Limeira, SP - Brasil

I am liking this little town very much. Or maybe is has more to do with Samara's family being so absolutely wonderful! But more on all of them another time. Limeira is about 120 km from SP and it is a small compared to SP..... but from the 18th floor of the building.... looks bigger than I imagined. One of the main businesses here is orange cultivation, and a lot of the people I know here have something to do with it. So it was only appropriate that my first churrasco (brazilian BBQ) was in an orange grove. Wonderful food and beautiful scenery.... and I made a new friend. Vanessa, a childhood friend of Samara's and a dentist in Limeira... did I mention I hate dentists..... ohhh well.... I forgive her for her profession!

That was Saturday.... now on to Sunday! I went with Fe and Ri to do a "Clown" visit to the local nursing home. It was one of the most rewarding things I've done in years. I took lots of pictures and as always you can see those on my picassa site http://picasaweb.google.com/darwin33. Also check out Ricardo's work with bringing a little laughter to those who need it most : http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=21053178

That night we all went out to see an Elvis impersonator.... who was fantastic..... another great night! The rest of the week in Limeira was spent mostly with Samara's mom, Lurdinha. She has been great to me and even managed to get me a Brazilian ID, CPF. With that I can open a bank account and not have to carry around as much cash! She really is an amazing woman, very giving and loves to take care of people.... I guess I need that too sometimes.

I'm in Brasil!

The trip was easy, LAN Chile is a good airline with great prices! The flight stopped in Lima, but we were there just long enough for them to clean, refuel and pick up more passengers.  Even better going through customs was quick and they did not look at any of my stuff... which was a little bit of a problem for me since I was loaded with my own usual technology wares and in addition a bunch of stuff Samara ordered.  Our prices are usually 2 times less than what they pay in Brasil for the same product!  I waited for Samara for a while.... thinking, weekday, traffic, but then decided to buy a SIM card and call..... she was at the wrong terminal.... forgot the flight number at home..... no problem... because when she came around the corner.... she had Fernanda and Ricardo with her!!!! What a great feeling to have 3 wonderful friends pick you up at the airport.  I was so happy and so energized... no problem that I hadn't slept..

From the airport we went to Fe and Ri's house to drop off my bags so we could go and get lunch after we got a little crazy.  To stop larica we went to the Mercado Municipal for lunch.  Great sandwiches, cold beer and then a surprisingly good sweet.... ahh first day... excellent.... but the night only got better.

After lunch Samara and I went to her sisters house so I can shower and rest for a bit.... but then Caruline got there and after my shower I caught up with her. It was great to have so many friends around my first day here.  Samara already had a fun night planned for us. We went to Bom Motivo, her favorite bar in the very cool bar district of Vila Madalena.  This bar plays live MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) one of my favorite types of music.  About 15 of her friends showed up and it was great to put faces to so many named I had already heard a lot about.  Our group was big, because in addition to all of her friends we also ha Lisandra (Samara's sister) and 2 of her friends, Fe and Ri, and also Caruline.  What an awesome first night! But by 2 I was falling asleep... I just wanted to go back to the apartment..... the last hour there felt like forever!.

The next day we went to a crazy shopping street called 23 de Março... wow sooo many people and my first fresh coconut in South America in a very very very long time.... they just taste better down here!!!!! After we went to Limeira..... home for the next 6 months.

I finally left Europe....

Where to start, it's been so long but flown by. I did most of what I set out to do in Europe, it took longer, but by choice. Most important, I met people who have changed my life, and made the type of friends that make you feel lucky your life changed. The country count isn't very high (15), but the quality of time spent in different cities and countries is worth a lot more. Especially my experience of living in Barcelona, having a life there, missing the city when I traveled and being missed while I was out. It was hard to leave, but after postponing my departure by 6 month I knew the time had come.

I have so many stories from this past year, and the best way to hear them is over a beer or check out the link http://picasaweb.google.com/darwin33, so if you are in the LA area lets get together before I leave again! On August 29th I leave for Brazil, first stop Sao Paulo. This is the country that holds the most opportunity of travel, at least the type of travel I like to do… with friends!!!! I start in Brazil, and then go to Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and back to Brazil. My return to the US is set for February 25th. I have already spent some time in South America, and I find it a completely fascinating continent, full of amazing and under appreciated locations, kind and generous people… and to my advantage a place where the dollar is still worth something!

The Credits – special thanks to all of you who made my last year possible…..

