Leaving this morning!

Caker and I are leaving this morning to the Airport in Rio to take off on our round the world trip! We are excited and a bit nervous. We didn't do much planning and so I cannot say that we have a plan or even know where we are going. We land in Auckland, New Zealand tomorrow at 4:15 in the morning...yikes! Who knows how long we will stay.

It is the second day of Carnival here in Brazil. The samba dancers are amazing to watch, though I suggest watching from a distance because it is loud, sweaty, packed with bodies, and a bit low class...sort of like Mardi Gras in New Orleans except people are not as drunk. Of course some are drunk, but it is not as bad as Mardi Gras! Our French neighbors have rented their house to some low class people, so we are glad to escape the constand concert of 80's music that is being pumped from their stereo. I am so sick of Journey cover songs!

We are bringing just two suitcases and one carry on. I have my ebook reader (the Sony version) packed with 120 books, which should do it for quite a while. I just read Fat Girl and The Year of Magical Thinking, both were worth the read time, but neither made any kind of "top 10" list. I just started reading the writings of Abraham Lincoln - it seems interesting to read the words of this historical giant! Usually I just read biographies, but this seems more intimate.

We spent our last day here with our neighbors hanging out by the pool and eating barbeque. We will honestly miss them terribly as they are the most normal people we know and these past months here in Brazil, despite the stress of living away from the US, have been wonderful and full of a kind of freedom and spirit that the States no longer has. I think that being away from our angry, aggressive, self entitiled, neurotic, and law suit obsessed culture has done some good and I am thankful to Brazil and our friends here. I cannot believe that we don't plan on being back here for almost a year! How is this house going to get finished?

Our housekeepers are making our last meal: eggs, mangos, papaya, toast and fresh oj...I will miss the housekeepers! The woman does the best laundry - stuff comes out looking like new. I don't know how she does it.

My pockets are stuffed with Xanax for the trip - After take off, I munch them like tic tacs because I love to drug out and sleep through a long flight.

Wish us luck and we hope to see you in Auckland, City of Sails!

Booked Our Round The World Trip!

The next 12 months are going to be exciting and taxing. We are going to hit the international road in a few days and won't be back for close to a year. The decision is final: Caker and I finally managed to book our around the world trip! We had tried to do it many times, but we always got distracted half way through. On Monday night, we drove to the airport in Rio and completed the itinerary by paying our non-refundable purchase price of about $10,000 each, which is not a bad deal for 16 business class flights around the world. Remember, our business was losing about $100,000 a month, so it is a lot cheaper for us to take the year off and travel instead of work. In fact, we are saving money by traveling...sort of...

We bought the tickets through the One World pass program. One World program is a cooperative effort run through several airlines around the world. We found it easiest to deal with the staff at American Airlines - every other company that takes part in the One World program was not as competent or interested in helping us figure it all out. The program is a little complicated and the website does not function properly, so it is best to deal directly with a human being over the phone.

www.oneworld.com

The great thing about the program is that you don't need to know the exact dates of travel - you just need to know where you want to go and in what order. You can make changes to your locations for $120 per person and you can fly in/out on whatever days you want for no charge. I think it is a fantastic deal, if you have time to take off and travel. They even have a specific Asia Pass that we are going to use from our base in Hong Kong in May. The flights are cheap and easy. There are 700 possible destinations in 150 countries - the hardest part is figuring out where you want to go!

We are leaving on Monday February 23rd and we think it will be about 12 months until we are back in Rio again. Here is what we have so far:

Rio de Janiero to Santiago
Santiago to Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland, to Sydney, Austraila
Sydney to Perth, Austraila
Perth to Bali Denpasar
Bali to Hong Kong
Hong Kong to Mumbai, India
Mumai to Hong Kong
Hong Kong to Bangkock, Thailand
Bangkock to Hong Kong
Hong Kong to Beijing, China
Beijing to Shanghai, China
Shanghai to Beijing
Bejing to Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo to Helsini, Finland
Helsinki to Madrid, Spain
Madrid to Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul to Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw, Poland to Kiev, Ukraine
Kiev to Istanbul
Istanbul to Amman, Jordan
Amman to Cairo, Egypt
Cairo to London, England
London to Casablanca, Morocco
Casablanca to London
London to Miami, Florida USA - our first time back in the US for over a year!
Miami to Rio de Janiero - back to where we started!

