bags to bureaus

We made it. Just a few weeks back Col and I were layin' low on the beaches of Brazil, and here we are now in the hip and happening Buenos Aires, settling into new accents, a new apartment, and a new pace of life.

Our entrance into life in Buenos Aires was made especially comfortable by the fabulous Becca and Durban, two gals our age who are old college roommates/good friends of one of my bffs from back home, Phoebe. They graciously let us crash at their apartment while we hunted for a place of our own, while also giving us the inside skinny on the city (which they continue to do today). Thankfully the exhausting apartment searching days were few, and soon thereafter we were moving into our new abode, unloading heaps of stale clothing and thanking the good Lord for a place to settle for a while. Alas, space of our own! Such a wonderful feeling. Our apartment is located in Las Cañitas, considered one of BsAs' more chic neighborhoods ...tree-lined streets, stylin' restaurants, trendy boutiques...a really cute area. And although foreigners (by which I mostly mean Americans) mix and mingle in the streets at night, I haven't found it to be teaming with tourists which is great. And the apartment itself? Wowsa. It's pretty slick, clean and simple, a bit bachelor-esque. You want to talk about change of pace, going from the humbling ways of the favela to this washer/dryer business, internet at home, clothes in closets, toilet paper down the pipes...??? Such luxury! I definitely feel spoiled. It's fun though, that this new "home" of ours matches the ambiance of the city outside our door. Cheers to a new city to discover...

Thank the good Lord this city has lots of green refuge...

The language switcharoo threw me for a loop, not gonna lie. While in Brazil I was so focused on getting Portuguese down, that when all of a sudden I found myself in Spanishlandia, I was struggling...throwing Portuguese in left and right, mixing the lingos like a wild woman. Super frustrating. Little by little though, the Spanish is rekindling and I am doing my best to adapt to the Argentinean accent...which I find incredibly elegant and beautiful! Finally I get to pronounce my last name (double L's) with the sexy "shah"...Me llamo (also with the sexy "shah") Linnea Visheygas...love it.

Another "must be told" is that my dear Jodie Mori was here visiting us for a whopping two and a half weeks. She arrived only a few days after we did and just actually left us the night before last...Oh it was such a treat having her here! Our days were full of exploration. We put many a mile on our kickers, meandering throughout this grandeur city and her neighborhoods, each with their own attitude and flavor.

Jodes and Coller spreading their wings in front of BsAs' Floralis Generica- its metallic petals opening every a.m. and closing up at dusk.

Speaking of flavors...the ice cream here in Buenos Aires? Not sure if you have heard much about this culturally rooted craze, but let me tell you one thing- never before have I tasted such delight. Ice cream is taken seriously here, nothing to be fooled around with. It's treated with much respect (as it should be) and these ice cream "shops" (highly competitive) look more like five star restaurants. My fav flav thus far is dulce de leche con brownie, though mint chip (intensely minty) is pulling in at a close second. We'll have to see if this all sways with time...

A night out with the ladies. Jodie, Durban, and Becca.

Please take note of that heap of grilled goodness before us!

Oh, and must I not forget to mention the steak!!! Now, I am not the biggest lover of red meat, but I think it almost impossible for one not to be swooned by the beef here in BsAs. We did quite the dining out while Jodes was here and I have to say that her bife de lomo (tenderloin) from the well-known Campo Bravo Steakhouse right in our hood ("Las Cañits") was by far the best steak I've ever had. Delish.

Beef consumption at Campo Bravo.

A few noteworthy memories from our time with Jodie ("...like Jodie Foster" we'd have to tell people upon introducing ourselves, the Spanish accent transforming her name into "Yodie".)
...Hittin' up hip hop night Thursdays with our sneakers on. We don't mess around.
...Cozying up late night watching "The Hills" (sad but true).
...Ice cream parlor hopping...Persicco's and Volta are our top picks. Freddo's didn't do much for us.
...Making our way around this ceaseless city. So much to do!
...Our lavish escape from the city to the Four Seasons in Carmelo, Uruguay.