ELIZA and CARLOS I thank you first for inspiring me and being my safety net, making this past year possible. MOO and BEN for giving me their spare hotel bed in MALAGA; FRANCISCO for coming to RONDA in his cool BMW convertible and taking me for a long ride back to SAN LUCAR via GRAZAMEL, ARCOS, JEREZ and CADIZ; MARIA and PETRI for the amazingly long saunas in FINLAND; PETER and SIMONE for giving me a pre-Oktoberfest bed in AUGSBURG; MICHELLE and JERRY for giving me the corner by the door in MUNICH and having the most romantic wedding ever in PORTOVENERE and giving me a scare by waiting at the wrong train platform in FLORENCE; VIOLET for meeting me in the odd Italian city of GENOVA and being a fantastically patient companion through my progressing sleep disorder via BOLOGNA; VIOLET again for taking a road trip with me knowing full well that it is not always a pleasant experience when I drive….through the RIOJA, ENCISO (a traffic ticket) and BASQUE COUNTRY, VICTORIA, BILBAO, SAN SEBASTIAN, HONDARRIBIA, SAINT JEAN DE LUZ; for all my guests that each time I toured you around made me love BARCELONA that much more; again to ELIZA, CARLOS and ORLANDO for being my family and giving me not only a place to live but a HOME, I love you guys, you have given me so much; CARULINE for inviting me to my first but not last Brazilian Christmas in MALAGA; SOFIA for the futon bed in PARIS and the yummy cookies; JU, GABRIELA and MRS DeLUCCIA, three strong women and the best company one can have in a city like PARIS; The ARUJO family for letting me drive us to CADAQUES and sorry LAUREN for making you car sick; SAMARA, I don't even know where to begin with you, but how about starting with the 11pm idea to catch a bus to VALENCIA leaving in less than 2 hours, and all the trips that followed SEVILLA, CORDOVA, GRANADA, MADRID, BERLIN, DUBLIN, I love you forever!!!!; FERNANDA for making the trip south with us even after missing your flight, it wouldn't have been the same without you; ADRIANA for giving me and SAMARA a place to stay in MADRID and making the trip to SEGOVIA with us; PATRICK in BERLIN for having a moody roommate and for leaving us his bed with dirty sheets at least there was a washer; RONAN for inviting me to party with him in IRELAND and his parents MIHOL and DEIRDRA for being so kind and sharing their beautiful home; LISA and BETSY for letting me crash at you place in LONDON it was great to see you again after all these years; JANEZ for insisting I visit SLOVENIA and being so great in driving me to see all the fantastic places in your country and suggesting I see CROATIA while there; SIGY and MARIA in VIENNA the nights on the terrace were the best; VICTOR for insisting I stop through BRATISLAVA and sending me your ideal itinerary with a map; AKOS and ERZEBET for your generosity and 3 fun nights in BUDAPEST, you both out did yourselves; HIND thank you for giving me and LEO the opportunity to visit you in MOROCCO, sharing your home in MARRAKESH and giving me the confidence travel to FEZ alone.

These are just the people who made travel possible and special. There are so many people who made Barcelona home, I hope I have done enough while there to show you how much you mean to me. It was hard to leave, but I find comfort in knowing that many of you are part of my next adventure in South America or even Australia/New Zealand. I can't wait to see you all again. Barcelona will always be home for me and represents the best year of my life…. so far! All my love and thanks,

-- Paulette Parent

http://picasaweb.google.com/darwin33 - Online photo album
http://spaces.msn.com/members/BlueFooted/
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MSN IM: darwinirie@hotmail.com
Skype - atticus33

South America here we go...

Just a quick update.... I bought my ticket to Brazil, I leave August 29th and can't wait to be there. 6 months in South America with Sao Paulo as home and travelin' when the opportunities arise.

I must be ready to leave Europe finally.... or not..... more of a need to move on.

First Impressions

So this morning I arrived in Helsinki, Finland at 4.30 am., and my first thought was...............WOW!!! How Clean!!!! Then got right on a ferry for Estonia and same reaction, WOW!!!How Clean!!!!

Not sure what that says about Barcelona, maybe that even though there is always people cleaning Barcelona the city is always dirty! But it is still home and I love it.

Ps. Typing on this keyboards in weird....I have no idea what to do with these other letters!

BBQ with friends

Yesterday, I went to my first BBQ in Spain. I needed it so much! Although it wasn't the first time I BBQ'd in Spain......that's another story!

It was at my friend Santi's mothers house about 20 minutes outside of the city. Being in a smaller town, completely residential, backed up by a forest with a big yard and lots of plants and trees made it the perfect setting. The food was excellent and the company even better. The day was your typical gathering with people from all over the world. Santi's mother and her two friends were so much fun to speak with and listen to their stories. As they went back and forth from speaking Spanish and Catalan, I realized that my comprehension of Catalan keeps getting better and I find a lot of gratification in that.

One more very memorable day in Spain!

A massage less WHAT?!?!!

It only took all summer.....but I finally went topless. Although there was a trade-off! I got a great full body massage from a Chinese lady for 15 Euro, but since there is no sheet to cover up with you end up topless. Guess what? It wasn't bad and I think I like it. Hey, my boobs were so white compared to the rest of my body it probably looked like I was wearing a white bikini top. Hahahahah! I've converted, I think I am now officially European.

Ignorance is Bliss

As I approached the beach this morning, a little later than usual, I was taken by how calm the water appeared. I get in and it is a nice cool temp (for the med) and the visibility is incredible. I swim out to the buoy and once out there take advantage of the solitude and quite. Quiet is not something you get much of in a city like Barcelona, and being out a couple hundred meters from the beach gives that too you.

After a couple of minutes of just floating, I hear someone near by and it is a young kid on a wind surfboard. When I look ahead of me, I see a jellyfish. Ok no problem I swim away from it. Then the kid says, "I've seen a lot of jelly fish, be careful" and then proceeds to point out the one I was swimming towards. Ok time to head back to the beach.....as I put my head in the water I realize they are all over the place.

Fuck, I just knew I was going to get stung. I do not know how I managed to swim out that far, spend 5 minutes floating around and not stung. I slowly maneuvered my way back to the beach and made it without incident. I talked to my old people a little bit until Marta got to the beach, needless to say se didn't swim out to the buoy this morning either.

I hope they are gone tomorrow I missed my morning swim!