We are going to do a lot of traveling over land, which isn't listed here. For example, I want to see Goa in India, a lot of Eastern Europe, Greece, Portugal, etc. The only places we are skipping (but want to see!) are the heart of the middle east (Iran, Saudia Arabia, etc) and Russia. I really want to go to Iran (I know so many wonderful Persians in Beverly Hills who have great things to say about Iran), but the visa situation is difficult. Caker has given his veto to Saudia Arabia because of some ridiculous conditions the government imposes on US travelers - and I can't blame him because it is a crazy situation. We might head to Russia, if we can get a good visa/travel program. The government of Russia likes to jerk American's around, so we are going to wait until the fall to decide whether to go or not. I used to live in a Russian neighborhood in Boston and I didn't especially like my neighbors, but I want to see Moscow and hopefully meet some Russians who change my mind about the culture! Same for the Chinese - I've never liked Chinese people - too buch bickering, squabling, and ridgidity - but I hope to gain a better appreciation of the people.

You might notice that Africa isn't on the list. Well...We are going to Jordan, Eqypt and Morocco, but we have decided to skip the rest. I don't want to be too harsh on Africa and I am 100% positve that it is beautiful land with stunning colors, but this is a long trip and we simply didn't feel that we were going to have enough energy or bravery to deal with Africa. There is a lot of poverty, harsh conditions, and lack of respect for human life. I know that it is possible to see Africa in luxury, but I don't see the point. I already know what luxury is like. If you have ever been on a long trip before, you know that you hit a point of burn-out where you simply need a clean bed, diet coke with ice and some hamburgers to recharge. We may hit Africa some time in the future, but not in 2009.

Caker and I have already done a lot of traveling around the world. He has seen a lot more than me, but we are going to a lot of places that he has either not seen or has not seen in a long time. Thankfully, Caker has a great sense of adventure and amazing sense of direction! We are OK if we get lost, but we hardly ever do.

I already booked our hotel in Auckland (Rydges) and was impressed at how cheap it was ($93, including breakfast) so we are off to a good start. I am going to do a trial run on the luggage today - I think I know what I am packing, but I want to see how it fits in my suitcase. For a Beverly Hills woman, I pack VERY light. I think I can get everything into one large suitcase, which isn't too bad considering the length of the trip - and that includes my wetsuit, snorkle and fins!

I am only bringing 2 pairs of shoes. One is an ugly pair of Mary Jane crocs (I know!!They are horrible!!) and the other is a nice pair of Zannoti flip flops. Personally, I think that traveling for a year with only 2 pairs of shoes is braver than actually traveling for a year! I used to own over 100 pairs of shoes, so this is a big deal to me. Caker is not as impressed.

Casper went back to LA yesterday. Today we have one of our last meetings with our builder and architect before we leave. When we come back, the house will be done. I hope they make good choices when we are gone!

Casper The Ghost Comes For A Visit!

Our actor friend from LA is here for a quick visit before we take off on our round the world trip. Our friend, who we call Casper (he is sooo white!), flew into Rio de Janiero (pronounced: hee-oh-che-narrow) airport a few days ago and we have been hanging out and having a good time. He brought some lighting fixtures and peanut butter with him - what great gifts! You can't get good lights or peanut butter here and I missed toast and peanut butter in the morning!

We spent the first day showing Casper the beauty of Rio. We ate at The Arab on Copacabana beach, which is our favorite restaurant in Rio - try the Arab salad, a mix of veggies and raisins. They bake their own pita bread and serve it hot. I love that place.

We spent the rest of the day walking the beaches of Copacabana, Leme, and Leblon. We drove around Botofogo and Barra de Tijuca and saw the combination of natural beauty and savage poverty that is Rio. Casper tried the local Coconut drink and ate some of the weird local foods, like Minas Cheese, which he said tasted like cheddar. I think Casper was still drugged from the plane trip because there is no way Minas cheese tastes like anything.

