Curitiba

Well, we had a fine time in the city of Curitiba. It`s a lovely little place; the standard of living is supposed to be much higher here than in other parts of Brazil. We still saw quite a bit of poverty though (lots of kids begging on the streets). Stayed in a 1970`s inspired hotel with tasty breakfasts. The good people of footprints did fail to tell us however that the hotel was situated in the middle of the red light district (there was a number of peep shows and ladyboys hanging around).

Highlights of Curitiba included the Lanchonette that served us cold (670ml) beers for only 2 reals (about 60p) and laid on the Liverpool v Arsenal footie match - Andyb in his element, Lisab tipsy. The Sunday market was also good to see - very busy and we were treated to dancing in the streets (we`ve uploaded a video of it).

What of food? Well, we found the BEST "Super Vegetariano Restaurant" South America has to offer. (It was on Avenue Presidente Faria - no. 121 - big sign, easy to find). It was a lunch time place that was all you could eat for 8 reals (are we starting to sound cheap?!) and the food was lovely - we would particularly recommend the black bean stew with brown rice, though you could help yourself to loads of salad and they had about 5 hot dishes to choose from too. It is only open Monday to Friday - about 12pm till 2pm, so we got to sample it twice - Lisab in her element, Andyb full.

The people, as in the rest of Brazil continued to be very friendly and we loved the relaxed atmosphere. Even the local dogs are friendly in Brazil - Lisa accidently made a fuss of one this day and it followed us around the streets for about 2 hours afterwards. Andyb says she`s not allowed to talk to any more stray animals; he has enough looking after the wife without taking on anymore commitments.