All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

10/12/2012

That’s the Nigerian equivalent of the “work hard, play hard/harder” mantra we use in the U.S.  I’m not sure what they say here in Brazil, however, having spent most of last couple of weeks discussing the work I’m doing and some of the interesting things Pixel produces, I thought I’d share a little bit about the weekend. Friday = play day

 Friday was the public holiday, Children’s Day, here in Brazil. It is celebrated each year on October 12th, coinciding with Our Lady of Aparecida's Day, celebrating the country's patron saint, and like any large city within driving distance of great beaches, everyone headed out of town - except me. I procrastinated (like I tend to do) and since ticket prices had increased, I ended up staying in Sao Paulo instead of visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thankfully, I have the greatest boss; Mr. Daniel Li came through as he always does. He invited me, Uma and Ravi (codename – 4th Fellow) to his BEAUTIFUL home for lunch. After eating out for the majority of the last two weeks, it was refreshing to enjoy some wine and a home cooked meal with great company. Thank you Daniel!

The food:

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1. Salad
2. Main course – Bacalhau ao forno com batatas (Seasoned cod fish baked with potatoes, rice and beans)
3. Deserts – Banana da terra grelhada com canela (fried plantains) and doce de leite (argentinian caramel)

 The afternoon ended with a drive through Vila Madalena, an upper-middle class bohemian neighborhood of the Pinheiros district, known for its history as a center of São Paulo bohemian culture and art. Check out the graffiti-covered streets and alleys Daniel drove us through:

Friday night we went to Joaquim Tavora in Vila Mariana (not to be mistaken with Vila Madalena above). Jaoquim Tavora is pretty much a long street flanked by restaurants, bars and small boutiques on either side. Rachel (pronounced Ha-kel) and her boyfriend Marcelo picked us up in the early evening for dinner but since I was still pretty full from lunch, I won’t be able to comment much on the food. After dinner, we headed to Kitsch Club for some live music and dancing. It was a lot of old school music from Prince, Madonna, MJ, and Bob Marley, just to name a few; and I have to say, few songs make me really want to dance, but on this night, I couldn’t say no to MJ or Bob. In my mind, for those eight minutes, I owned the dance floor!