The following day we spent a few hours getting to Corcovado and back. Because Carnival starts in a few weeks, the city is packed with tourists. I wouldn't suggest coming this week - it's hot, rainy and packed with people. Unfortunately, we didn't get any sun, though Rio was still beautiful and Christ The Redeemer is always worth seeing simply for the views. I suggest taking a private car instead of the Bonde train. The private car service can be hired at the bottom of the hill for basically the same amount of money and it is faster and it makes a stop at a helicopter pad where you can take some amazing photos, see some monkeys, and view the city and the statue of Jesus. The car will then take you to the top where you can see the statue of Jesus, take in the beauty of Rio, the bridge to Niteroi, the ocean, marina, Pao de Azucar, and the islands.

The view from the helicopter pad high above Rio de Janiero. Beautiful even on a cloudy day!

Me and Casper in front of Jesus Christo in Rio. My big sun hat is always a hit here.

That night we ate at Devassa in Leblon and got some of the local flavor. I normally wouldn't recommend eating at a chain, but we were tired and sick of walking around. The food was mostly surprisingly good - do not try the pizza - yuck! Every Davassa in Rio serves different food and has a different menu. I like the pumkin soup (always!) with gorganzola.

Rio was rainy when we left and we headed to Buzios, Cabo Frio and Macae. We left in the dark and it rained all the way there. I would not suggest driving in Brazil at night in the rain. We saw two car accidents that looked fatal. There were torrential rains here and a lot of flooding and landslides. We had a good time hanging out, driving the muddy roads, and checking out the devestation left behind after the rains. The ocean is cloudy with sewer and city run off, but this is still a very pretty place.

Beautiful Buzios! Stay at the Pousada do Mar just off Rua des Pedras - it's like a tree house with authentic and quirky antiques from all over Brazil.

We went for a hike above Buzios and watched the waves smash into the rocks. We ate some local pizza and had some drinks at a local bar by the beach. Cabo Frio has some beautiful beaches with powder sands, but Macae is dirty and run down so I suggest you skip it. Buzios is beautiful and highly recommended. If you come to Buzios, check out the Princessa supermarket on the main road - you have to be brave and well coordinated to shop there! Imagine a steep ramp tiled with ceramic tile which becomes a slippery slide when wet - and it is the only way in or out of the supermarket. I saw someone slide down the slope with their full supermarket cart and run into the car parked illegally at the bottom of the ramp...its like a South America sit com. I love that there is no sense of lawsuits or liability here. We would never allow such a supermarket in the US - it is sooo Brazil. In Beverly Hills people bitch about unripe fruit at Whole Foods...here they are all simply glad to not break their neck leaving the store.

Hiking trail in Buzios - its tropical, ocean cliffs and desert at the same time.

Construction has been delayed due to rains and flooding, but evertything is still moving ahead, more or less. Casper brought us some beautiful light fixtures and sconces for the second master bathroom and a fireplace. He got through customs without any problems.

We are leaving in a week for our big trip, but we haven't yet figured out where we are going (typical of us!). We were going to see the rest of South America first, but now we think that we might go to Asia and India first in order to miss the upcoming monsoon season. Caker and I are wimps when it comes to cold and rain - we will do anything to stay with the sunny weather.

Lure of the West

Our roadtrip through the State of Minas Gerais: good food and beautiful land.

Caker and I just got back from a trip out West...to cities west of Rio de Janiero in the State of Minas Gerais. We are leaving in about a week for our round the world trip and we wanted to get out of the constrution site and see a little more of our host country. We have been North to the Amazon and Sao Paulo, but we hadn't yet gone West to the State of Minas Gerais, which is simply called Minas here. Minas is a rich and beautiful land that reminds me of a tropical Northern Italy. Minas is known for it's odd cheese that is best described as a large curd of cottage cheese with holes (I hate it), crock pot syle cooking (which Caker hates) and antique furniture (a bit too rustic for us). That said, we had a great time and there are parts I highly recommend. Minas is inland, so it has a more rural culture, which is different from the beach culture of Rio in that it is more relgious (so many churches!) and slightly more organized in the way of better roads and faster service at stores and restaurants (loved that!). We took off and drove in our tiny car to see Petropolis, Teresoplois, Friburg, Congonhas, SaoJoao del Rei, Tiresdentes, Ouro Preto and Ouro Blanco. We saw some beautiful cities and we saw some stuff you don't want to see.

