Hotel E Centro De Eventos Plaza Sao Rafael Porto Alegre

... Ardil 22 in Portuguese) which I snatched for R$10. It´s a bit advanced for me but since I´ve read it more than once in English, I think I´ll be able to understand most of it.<br><br>Anyway, there is not much to do in this city and I didn´t plan on staying more than two or three days, but I met some good people so I decided to stick around until tomorrow, when I´ll catch a bus to Uruguay (my first border ...

... and everyone is drinking chimarrao. On Sunday, the Mercado Publico is closed, but there's a massive street market in one of the parks, and that was very excellent, too. In terms of quality, that was the best market that I've been to. There was high-caliber art, of every medium, for sale, and a massive flea-market at the end of the artisan-vendors. You could furnish your house very well if you bought everything from this market. Everyone goes to Forroupilha park on Sunday, to ...

... because DAMN. I was told, before I came here, that Porto Alegre had the most beautiful women in Brazil, but I figured it was a myth, just like the "all Brazilian women are hot" thing. Newp. But that really just brings me to the second reason why I love it here. Everyone is so active, and healthy, and happy. There are hardly any vastly-over-weight people, unlike the rest of Brazil. There are people everywhere, working, and walking, and shopping, and ...

... next day wasn't a huge improvement, though it certainly peaked my interest, and had some excitement. The city was pretty much dead, as a lot of Brazilian cities are, on sunday(I would later learn that everyone was at a giant market 2 blocks in the opposite direction I had walked, from my Hotel). I explored Centro, and visited the many small parks, and plazas, the city has to offer. The city has some exceptional architecture ...

... half way there. Now comes the absolutely stupid Brazil immigration. We asked the taxi to take us 3km into Brazil, where the Brazilian immigration was suppose to be, but someone decided to changed to rules to make things difficult for everyone. The Brazilian custom guard told us in slow Portuguese / Spanish / English, we had to take the taxi back to Chui, then take a bus to the next town about 20km away, then get the ...

... ride back to Santa Cruz Do Sul) Today my thoughts are with my country and my people. The constant rain this day only fuels my saudades. I remember where I was that day and all the days that would come after. Today I am the sad clown for so many reasons; one being the actions taken afterwards of my country and our current president. I think of where we have come and what has been done in this day's name, since.

... i checked ino a hotel which was recommended by the tourist information, the cheapest in town, and i have my own room for 15reais, half of what i usually pay. So i am bang in the centre, close to everything. Today i went to the market place, it is huge, covered, and very busy. People are shouting from everywhere, and it has a very traditional side to it, loads of vegetable and fruits stands, fishmongers ...

... difficult to get to - could´ve had another). So instead of staying in Gramado, which is beautiful and nice in its own right, I decided to head to Porto Alegre early so that way I could get the ticket to Montevideo and just see what it had to offer and then just leave that night. There is no direct bus from Gramado and I think I saw almost everything it had to offer during the winter. There was more to see, but unfortunately it wasn´t ...

... surprise, surprise. Fried egg mixed with white rice. Lettuce, with oil, vinegar, and salt (nothing else on it). Salad is also not eaten first. They dip meats in a flour-like substance before eating it. They call crepes, pancakes, and fill them with meat and then cover them in a white sauce we would use for pasta. Dark, dark coffee is always served after the meal and dessert is over. They use liquid sugar as sweetener. Dessert is always healthy and so ...

... Sao Paulo bus station to airport, moderate difficultly. I'm always skeptical about taking cabs since I feel like I'll be overcharged, so I felt good about there being a flat rate/prepaid cab to the airport. Forgot my Swiss army knife was in my carry on so I donated that to the attendant. boo. Aw well, saved muito muito dinheiro (very much money in my horrible Portuguese) by taking a bus instead of flying. <br> <br>Frederico was waiting at the airport. It ...