Chimarrão and french fries

25 September 2011

Still healing from the cold/flu viruses, a little tired still and the cough is lingering, but my voice is almost back to normal.  I spent a fairly quiet weekend to be on the safe side.  Today was sunny and warm, so I did all my laundry and sat outside in the garden for a while.

 At sunset I joined some friends for chimarrão in the park surrounding city hall, which they call the praça (plaza). It was nice to finally be well enough to partake along with the others again.  

 We met up a bit later than usual, so it was getting dark by the time the cameras came out.

Pretending to drink over a friend's shoulder in these two photos...

 Which resulted in a Freudian slip of monumental proportions and much laughter.  Well, not precisely a Freudian slip, as it was a result of my incomplete grasp of the Portuguese language and not realizing I had been offered a "suck" rather than a "drink".  Oh my gooooodness!

The breeze billowing out her clothing in such a way as to give the appearance of being nine months along.

 Speaking of clothing, I didn't realize Converse were so popular in Brazil.  Out of 8 people, 4 were wearing them.  I need to go shoe shopping!

 When we ran out of water, we walked down to a bar on Ave. Imigrantes, the street where people go to hang out and be seen, for a light snack - mountains of cheese fries.  (How do these people stay slim?)  They come with mayo, mustard and ketchup on the side.

People here rarely eat anything with their fingers. French fries are eaten with toothpicks.  The melty cheese made the toothpick a less-than-ideal utensil for this, but it was good for a few giggles.