Sofia Somewhere

We spent the next few days relaxing at the beach. Caio, his friend Mauro and I drove to Barra do Una , a beach about 2 hours north of the city. Caio's family has a lovely home in a small residential area which is a 1 minute walk away from the beach. We were lucky we had great warm weather (since it's been pretty cool in São Paulo). We had a fun 3 days just relaxing by the beach in the morning, eating, relaxing some more, watching movies at night, and cooking. :) The drive to the beach. Weather looking good! Walking to the beach Steps to paradise

I arrived in São Paulo on Sunday, a little after midnight. My friend Caio picked me up at the bus station, then after I washed up, we headed out to a party and I met some of his really nice friends. We started the next day with a late lunch. Proud friend moment - Caio was in the paper for getting into two (hard) courses in his university

I started off the next day with a visit to Parque Tanguá , at the outer part of the city. It took awhile to get to and find, but I made it. A very simple park, not that great, but it's a bit higher up and you get a view of the city. View from the observation decks View from the observation decks

For my last live match for this World Cup, I watched Honduras v. Ecuador in the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba. It was my first night game too; it was pretty cold, but still nice weather.

After visiting Inhotim, we rushed back to the city so I could catch my 19:45 bus to Curitiba. The trip to Curitiba would be 14 hours long, and I booked myself on a sleeper bus. The bus was actually pretty comfortable. The seats were big and they recline almost all the way so you could lie down. They even give you a blanket and a pillow. The sleeper bus The trip took a little over 13 hours and I arrived in Curitiba at 9am. While in Belo it was nice, warm, and sunny, in Curitiba it was COLD! Curitiba is a located in the more southern part of Brasil, and it really felt like 'winter' there (technically, it is winter now in Brasil). Everywhere I looked there were people wearing scarves, boots, and coats, and there I was in my Toms and 2 sweaters. It was about 10-12ºC in the morning, but it went up a bit to 14-15º in the afternoon. I was able to stay warm enough in my sweater and jacket.

On my last day in Belo Horizonte, T. Mona took me to Inhotim , actually in Brumadinho, about an hour and a half away from the city. It was beautiful . Inhotim is a 5,000 acre botanical garden and outdoor  contemporary art center founded by Bernardo Paz, a Brasilian mining billionaaire. It started off as a 3,000 acre private collection of plants (the gardens were designed by his friend Roberto Burle Marx), which he then expanded, and eventually began collecting contemporary art. In 2006, it opened to the public. Such a beautiful beautiful place. The pictures don't do it justice.

Today I visited Pampulha , a barrio , in the northwest of Belo Horizonte. It is best known for its man-made lake and the architectural complex around it that Juscelino Kubitschek (who used to be mayor of Belo Horizonte) conceived as an area for leisure and fun, and to boost tourism in Belo Horizonte. The buildings surrounding the lake were planned and designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the famous Brasilian architect, and these buildings became a reference point in modern Brasilian architecture. The lake (one view of it, at least) The Mineirão (where the World Cup matches are held) is actually also in this region. The other buildings that make up the architectural complex are the Igreja de São Francisco, the Iate Tênis Club, the Casa de Baile, Casa Kubitschek and the Museu de Artes. There is also an Eco Park, Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The view of the Mineirão from the lake

Now for Round 2 at the Mineirão: Belgium v. Algeria. I rode to the game with Thiago, a son of Mona's friend, and his girlfriend Paula. Great atmosphere again at the Mineirão. There were a lot of fans from both sides, though Belgium had more than Algeria. (But Algeria still had a lot more than the Greeks). Walking to the stadium I don't know if it's cause we arrived later, but it took us forever to get into the stadium this time. The lines were crazy long. It took us a little under an hour to get in, and we made it in just in time for kick-off. Long lines to get in

The past few days have been a bit of relaxing in Belo and watching the World Cup games. On Sunday we took a drive outside the city to admire the view. The landscape is all mountains, hills, valleys and lots of green. Those buildings in the background is the city of Belo Horizonte. This is actually only 30 minutes away from the city.  The state of Minas Gerais is surrounded by lots of hills and mountains