Our first stop was Mage. I have seen Mage first hand and you do not ever need to come here, I promise.

Petropolis
The road to Petropolis is beautiful and it makes a nice drive. This little town has a baroque feel left over from the days of Queen Isabella and Emperor Dom Pedro. We walked around and saw a glass orchid house, a few palaces, tons of churches, and a lot of run down stuff. If you get off the main road, there are a lot of chickens running around. We had an unbelivably difficult time finding a hotel! The hotel we selected from the Lonely Planet book had been turned into a yoga studio and then all the other places looked dirty. We finally settled on a hotel across from the major palace of Dom Pedro. The hotel was depressing and smelled like moth balls but it had a tiny window with a very impressive view of the palace, which is now a condo or gambling club depending on who you ask. There are no bugs, so we got to sleep with the windows wide open, which helped clear out the moth ball smell. There was another hotel next door that had a pool, but the guy at the front desk reminded me of a serial killer who might put us into a hole and make us smear lotion on our skin until he made shirts out of us so we kept looking. Our guide book said the palce across the lake was a museum, but that was wrong. There is not a single internet place in town - we looked. We ate at a croweded bar on a corner in town where we met some people who wanted to practice english. According to the people I asked, it rains almost every day of the year. The people remind me a little of Finland - kind of depressed and morose, in a Brazilian way. We ate at a great place called Luigi's which was like an old house. They had a very good buffet with cheeses and grilled veggies. Caker had a great spinach gnochi. I highly recommend it. The people who work there refused to try to understand our portuguese, which is silly because we can communicate just fine. That's the weird thing about Brazil, a lot of the people refuse to even listen to us speak. They see two Americans with light eyes and assume we will be incomprehensible so even when we speak Portuguese, they look at us blankly and then go get someone who knows some English. Every single time it happens the person who speaks English is surprised to learn that we speak Portuguese just fine and they wonder why the first person didn't just talk to us. At Luigis, no body spoke any english or had any interest in hearing us speak portuguese. I'm not sure why they are so obtuse at some places, but at least the food was very good.

Sao Joao del Rei
Skip this place. Lonely Planet makes it sound OK, but I disagree. Get gas if you need it, but just keep driving.

Tiresdentes
Cute town known for making rustic furniture and using reclaimed materials from old farms. I liked it a lot, but it smelled like horse shit. There are a lot of horse and buggy's in Tiresdentes. The operators dress the horses up in costumes, like hello kitty or a bride groom, which is funny because it is so out of place in a colonial town, but it stinks, just like a colonial town so I guess it is authentic afterall. There is a very cute train that runs between the neighbor city and Tiresdentes, but we didn't ride it because it smelled like horseshit and I was sick of the heat and the flies. We stayed at Pousada del O which was clean but boring. The Pousada required that we be legally married to stay there and I don't like that kind of intolerance. The woman at the front desk had a difficult accent and I thought she asked me if we had a big dog, which sounds similar to married. When I said absolutely not (to the idea of traveling with a big dog) she gave me a very disaproving look that took a bit more conversation to understand. I would guess that if we were gay they would have turned us away. I would recommend the Pequena Tiresdentes at the begining of town. Pequena Tiresdentes is like a little fake town, but it is new and bright and still has all the charm of the old stuff, but none of the dirt. I have no idea if they are more tolerant, but they have something like a 50,000 square foot retail location full of everything you could want except food. In the center of town, there are a lot more shops and restaurants. We made the mistake of following the Lonely Planet to Mandalune, which it says is a Lebanese restaurant. Again, the guide book is wrong. Mandalune is a pushy tourist dive that sells greasy buffet foods and random stuff. We ate a pizza at a place next door, which wasn't bad. Make sure to order every single pizza you eat in Brazil with less cheese and no oil. These Brazilians love to serve cheese bombs covered in olive oil! I cannot believe these people aren't obese! How do they eat that much cheese and oil? For dinner we went to Tragaluz, which was excellent. I hightly recommend it - cute, rustic, elegant and interesting, but Caker didn't like it as much. I had the pumpkin soup and for dessert we had this crazy ice cream flavored with Minas cheese (normally I hate Minas cheese, but I figured what the hell), parmesean cheese, nuts and milk carmel. It was weird, but a welcome departure from regular Brazilian fare. There is a place on the corner called Magia Luz that also is a weird candle store and restaurant, so don't get confused.

