Rio de Janiero hotel

I made it! I was able to sleep on the flight some of the time, so I wasn't completely spacy when I arrived. Patricia picked me up at the airport and we came directly to the hotel in Copacabana. It's actually an efficiency apartment, with two rooms, a bathroom and kitchenette. Patricia's is similar, on the next floor up. So far we've eaten out, but we just talked about going to the grocery store so we can make a few of our own meals. 

The hotel is on a quiet street. Here's the view onto a little park out my window:

I took this early this morning, so nobody was out playing yet. 

And here's the first room:

To have electricity in the room, I have to put the key in a special port. Very smart--nobody leaves lights on in this place! The kitchen is to the left.

And the second room:

The bathroom is to the right. Yesterday I watched a little TV in Portuguese and then found the movie The Eighth Day in French. Soon I'll get back to work on some projects I brought with me, but it was nice to have a little break. 

It has been a little rainy today, pleasantly cool. Yesterday after I had a nap and a shower, we went out. Brazil has many small buffet restaurants where one pays by the kilo--that's what we did for lunch. We also had fresh-squeezed orange juice. Then we went to Copacabana and Ipanema beaches (not swimming, just walking). At Ipanema we had fresh coconut juice, then scooped out the insides. Yum! The water was incredibly blue green and despite it being a bit chilly, there were plenty of surfers to watch. Then back to the hotel for another nap (we walked--and talked--a lot) before heading out for a supper of pizza. We walked a little more, to an ice cream shop, where Patricia wisely chose the pineapple-mint frozen yogurt. Why do I think I might be writing a lot about food on this trip?! 

Next up, the botanical gardens. 

Emerald Isle

One more view from vacation. I spent a lot of time looking for shells. We put them on display on the railing.

On vacation

I'm looking out the window of a beach cottage in North Carolina. Waves are rough today, due to tropical storm Fay. Yesterday I went in the water and got thrown around for a bit. I love that. I was able to get a little farther out where I was lifted up by the waves instead of roiled around in them. Fabulous. I didn't stay in long. I must have had two pounds of sand in my suit.

Here's a view on a calmer day, taken from the porch of the cottage.
Have I mentioned here how much I love salt water? I even like the smell of low tide. I was born in Rhode Island, arriving early when the family was on vacation away from where we lived then in Pennsylvania. We moved to Providence when I was two and spent lots of time at the beach. I'm not a sailor, like some of my sibs, but I love salt water.

In a little bit we're going to get lunch, what my friends Joanna and David call "golden food." Fried. I'm definitely on vacation.

Notes from Tampa

I've been in Florida since Saturday. This is my first visit to the Sunshine State. It has been unseasonably cold (down to the 40s at night) but today finally warmed up. It's nowhere near the 4 degrees (Fahrenheit) that it was at home on Saturday. Brrrr.

I had four shows on Sunday at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, for their Wee Folk series. The crowds were predominantly preschoolers, with a few older kids and their accompanying adults. My first show was the weakest of the four, not sure why. The sound techie said that this is often the case. I don't think the kids or parents noticed. Many kids shook Trixie's hand at the end, except for the last show. I had a little guy who was afraid of her from the start. When that happens in performances, I always put her back in the bag. I don't want anybody traumatized by my puppets! Mavis and the baby puppet were okay with this young fellow. That crowd got to say goodbye to Mavis instead.

Yesterday I went back to the airport to rent a car. This trip is in three parts: TBPAC, then two days on my own, then the International Performing Arts for Children Showcase. For these two intervening days, I'm staying at Gram's Place, a hostel I found on the Internet. I've got my own room and bath here, so it's not exactly hostel living. Tomorrow I go back to a fancy hotel, which I'm sharing for the duration of the conference.

I had a pleasant day. I left the hostel around 8:30. First I took myself out to breakfast at a diner, a real one where the waitress called me "Hon" and "Baby." After gallons of bad coffee, I went to the Florida Aquarium. Very cool! They have an exhibit where they bring two penguins out to walk around among the crowd. The penguins were quite interested in strollers and shoelaces. There's also an exhibit where the public can touch the rays. Who knew stingrays were social creatures?!

From there I went to the sign store, to pick up my banner for the exhibit booth--I'd left mine on the plane in Houston. Grrr. Good thing I had the file on my computer so I could get a replacement.

Then I went to a big bookstore in St. Petersburg. I wasn't really in the mood to look at books. I checked out the Florida guidebooks on where to find nice beaches. I drove over to the west coast, stopped to get a picnic lunch at a health food store, and continued on to the beach. I didn't swim, but I did roll up my trousers and wade. The water was pleasantly cold. The air was probably 75 degrees. I didn't see anybody swimming (I might have, if I could have found a place to change into my suit).

From there, I came back to the hostel and here I am. I'll write about something that happened here in another post.