Finally, the day I've been waiting for: my first World Cup match - Colombia v. Greece! Although kick off was at 1pm, we started the day early since we knew there would be a lot of traffic on the way to the stadium. Especialy since it was the first match at Belo Horizonte, so we weren't sure how everything would go. Jose Mauricio, a friend of Mona and Iso (her husband) picked me up at the house, and I went with his family to the stadium.  Craziness begins! There were buses from different parts of the city to get to the stadium (R$15, I think). We headed to one of the bus terminals and waited for a few other friends and family members so we could head to the stadium together. The terminal was full of crazy Colombian fans cheering every 5 minutes. The bus ride took a little under an hour, mostly due to traffic as we neared the stadium. Cars and buses could only go up to a certain point though, and we walked the rest of the way. The streets were full of Colombian su

Thursday was the opening game of the World Cup, and after lunch most every Brasilian was prepared to watch the game. Almost all the stores were closed, and people flocked to the bars as early as 2pm to get ready. T. Mona, her family and I watched the game at one of their good friend's house. He hosted a barbecue and had a lot of people over to cheer on Brasil. Game about to start Kick-off!

Went on a day trip today with Rafaela, who I met at the CISV party last Saturday to Ouro Preto, a city about 1.5 hours from Belo, still in the Minas Gerais region. Minas Gerais has mountains all around. The view on the drive to Ouro Preto. On the way to Ouro Preto we stopped at a small restaurant, Jeca Tatu. It's a small rustic place with lots of vintage decoration and antiques like records, posters, paintings, guitars, phones and sofas.

After jam-packed outings in London and two days of traveling to Brasil, it's nice to be able to relax and take it slow here in Belo. Monday morning, Tita Mona brought me to the Mercado Central (Central Market) in Downtown Belo. It's a huge indoor market that sells everything you need - fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, spices, flowers, handicrafts, instruments, pets, toys, clothes, slippers, etc. You name it, they most probably have it! The market is surprisingly organized; all the meats in one sections, cheese in another, etc. Plus the paths are not as narrow as most other markets I've been to, with ample space to move around. Cheeses

Finally, weather I'm prepared for; it was a lovely sunny day in Belo Horizonte (which literally means "beautiful horizon" :) Here in Belo I'm staying with my tita 's friend Mona and her family. In the morning we went to Praça do Papa, a huge park in the Mangabeiras barrio. The first thing I noticed about Belo was how hilly it is. As we were driving we would go up and down all over the city. The Praça do Papa is located up near the mountains, and from there you get a beautiful view of the city. It was such a beautiful day out, there were lots of people in the park playing with their dogs, jogging, and flying kites . Praça do Papa People flying kites + view of the city

After all the London fun, I had two long days of traveling ahead of me. Ange took me into Kingston on Friday morning, I mailed some post cards and then bought some Japanese to make baon for lunch. Headed to the airport and checked-in.

Thankfully the skies cleared and the sun came out for my last day in London. So we tried to squeeze in everything else I wanted to do for my last day. In the morning we had brunch with my tita and I got to see my cousin briefly (we missed the train from Surbiton, so she was leaving the café as we arrived). We headed to the famous Borough Market afterward to salivate over the food. 

More rain today, so we spent the morning in Ange's place doing laundry, and then had lunch at Kingston. We ate at a place called Woody's and had a traditional English dessert: sticky toffee pudding. In the afternoon the rain subsided a bit and we headed to Camden Town, another popular market area . It was such a charming area with stalls selling clothes, crafts and small knick knacks. Camden Lock Market Camden Stables Market

Today's forecast was rain, and I would be out and about alone (since Ange had a training at Kingston to attend), so I went museum and gallery hopping. First up: the Saatchi Gallery at Sloane Square. The current installation was entitled Pangaea: New Art from Africa and Latin America . The art in the gallery is mostly contemporary; some were interesting, some not really my type.

Thankfully, the good weather from yesterday held up and we had another rain and cold free day in London. We started off at the National Gallery which had several Seuracs, Monets, and Degas that I enjoyed. They even had Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Chair painting. We also stopped by the room where Bond meets Q in Skyfall , though we weren't able to take pictures. The National Gallery Which is right by Trafalgar Square

Ange and I spent the day in East London, a charming spot which has turned out to be one of my favorite places this trip. We explored the place enjoying the vintage markets, food stalls, art murals and the lovely Colombia flower market. Old Spitafields Market Food stalls in Brick Lane I had the Fat Controller :D

The week before I arrived, my sisters had been saying how nice and sunny it was in London. But when I arrived, it started raining and became really cold (as it was in Ireland as well). Today, the sun finally came out and we had great weather! Since it was Bel's last day in London, we decided to stay in Kingston and not go into the city. We bought some juice, bread, cold cuts, and cheese at the supermarket and had a picnic by the river. The river Our spread