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Going to bed a little cold seems to be the key to having a good nights sleep as this morning I didn't wake until 7:30am - a rare treat for me. No one else was up so I went back to bed until 10am when everyone else slowly climbed out of bed. Leo's parents put out a very delicious breakfast that consisted of many fruits (dried and fresh) nuts, cereals, breads, yogurt, cheeses fruit juice and ham - we all had a massive feed and then grabbed our things, jumped in the car and headed into the centre to see a little of Petropolis. Leo drove me around showing me all the beautiful palaces and all the places memorable to him from his childhood days here in Petropolis. We stopped at the local Sunday Farmers market and brought ourselfs a bunch of fruits, vegetables and sweets for the week ahead - the fruit and vegetables were much fresher then in Rio and significantly cheaper. We visited the beautiful cathedral where the past king and queen had been buried and then walked into the centre. In the centre Leo brought some of the very famous seedless popcorn that is sold in the town square and I had to agree the popcorn with a light butter and salt seasoning was easily the best I had ever tried. We walked around and Leo pointed bits and pieces out whilst I stood in awe of this beautiful old town. It was soon time to head back for lunch and I was lucky enough to get to sample everything before dinner was served. For dinner we had Feijoada, yuka flower salad with bacon and egg, garden salad and roast beef/onions and spicy pork sausage and some of Leo's fresh pineapple and mint juice. The feijoada was out of this world and I think I had 3 servings and the juice was perfect. Everyone then wanted to rest - very typical here after a big lunch is to take a nap for an hour or more (I don't ever feel the need for this). We then sat around talking before heading down the shops to buy a few last things; organic Acai berry and Leo brought some of his favorite snacks here in Brazil that he wanted me to try; peanut butter candy, bone marrow jelly, peanut butter and jelly sweet and he also brought me some 80s style Haviana flip flops as a gift!! People are so kind to me and sometimes I find it hard to except such generosity but the only thing I can do is make sure I pay it forward and become more of a caring and giving person and this is not just with money but more importantly with my time, cooking, a caring ear and things I have observed. We went back to Leo's parents house and ended up sitting round for hours talking before heading back to Rio - Leo also gave me a bunch of his old clothes that didn't for him anymore but unfortunately most were far to big but one t shirt and jumper fit so I might take with me. We headed back to Rio and 20 minutes out of city Leo realized he had forgotten something so we had to turn around and go back. Eventually we were back and on the road by 6:30 and the trip back to Rio was quite quick even with a few minor traffic jams. We unloaded all the groceries and after taking a shower I made an omelette and avocado salad for dinner. Leo then played his guitar and sang for the rest of the night - something I can tell he loves to do but maybe doesn't get the time to do so often.
OBSERVATIONS:
- Seedless popcorn in Petropolis - the best I have ever eaten
- Papaya and mashed Linseed for breakfast - delicious
- Feijoada - not just beans and dried sausage - real feijoada has all the parts of the pig (scrap parts) and originated from the African slave days.
- Petropolis was a city of the rich with 100s of old beautiful palaces.
- The home of the inventor of the first plane 14b - not the Right brothers but Brazilian inventor.
- bone marrow jelly?
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