Thursday, February 25, 2010

Another Carnaval Come and Gone



Boy, how do you like that? I totally missed all the great holiday events between Oktoberfest and now. I have to apologize to my readers for taking so long to get back to this blog. It is not for lack of love, I assure you, but just have had my hands full with other projects. I’m gonna try to post at least 3 times a week if I can.

So, last week was Carnaval, and what a time it must have been. Evidently, in Rio de Janeiro alone, upwards of 730,000 tourists plunked down almost $300 Million dollars to attend one of the biggest parties in the world.  One can only assume that Sao Paulo did just as well or better.

I think in one of my earlier posts, I described attending a much smaller version of Carnaval in the little beach town over from where we lived called Picarras. Although there weren’t the elaborate floats that you see in the larger celebrations, the spirit, from what I saw, had to be every bit as lively or more as any of the larger Carnavals. Everyone singing, dancing in the streets, girls made up in glittery costumes and dancing their hearts out.

You looked around you and everywhere there was laughter and happiness and you knew that no matter how poor some of those folks were, they were there in the moment that night and having the time of their lives. And I was right there alongside them happy as anything for the opportunity to celebrate with them the Brasilian way.


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

It's Oktoberfest Time Again in Blumenau

Be sure to click on pic for video

Yes, it is that time of year again in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Oktoberfest. And every year it gets bigger and bigger.

Blumenau is nestled in the Itajai Valley and is a perfect place to party for the better part of two weeks. Beer flows freely (literally) and everyone has a smile on their face.

There are several pavilions with all kinds of music, but the Oom pah pah kind is the best. Polka, polka, polka.

Although I’ve never visited Blumenau during the Oktoberfest, I have been there numerous other times and it is a great city next to the Itajai River, nestled between the mountains.

If you are ever in southern Brazil, Blumenau should definitely be on your list of places to see.

In Blumenau, all year round, alles gut, alles blau (everything good and everything blue).