Vitoria

We did indeed wander around Copacobana for a while, looking for a place for dinner, and we also found a used book store where I got Harry Potter and the Sorcerers stone in Portuguese. After dinner we went back to the hotel for sleep. In the morning we hit the beach after breakfast and layed around for a couple hours. Then we went to the H. Stern headquarters in Ipanema. H. Stern is a Brazilian jewelry company that offers free rides to the headquarters to all people that stay in the hotels in Rio. Then they get a free tour, with snacks and drinks and then the tour ends up, of course, in the gift shop. Except in this case they try and sell you really expensive jewelry.

Then we had some dinner and they gave us a ride back to our hotel where we picked up our stuff and took a taxi to the bus station. This time we had our passports and took a 9:50pm bus for Vitoria. It was a pretty long ride, and neither Shelley nor I could sleep, but Gabriella slept very well.

We got into Vitoria around six in the morning, and it was kind of cold and we didn’t have a clue where we should go. Eventually we went to a place that was in our guide book, Hotel Principe which was right by the bus station. We figured we would stay there one night, and use the day to find somewhere better to stay. We took a nap, then took a bus to Vila Velha, the town just across the river, that the guide book said had really nice beaches. We found a nice place, Pousada Requinte, and reserved a place for the next day. Then we got dinner and went back to the hotel for the night.

On Friday, we left the Principe for Requinte, and then went to the beach. The beach here is every bit as nice as in Rio, and it’s mainly familys and people that live here. It was warm and beautiful and we stayed there for a couple hours, then went out for dinner. Saturday we decided we needed an inside day, because it’s been really hot. We walked to a nearby mall, and looked around at all the stores. We got some lunch, and delicious Bob’s milkshakes, and then we went to see Shrek III. The lady at the ticket counter thought we were goofy for wanting to see the subtitled one instead of the dubbed one. It was pretty funny and Gabrielle really liked it. We stopped at a grocery store and got some food for dinner, than walked back to the pousada and ate. We got Gabi some comfort food, Frosted Flakes and Soy milk. She loved it.

Today was another Beach day, and we saw on our map that there was a lighthouse as part of the “Sitio Historico” and so we walked over to it. It was a really long, uphill walk, and when we got there, you could only get a little glimpse of the lighthouse over the giant gate and fence in front of it, because it’s still a working lighthouse and part of maritime union property. As we stood outside a bunch of guys came back from lunch and walked inside. So that was disappointing. We got back to the pousada and cleaned up and ate lunch.

One thing we have noticed on our trip is that everyone loves kids. At the beach people always come and talk to us, tell us how pretty Gabi is, and give her hugs and touch her hair and stuff. It is kind of a little crazy how much they like her. We’ll be walking down the street and people will stop and talk to her, one guy dressed as a clown was walking by where we were eating in Rio and stopped, came back got our attention and then made up a little poem about her name. . That’s another thing, people have no problem touching other peoples kids. On one bus, which all have turnstiles inside the bus that you have to pass through after you pay, this lady walked through holding one of her kids, and her other daughter was on the other side. She couldn’t push the turnstile, so this random lady just picked her up over the turnstile. On the same bus we walked all the way to the back, and there was only one seat in the back, where Gabi sat. She wanted to sit next to the window, so the lady sitting there switched with her and held her up by the window, making sure she didn’t fall down. And we were there the whole time watching so don’t worry about that. Other people have given her candies, chocolates, and one guy who spoke English and had been talking to us even gave her a quarter of his sandwich. We had seen it being brought out by the waitress and he hadn’t even touched it before he gave it to her. But people are so great with her. And they have been really friendly with us too. People have been recommending places for us to go, helping us get places, doing all sorts of stuff for us that people would never do in the states. One guy made a call for us to get directions to a pousada, this other girl, about 17 years old, who spoke really good English walked us about 6 or 7 blocks to a different pousada. We talked to her while we were walking and found out she is going to Boston this December, and she asked us if it was cold there, we tried to tell her, but I am not sure if she gets it. She told us it was cold here now! Everyone is super friendly.