally immaculate. We visited an aquarium there which was fantastic
another plebian overlooking Monaco and furiously wishing one of those yachts was hers...
Me in Nice, a slightly goldcoast-ish beach city of France but very likeable nonethless and the placce we stayed had a KITCHEN so i got to cook lots of yummy dinners..
James in Nice
Me hitching a ride after our day of wine tasting out in rural provence, France. Luckily the bus did stop and save us from the long walk home

A fairly typical French lunch for us, produce from the incredible local markets- pate, cheese, bread, avocado..
Barcelona! Us right on the beach
Ahhhh tapas. me delighting in the goods of one of the many tapas bars we frequented in Sans Sebastian..
Amazingly we got to swim and sunbake this day, the water in Sans Sebastian was quite nippy but fine once you took the plunge. Red strapless top care of Sara, thank you Sara!!
James at the Louvre- yet another great collection housed in yet another architectural feat
Ahhhh, Paris! j'ADORE! the view from our window looking down at the Bastille. The just married sign was up the whole time we stayed, they had fashioned it out of socks and a bedsheet
Take a guess where this might be..