Archive for September, 2010

Song of the post:

As with most trips, the time went be way too quickly.  L. and I had most definitely fallen in love with Buzios and had even flirted with the idea of going real estate shopping to get an idea of how much a house would cost us in the future if we were to move there.

For our final meal in Buzios, we chose to dine at the highly recommended French restaurant Cigalon.  And what a great decision we made, because not only was the food superb (so good that we each had our own 4 courses), but it also had to be the most romantic restaurant I have ever dined in–making it the perfect place to celebrate our unforgettable 4 days in Buzios.   Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the restaurant, however to imagine the gorgeous setting, picture a lovely candle-lit terrace that has been built next to the sea and overlooks the boats moored for the night.  Of course the waves crashing against the rocks in the distance and the lady singing lovely French ballads inside the restaurant only added to the mystique.

Celebrating our stay in Buzios with champagne!

I believe that most of my readers already know what happened next, especially since I announced it several months ago, but on our walk back to our pousada L. asked me to marry him.  I will not go into specifics as to how he did it, since it was an incredibly special and private moment.  I will say though that even though we have dated for 5 years and have talked extensivly about marriage, I was still surprised, and this girl LOVES surprises!

The newly engaged couple!

And for you ladies who are wondering what my ring looks like, here are 2 photos:

It was not given to me that night, as my man knows I am very selective when it comes to jewelry.  We did later find the most perfect “Andi ring” though.  Never one to follow tradition, I opted to forgo a diamond for an amethyst and pink sapphires. The wedding is currently being planned to take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina for this coming May.  Updates will definitely be ongoing.

While I was terribly sad to be leaving Buzios, I was eager to return to Rio de Janeiro, this time with my fiance!!!

When traveling throughout Brazil, make sure to purchase some Brazil Phone Cards, so that you can stay in contact with your family overseas.

Song of the post:

Whenever I visit a place that has a beach, I always try my best to fit in some time for scuba diving (one of my most favorite things in the world).  This trip, however, my attention was focused on something, excuse me, someone else. . .

L. and I were still on our quest to find our favorite beach.  Thus far we had only seen 2 and since it was our last day in Buzios we had to pick an extra special beach to explore.  We were told that Praia Tartaruga was both beautiful and that it had excellent snorkeling, since it was known for its abundance of sea turtles (hence its name, as tartaruga means turtle in Portuguese).  This made it the perfect choice for us!  I might not have been able to dive on this trip, but at least I would get some time under the water.

My 1st view of Praia Tartaruga.

Again we had the beach almost completely to ourselves.  We found our spot on the sand and before you could count to 10 I was in the water with my snorkeling gear and underwater camera.  Because there had been some storms overnight, the visibility was poor, though decent enough to see a couple of underwater treasures.

And just as I was about to surface for some beach time, I spotted a turtle!  I followed him gliding through the water for about 15 minutes.  What elegant creatures they are.

After I returned to shore, I gave L. all of my gear and told him that it was his turn to find a turtle while I enjoyed the sunshine.  About an hour later he returned both having spotted a couple of turtles and starving, so we walked down the beach to a makeshift restaurant that had been set up right in the sand.  As previously mentioned I am a devout vegetarian, but when traveling I sometimes make exceptions for seafood.  This happened to be one of those times, because the owner of the “restaurant” would fish in the mornings and his catches were what was offered on the menu.  There is no way you could get more fresh than that!  The owner happened to also make the best caipifrutas I have ever tasted.

Once we were fully satiated, it was time for a walk on the beach.  Along the way I spotted something that I had never seen before, something that I felt had to be a sign of good things to come.

As the sun began to set, we both agreed that the combination of a deserted beach filled with turtles and red starfish, as well as having the best seafood and drinks, simply had to be our favorite beach, well of this trip at least!

That feeling of good things to come was still strongly with me as we departed for our pousada.  If I only had known just how right I was. . .

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