At the top of the hill near our hotel was a beautiful church and there was a wedding. Caker and I crashed the wedding. I was wearing a swim suit cover up and crocs and I was not out of place. Most of the adult women were wearing outfits like Brittany Spears would wear on stage, but several sizes too small. These people are very, very casual. During the ceremony, people came and went, children ran around, women pulled out their boobs and were breast feeding (women with hairy nipples are gross), men held entire coversations with their friends...its kind of like a odd convention, but it was happening while the people were taking their vows. Again, the wedding had noticibly less joy than the ones in Rio. There were a lot of people, but no one seemed happy.

The pretty church where Caker and I crashed a wedding wearing Crocs!

It seems to me that Brazilins don't have a "no touch" policy when it comes to artwork. At museums and in old churches, people touch everything. There are no guards or signs. At this church, a woman held up her infant so that he could rub his hands all over a 500 year old paining, which was missing all the paint on the lower part, probably from being pawed at for hundreds of years. At a lot of places, the face of Jesus from artwork is missing because people keep touching it. Keep your dirty mits to yourself and perserve your country's art, for Christ's sake.

On one of the roads around Tiresdentes you will find a house called Porto do Ceu, which means Door to Heaven . I don't know how we found it. It is owned by an Egyptian/Italian man and he serves homemade hummus and babaganoush with mint tea. He makes a lot of other Arab stuff, but we didn't try it. His house has amazing views of the mountains and he can stear you towards a huge natural waterfall, which is just down the road. He warned us twice about the monkeys, so I suspect he has had some bad encounters. I wish I had a good monkey story to share, but sadly not. Caker and I went for a hike by the waterfall and we saw people swimming in the falls. It is an idilyc place. I was peeing behind a rock when a group of runners (everyone jogs here!) passed me and said hello.

The view from Porto do Ceu. There were actually 2 rainbows, but my camera couldn't capture it.

Ouro Branco
Do not confuse this town with Ouro Preto. Ouro Branco...the best thing I can say about it is that it is close to Ouro Preto.

Ouro Preto
Love this place very much. We had a magical time. We drove in and saw this charming and colonial city with more hills than San Francisco and we were glad we had made the trip. They were practicing for Carnival and we saw the trial run at about 11pm at night. It was so great that I highly encourage everyone to come here. There are beautiful churches, winding streets, fountains...its like Sienna in Italy. Lots of junk to buy, if you like stuff like that. Eat at Passeo out on the terrace. We had the 4 tomato pizza, a fantastic salad with grilled eggplant and raisins, and a bottle of wine. We stayed at Casa Grande, which was plain, but clean, quiet and they served bolo (cake) and tea in the afternoon, which I loved. Our first choice hotel, Pousada do Mondego, was dark and so expensive that I thought I didn't understand the receptionist. The room they showed us literally did not have a window! The room that had a window was about $300 us, which is insane considering that it is a 2.5-star hotel in the US. I think you would have to be crazy to stay there because it is a rip off and not that clean or nice. I completely disagree (again) with the Lonely Planet. If our Casa Grande would just get rid of their ugly bedspreads, I think that it would be twice as charming.

Ouro Preto - come see this city!

