Snap, "CRACK"le, Pop!

They say the Chinese invented the firecracker. But the Drug Lords here in the Rio Slums have perfected their use. Apparently, from what I can gather, whenever the police are about to do a bust, or a new shipment of drugs have arrived, you'd think the city was celebrating the 4th of July. It's firecracker heaven for like 30-45 minutes.

Tonight is one of those nights, although a small shipment must have arrived. Not much Noise from the explosives. But the last week, it was like The 4th of July for 2 hours.

I don't know what was going on, or who was doing what, but the early Chinese would have been proud.

Bang! Bang! Pop! Drug-izzle!

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT RIO/BRASIL

1. All of the grocery stores have a FRESH BREAD department. Throughout the day, fresh bread is being made, warm, fresh, tasty.

2. The sidewalks are most often paved with stones in the most beautiful pattern. If you take a look at the picture of Copacaban Beach above, you'll see the patters created by these stones. And it's not done in cement...the stones are laid out on sand, then packed with sand and that's how they stay. It's really a work of art.

3. Fruits of all kinds. Really, if you like any kind of fruit, you can find it here. And not only the fruit, but a glass of freshly made juice from it for about $2.00 per glass.

4. Rice & Beans. It's THE staple down here, but I really like it. Obviously, it's CHEAP to make and pretty easy to prepare, but it's something Americans should adopt more of. The rice is a non-entity as far as nutrition, but the beans are loaded with good proteins, etc. I'll try to learn how to make good Beans, and teach whomever wants to know.

A MEAL TO MAKE CHUCK-A-RAMA ENVIOUS

So, recently I've been let onto these Buffet type places. They are not called buffets (which by the way, they call buffets a Pizzaria...go figure), somelike more like Bar-b-Que, but what you do it you get a plate and you select whatever you want to eat...and then pay by the Kilo. Drinks are extra, as is dessert, but you can eat a lot, and pay a lot, or eat a little an pay a little.

Clever, right?

And I've stumbled across a couple that have REALLY good food...so yeah, eat your HEART out UpChuck-a-Rama.

KEEP ON MOVING

I move tomorrow. I know the landlady is going to try and stiff me, so I'm dotting my I's and crossing my T's. Still, I'm sure she'll say something.

And get this...apparently, in the contract I signed, I have to do all the laundry, wash, dry, etc and leave it FRESH for the next person. I said, "What, I've never done that in a hotel". She said, "Well, this isn't a hotel!" LOL I said, um, ok, you're right about that.

Chovendo MUITO hoje