Christmas & New Year in Brazil

Gente, Feliz Ano Novo!!

First of all we want to wish you all a wonderful and loving 2012! We hope you had some nice days with family, friends, a real Christmas tree and off course good food and wine. That this year may bring a lot of positive things for you all.

For us it was our first Christmas here in Brazil, but it didn’t feel like Christmas at all. With 30 degrees, bright sun and fake Christmas trees it was hard to get that real Christmas feeling.  Despite the fact that Brazilians really try to bring Christmas alive and that they do get the Christmas feeling themselves, for us it felt different; over the top decorations (I don’t want to know the electricity consumption), long traffic jams (until 1 or 2 at night) to get a glimpse of THE Christmas tree at Ibirapuera park or the light decorations at Avenida Paulista. Mmmmm, maybe we had to act a little bit ‘more Brazilian’ and had to join them to get that real Christmas sense. Nevertheless, we spent Christmas at the beach just forgetting it was Christmas J

Christmas decoration Brazilian style

Decoration in Iguatemi shopping mall



The Ibirapuera park Christmas Tree




Even fake snow....

New Year we celebrated at Morro de Sao Paulo, a small island at the north east coast of Brazil. A place of which I have very good memories of:  quiet, white sandy beaches, small bays, blue ocean, a good mix of locals and backpackers, cozy (sandy) lanes with colorful shops and restaurants.  Unfortunately, at arrival this paradise of 3 years back was transformed into a crowded, loud and commercial place overloaded with Brazilian and Argentinean youngsters (fir those who know, it was like ‘de Bubbles on the beach’). Fortunately, we had nice company: Xander & Marliesa (a Dutch couple from Sao Paulo) and Michel (Ronald’s brother) were there to toast on the New Year. However, we said to each other…….. “We will never visit such a place again”. Apparently, we are becoming older J

New Years dinner

With champagne on the beach

Besides all the holidays we almost forget to tell you that we reached a big milestone: we live in our apartment! It took some time and frustration now and then, but we proudly present our casa in the pictures. It is just a 'little bigger' then what we were just in Amsterdam......

Our own Brazilian churrasco place

 ......the result of living an expat life

We really feel at home here, happy to finally have the possibility to make our own breakfast, invite people for lunch or dinner, bike with our ‘Dutch design’ bikes and have our own things from ‘home’. After almost two months of having Dutch guests here, it is very nice to have time alone now to enjoy and explore our new environment. The next big happening will be Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro and I will visit one of my best friends for a weekend in Buenos Aires.

Até mais!

Ronald & Sanne