Lots of photos today! My wife and I got up and made plans to get together with her grandmother. For my wife, today was to be a trip down memory lane. A pretty long trip, too, because she hasn't been here since she was fifteen. First stop: Flamboyant, a Brazilian shopping mall! For a moment, my wife actually asked me to consider buying the male bathing suit pictured above. I told her that if the day ever comes where my physique matches the mannequin, I might consider it.
We stopped and got foods at a place that functions like a buffet, except at the end they weigh your plate and charge you based on its weight. I don't think there's a place in the US that does this, but it's a terrific idea. I got some meats, beans, rice, a pastie (the little pastry guy on the top right), several sausages, carrots and some hot peppers. Everything was wonderful. Oh, and I had these little sugar-coated banana balls that are just visible in the top right.
I bought a soda water and was pleased to see that it doesn't contain gluten (Nao contem gluten). I hate it when people sneak gluten into my beverages.
Here's the buffet place in all its glory. The Divine Stove Stop.
So, really interesting thing about Brazil. I asked my wife why a (gigantic) Christmas tree was going up in early October. She said that Brazil doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving (that one is obvious) or Halloween (which saddens me greatly), and therefore, they start celebrating Christmas much earlier than we do.
The tree isn't quite done yet, but it's getting there. It's interesting that Brazil keeps with the snowy Christmas theme, given that Christmas occurs in the summer in Brazil. But what're you gonna do.
After the mall, my wife's grandmother was still in search of Havaianas sandals. We headed to a part of Goiania that is more working class than the areas we've been visiting so far. Back when my wife lived here, this was actually the center of downtown. Times, however, have changed. It was a bit rougher around the edges.
A parking lot alongside a church.
Le Deguste, a restaurant we walked by. In tiny lettering, it says "Self-Service for Kilo". This is the kind of dining I described above. It's buffet-style, you help yourself, and are charged based on weight.
Some more scenes of the downtown area while the sun began to set.
Here's a frontal view of the restaurant pictured above. The graffiti reads: Punicao Aos Torturadores, which translates to Punishment to the Torturers. Evidently, a Truth Commission was created by Brazil to document the exact fate of many Brazilians from 1964-1985 who fell victim to the military regime at the time. The Truth Commission published its findings in early 2015, angering many who viewed the results as nothing more than a ham-fisted attempt to downplay the savagery of those times.
Some neat and very prevalent graffiti.
Retifica Cometa means Rectify Comet. It's a business that rebuilds engines.
We went to my wife's grandmother's apartment and had Pao de Queijo, the cheese bread that I've grown oh so fond of. For the first time, I got to eat it with Requeijao. It's a kind of very creamy cheese that comes in a nifty jar.
There it is to the left. You can see my wife preparing the Pao de Queijo in expert fashion by funneling a little hole in its middle into which the Requeijao is inserted. Adding cheese to cheese is, as it turns out, a fantastic idea!
After the cheese breads, we met back up with my aunt and uncle-in-law. They are leaving for vacation tomorrow, and this is the last time we will get to see them on this trip. I've grown quite fond of them both; they accepted me into their home, fed me constantly, and were incredibly kind and warm to me. I hope they visit us soon!
They had the terrific idea of taking us to a grocery store. I think a grocery store is a fantastic way to get a sense of a new place you're visiting. Look at all this produce that I've never seen back home. Above, you see a variety of melons. Don't worry, I get closer to the produce in the next photos and include names.
These green spherical things are a kind of pumpkin: Aboboro. I think that name is really, really cute. It's pronounced ah-BUH-boh-row.
I thought these were some kind of eggplant (they were sitting next to eggplants and are similar in shape!), but evidently these are also a kind of pumpkin. Or, as I've begun to suspect, a kind of gourd. Perhaps in a land without Halloween, there is no special distinction for pumpkin. Perhaps they're all just gourds.
These are Chuchus. It's evidently known in English as a 'pear squash'.
These are mangos!
One of many varieties of passion fruit. I did not know passion fruit had variations until today.
The pinhao is a giant pine nut, evidently. On top, you see varieties of oranges.
Yet another variety of passion fruit!
This is known as formosa, which sounds vaguely familiar to me. No idea why, though.
Baby pumpkins!!
These are mangostins, another name that strikes me as vaguely familiar.
My wife pointing out another kind of fruit, the Goiaba.
Remember the wedding picture of the confection that I said was delicious but didn't know the name of? Turns out it's a tartelete baba de moca!
And here you can see the 'eyes of the mother in law' (olho de sogro, left) as well as the 'eyes of the father in law' (olho de sogra, right) pictured in all their glory!
More pasties!
Believe it or not, we were still hungry after the grocery store and went to a burger place. But not just any burger place. Komiketa has been around since 1986, and with very good reason.
Here are all the many burger options.
More fruit juices, of course.
If you can read Portuguese, here is the history of the restaurant.
Burger man!
Pineapple plus peppermint. Very delicious; I've had it several times in Brazil so far.
I ate the burger on the top right. Zoom in. You can see egg, ham, beef, a hot dog, lettuce, and corn. I think there was an olive in there, too.
It came with this sauce, a combination of mayonnaise and other deliciousness.
My mother would love this place. Burgers are a universal language.
Comments
And so many different fruits and vegetables! You are sduch a cute couple