Curitiba, Brazil

Im leaving Curitiba today to fly to Campo Grande and Ive had a lot of fun here the past 4 days. Im staying with Mariana´s sister, Flavia. Her apartment is located right in the downtown area so it has been very convenient. Ive done a lot of sightseeing here but Ive also been quite a bit of of shopping and eating. :) Our first night we ate at a really cool pasta place where you select the type of pasta you want, the sauce, and the other ingredients and they cook it for you right there. (Sortof like Fire and Ice except its faster and a lot cheaper!) Ive also had delecious gelato, cheese bread, and other brazilian desserts. We also discovered a lunch place called ´Green Time´ that only serves food grown locally and organically. We´re eating lunch there today for the second time this week. The other day we went on a mission to find a shirt I saw with a jaguar on it in the correct size. After three malls it was a sucess :D

Flavias soccer team was playing on Sunday and I went to the game with her and and friend. It was a close game but Atlético won in the end; The game was similar to the one I went to in Florence - sports fanatics in the US cant even compare. The visiting teams fans never even come in contact with the home teams fans. They have seperate entrances and their section is blocked off an guarded by two rows of security guards!

Curitiba is famous for its pioneering transportation. They have the most effective public tranit in all of Brazil and the city is considered a global model for efficiancy. I took the Tourist Line which was an awesome deal. It takes you all over the city to 24 places of interest to tourist and you can get on and off the bus which they tell you a little bit about what you´re looking at. This is also the coldest city in Brazil and its the winter here so it was a little chilly on the top of the bus. Im glad that Im heading inland and their winder is coming to an end! One of the stops I got off the bus at was the German Woods. They have memorials all over the city to each ethinic group that has immigrated here. In the german woods there is a trail you can follow telling the story of Hansel and Gretel.

Ive just finished a book called The Omniviores Dilemas and it was one of the best books Ive read recently. It was about where our food in America comes from. Very interesting, and a little disturbing. I highly recommend it to anyone who makes a concerted effort to eat healthy! The author, Michal Polin has a new book called In Defense of Food that Im looking forward to reading when I come home.