I liked Ouro Preto so much that we will certainly go back. Of all the cities we saw, this was by far the cutest and livliest. It is perfectly preserved historically, which is charming for a quick visit. There were internet cafes and a lot of cultural stuff, including a big museum in the plaza next to the San Francisco do Assisi church, which is worth seeing. We ate a decent meal at Bene de Flato next to the church - go to the second floor for the view. The food was just OK, but it gets high marks for not being fried or covered in cheese. I liked the fresh bread with herb butter and pickled veggies. Plus it was super clean yet historical. A British lady peed all over the toilet seat and onto the floor - unacceptable! Don't hold that against the restaurant because its not their fault the Brits are animals.

You need to bring extra comfortable, non slip shoes to Ouro Preto. It defies the imagination how anyone old lives here because it is all steep hills - and I mean STEEP! The roads are hundreds of years old and we would never allow such roads in the US, which is part of the fun. It is totally unsafe - and I love that part of Brazil because the recklessness is really similar to unabashed freedom. When it rains (and it rains about 200 days a year), the roads are slippery.

There are a lot of the old Portuguese fountains in this area of Minas. I grew up drinking out of lakes and streams. I always drink out of the tap to save the planet from bottle water bottles. Friends here in Brazil think I am crazy to drink the water, but I've never had a problem - ever. Back home in the Beverly Hills, no body drinks the water anymore, which is so stupid. It tastes fine.

Here I am drinking out of a fountain that dates back to 1784.
The water tasted like mud and fish, but I didn't get sick!

Ouro Preto is where all the gold came from in Brazil's gold rush, but there is no jewelry to buy, unless you like cheap 80's looking stuff . It is also the site of the Brazilian revolution for independence, called the Inconfidencia. The Brazilian movement for independence was inspired by the French ideas for independence and the American war for independence. Unfortunatlely, the Brazilians failed and were crused by the Portuguese. Being in the place where Brazilians fought for freedom makes me love the US and our ideals. It has been a long time since I felt that "swell" of pride that comes from your belly, but I felt it in Ouro Preto. One of the leaders of the Inconfidencia was nicknamed "Tiresdentes" and the town is named in his honor.

Congonhas
Yikes! Drive straight to the Basilica do Bom Jesus, see the miracle room, and leave. The miracle room is worth seeing because it has a lot of handmade paintings of horrible accidents from the last few hundred years before photography. My favorite was a painting of a man being run over by a donkey cart. He survived, thanks to a miracle by Bom Jesus. Caker's favorite was a man who was riding his horse in a storm when the horse got hit by lightening! The horse died instantly, but the man was fine, thanks to Bom Jesus. There is a very busy bar across the street called Bar do Bom Jesus. I'm not sure if it is a rule, but it seemed like you had to be missing all your teeth to get served.

Because I was the co-pilot on our road trip, Caker has given me a new nickname: Jesus. He says it in the Brazilian way, "Hey-Seus!".

Teresopolis
Do not confuse it with Petropolis, the cute sister town. This is an ugly town with not much to offer. We ate a revolting meal. Do not believe the Lonely Planet Brazil when it says that Cheiro de Mato is "innovative". We ate a disgusting meal on Rua Delfim and I would encourage you to find the McDonalds on the main road, have a burger, and leave. The road in and out of Teresopolis is awesome, but the town is a severe disapointment, although I did like seeing a 300 pound hairless man walking the streets in his speedo - you don't see that in Beverly Hills! There are stunning waterfalls everywhere you look outside town and an amazing vista with huge rock formations. I wish my camera had been working because there was a point where we could see the entire valley, with lightening clouds, rivers, hills, far off towns...amazing.

Sad little house near Teresopolis, but such an amazing sky!

Nova Friburgo
I think this place is likely very cute, but we only saw the outside of town. We got a little lost, it started raining, and then we got cranky, so we kept driving. What we saw looked like a very well preserved little Switzerland. The landscape is beautiful and since the town was built by Swiss colonists in the early 1800's, I assume it is very cute and more European than its neighbor cities.


