Justin and I have a family mission statement. It’s helps us tremendously in figuring out what we say yes and no to and determining if something fits into our purpose and mission.
South America. Brazil. A continent and country that I can say I never envisioned myself going.
But travel, family, our au pairs, and experiences are high on our mission statement…so when we had to make the decision about attending Lari’s wedding in Brazil, it was a very easy decision to make.
Justin and I made the trip together and represented M-unit. While the girls wanted to come, they just started the school year and had lots of softball, dance, and soccer.
Flying the red eye allows us to make the most of our time off and trip. We arrived in Sau Paulo, Brazil Wednesday morning; Lari and Will drove three hours from the town of Cruzeiro to pick us up. Halfway through the three-hour ride to Passa Quatro (the small town where we were staying), we stopped for “fast food” for lunch; our first experience eating “food”.
Unlike many of our prior trips out of the country, we were well aware that this trip would not afford us the luxury of conversing with many English speakers. Our first night out we ventured to a Lebanese Restaurant, where English was not spoken. We used Google Translate on our phones so we had some of idea what we were ordering; however, we didn’t realize that the “carne” we ordered was raw! Justin tried a bite; my view was that it wasn’t worth eating it and potentially getting sick on the first day of our trip. The trio of dips including hummus and baba ghanoush was pretty gross too. Thankfully the pita bread was good, and I thought to myself this was going to be one carb heavy trip!
Thursday morning was our first morning at the hotel, which by the way, was probably only five percent occupied and that is probably a generous estimate. The hotel itself was situated at the top of a major hill; it was quiet, nice, and fairly inexpensive (like most everything in Brazil). Breakfast was included at the hotel; normally Justin and I eat a huge breakfast when on vacation to load up for the day and we intended to do the same. Brazilian breakfasts though consisted of breads and cakes, and likely due to the small occupancy at the hotel, were dry and not fresh. Scrambled eggs and coffee became our morning staple.
We explored the cute town after breakfast and many other mornings; our way to experience the town while getting a workout in at the same time.
Thursday afternoon Lari and Will came to pick us up at the hotel. We first shared with them their wedding gifts from us and the girls. Each of the girls wrote a letter to Lari that represented their unique personalities. Lari loved everything!
We took a bunch of pictures with one another.
Lari wanted us to experience acai, which totally looks like chocolate ice cream.
They drove us to their town of Cruzeiro and we saw where they are currently renting and where they are building their own house! We explored Cruzeiro some, which reminded me of a mini–New York, before going to Lari’s mom and step-dads house for the evening where they surprised me with a birthday celebration and we ate coxina and other fried finger food (literally, it is quite common there to eat without utensils and napkins are small and sparse). It was so wonderful to meet her family; her parents were so appreciative and touched that we came to Lari’s wedding. Her brother Leo is super sweet; Harper and him would get along great!
Friday we took a waterfall tour, which was awesome, visiting four different waterfalls. The ride was bumpy and fantastic; we truly got to experience the “hills” of Passa Quatro. Our tour guide Alex, brought a family friend who spoke English.
For lunch, we experienced a local “food” place.
Our guides Alex and Caillo recommended a beer joint that also served pizza that we tried Friday night. Fantastic recommendation…right up our alley!
In the evening, we actually had some downtime, so we binge watched an entire season of Virgin River in the evenings!
Saturday late afternoon was Lari’s wedding. One of her friends, who doesn’t speak much English, drove us. We were squished in the backseat of her car with broken AC and her driving skills had us scared for our lives. We were hoping for a dry wedding as we were even more scared for the way home in the dark, especially if she was going to have a drink or two. I think this is the first time ever I wished for a dry wedding (thankfully my wish came true). Anyway, her friends were super nice and we enjoyed meeting one another….Brazil drivers, at least some of them, are just not what we are accustomed to her in the U.S.
Anyway, Lari’s wedding was simply beautiful. She was so happy and the evening perfect; I imagine it was everything she ever envisioned and more. Many of her friends and family came up to us and told us (via a translator) that they were so blessed that we were here. A few of the kids wanted to hug and touch us as they had never been in contact with an American before! How funny and amazing is that!
Sunday afternoon we decided to use the same tour guide from Friday and took a sunset tour. It was magnificent. Oh yeah, we watched a good amount of Emerson’s tournament via Game Changer Sunday (and Saturday).
We were in the mood for some decent food (finger food or raw meat wasn’t going to cut it this night); our driver took us to the town next to Passo Quatro and waited for us while we enjoyed some local pizza. Again, we felt like we were experiencing the culture as a local!
Our evening flight, coupled with our ability to not have to check out until 2:00 p.m., allowed us to have a leisurely Monday.
If I had to pick one word to sum up the trip, it would be blessed.
Blessed to have had the experience of having Lari as our au pair for a wonderful year.
Blessed to have had an au pair who took such good care of our girls.
Blessed for a loving relationship that has continued despite distance and time.
Blessed to have Lari as part of our extended family and M-unit forever.
Blessed to be able to watch Lari get married.
Blessed to have met her wonderful family who raised her.
Blessed to have met her husband Will!
Blessed that her family felt so blessed to have us there.
Blessed that my parents watched the girls for a week so we could go on the trip.
Blessed that my girls understood why they couldn’t also go.
Blessed that the girls were on their best behavior for Grandma and Grandma.
Blessed that my girls get to grow up so close to Papa and Grandma.
Blessed to have visited South America.
Blessed to go on this amazing trip with Justin.
Simply blessed.