We are glad to be back in Rio. We have a friend coming for a visit tomorrow and then we are leaving for Argentina and won't be back until July. Our house is getting torn down a little more today - we said good bye to our old dining room, now just a pile of rubble. Our friend is bringing some lights for the master bathroom and an underwater camera. I will post some snorkling photos, if I get some good ones before we leave. We have eels!

Our former dining room with one of the spare bedrooms in the background.

In sad news, one of our construction workers died while diving at a local beach over the weekend. Life is short and it can be a struggle. Let's all enjoy what good we have!

Swimming pools and movie stars!

A few months back, my husband (I call him Caker) and I left Beverly Hills and moved to Brazil. Our business in Beverly Hills was losing money due to the economic collapse and so we wrapped up 2008 by moving to a city outside Rio de Janiero where we had been building a house. We had always talked about moving to Brazil because we owned a home here and loved the people, but the economy really helped seal the deal! We decided to move in late October and by late November we had closed our business, moved our stuff into storage, and moved to Rio. We believed (rightfully so) that keeping the business open for 2009 was only going to make us lose more money - why work if you are only going to lose money? Once we decided that there was no reason to work, the idea of actually moving to Brazil full time seemed not only plausible, but kind of smart.

Our home in Brazil was beautiful and calming. We bought it 2 years ago from some Swiss people and we loved it. For reasons that we can no longer remember, last year we decided to buy our neighbors ugly home, tear it down, and combine it with our existing home to make one huge home. I think our local Brazilian friend talked us into it one night over drinks! When we decided it would be fun to tear down two perfectly good homes in a foreign country and rebuild them as a larger one, the economy in the US was going great and we figured that we would continue to live in the US until our home here was completed. Times have changed!

In the last 3 months, we have lost our business (which was like our baby!) and moved to a completely foreign country in the middle of an ongoing construction project. It has been a wild ride. I miss Beverly Hills a lot, but it is impossible to go back. Our business is gone and although it has only been a few months, it seems like years have past. The old me has evolved. I have gone from a botox-loving shoe fiend to a surfer hippy. I spend my days barefoot, braless, wearing Caker's board shorts and picking sand out of my cracks. I am happier without all the Beverly Hills status crap, but I'm also a little surprised at how fast things have changed.

Here I am in my standard Brazil outfit: no bra, board shorts, no make up...and $1300 Valentino shoes
purchased 3 months ago in Beverly Hills when times were different.
This is the perfect picture of the old me and the new me!

Today we are two young professionals without jobs living in a house that is being torn down day by day. Every day the workers tear a little more down...they need to tear it down so that they can rebuild it. We started off with a nice 4 bedroom home and then we decided to buy our neighbors home, tear both houses down and build a 10 bedroom home - for just 2 people! In hindsight, our decision to buy our neighbors home and tear it down to build one super big house seems utterly greedy and stupid. A couple without children does not need 10 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms! All I can say is that times were different, we were doing well financially, and yes, it does seem ridiculous. By next week, both houses will be torn down and we will be homeless.

Here is part of our house under construction. The part on top is the second master bedroom and the part on the bottom is our gym. This used to be our neighbors house.

Here you can see the new house and the old house. The old house is on the left side. The workers keep tearing down more of the old house to build the new house! That's why we are running out of room!

Next week is our final week in the house. The workers have torn down everything except our bedroom and one bathroom and they are ready to knock it all down!

We have decided to spend the next 9 months touring the world on the Quantas One World pass, which is like a round the world airline pass that lets you go to 17 countries. We will be back here in Brazil in July and December to check on the house construction. In the mean time, we are going to circle the planet and see how everyone else is doing. Our first stop is Buenos Aires, Argentina...then on to Santiago, Chile and then the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador before leaving South America for New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia, China, Africa, and ending in Europe in November. We are skipping the middle east, though we will hit Cairo. I want to see Saudi Arabia and Iran, but we have been told that the visa situation is too difficult...Maybe by summer Obama will have worked some magic and things will be less tense!

This blog is going to track our travels around the planet so check back soon. We are leaving in a week for Argentina, so let us know your favorite places to eat, shop or visit.