Such a blessing having my Yodie here with me!!!

hitching, natural goodness, & spirited brazilians

Florianopolis- doesn't it just sound cool? Before I had even set foot on Brazilian turf, I knew this was gonna be a list topper. The books describe it as what California was like in the 60's...a meshing ground of beach, hippies, and bohemian vibrations. Any place that's got those three elements...I'm all there! And...(this might be the best part,) Floripa (what the locals call it) is considered to be one of the only, if not the only, pockets of health-conscious, eco-friendly people all throughout Brazil! Alas, natural food stores! Oh I was in heaven the minute we stepped into a restaurant and read menus that spoke of salads, hearty sandwiches, and natural juices. Gold mine.


A whole lotta chillin' at Praia de Campeche.

One of the things that made our week in Floripa so incredible was that we were able to stay with the locals...and for free!!! This is all due to the CouchSurfing Project (www.couchsurfing.com)- which "seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance and facilitate cultural understanding." Pretty sweet, right? Basically, its a worldwide community of travelers opening their homes to fellow travelers...you know, people helpin' people. I contacted a few couch surfers in Floripa about perhaps staying with them...and just a few days before we were set to travel to the island of Santa Catarina (Floripa is the capital), I got the thumbs up from a girl named Grazielle...


Meet "Gra"...doing her thang on the guitara.

My first CouchSurfing experience was a success let me tell ya. We stayed with "Gra", her sister, Flavia (who they call "Fla"), and Fatima, their unbelievably youthful looking mamacita (and their two scary looking, but harmless pit bulls). Such a chill household (perhaps due to the constant marijuana intake? I've never seen anything like it!)...all of them very artsy, laid back, and super welcoming. I felt right at home...I actually felt like I was back in Santa Barbara, especially with the beach just 5 minutes down the road. We had the chance to meet a lot of their friends, including our tour guide for a day, George, an American living in Floripa for a few months...active, kick back, yoga instructor slash video producer, well-traveled. A sure highlight was the bike rentals, allowing us to pedal our way from beach to lake, natural food store to health food restaurant. Hitchhiking was another plus...a major way of transport for many of the locals...you should have seen Col and I trekking along the roads with our thumbs held high- good times, good times indeed.


Forte! Forte!


Party time with the family and friends. Nossa!


The fabulous Mark, Gra's bff. "Me ajuda, gente!"

Having the opportunity to stay with a family- in my opinion, it's the best way to travel. We were able to speak the language, meet the locals, and connect with a place outside of the travel guides...it doesn't get much better.


Gra and Fla's hysterical mother, Fatima. "Okay! Okay!"


Que gostoso! Acai topped with banana and granola...we took down as much of this Brazilian treat as we could- it will be missed greatly.


Gra and her friend gave us a kitchen side concert...quite the collabo!

There is something quite special about Brazilians and the smiles and the spirits they carry with them. On our last night, Gra cooked up an amazing meal for a large group of us. Post-dessert, the guitar came out and the songs were being sung, accompanied by lots of head boppin' and hip swayin'. The laughter was tangible. I sat there gazing around the room and an overwhelming rush of happiness came over me...that rush of heartwarming glee that makes you think- damn, these people know how to live.


Our last night in Brazil, getting ready to feast...

pit stop paraty

Leaving Ilha Grande was not easy. Our indecisiveness hit us hard (nothing new)...but we felt the need to check out Paraty, a colonial town that is perched right at the heart of Brazil's Costa Verde (Green Coast). The setting is beautiful, I will give it that...our hostel was right on a peaceful bay, behind us was nothing but lush greenery. And the downtown area, with its white washed walls, vibrant accents, and cobblestone- straight out of a storybook. Precious. But... because we were there in low season, the town was especially quiet, the streets practically empty...and the weather was a bit dull. We admitted to the fact that we should have stayed on the island and listened to our local buddy Rodrigo who told us that Paraty was "a place my grandparents would go"...but hey, life could be worse.







Just a short scoot away from Paraty lie endless stretches of well-known sand and surf...so we hit up the tiny beach town of Trindade for the day...

cheers to new friends

A view of Abraao and her boat studded cove, the only town of any size on Ilha Grande.

After Rio we headed for the island of Ilha Grande, only a short scoot away from the city but a world away in terms of what it has to offer its visitors. With zero cars on the premises, this place is a peaceful oasis of green with an endless amount of trails and beaches...unfortunately, the sunshine only decided to come out our first two days, and then thereafter we got nothing but clouds and rain. Being the sun-worshiper that I am, it wasn't easy being on an exotic island with muddled skies, no it wasn't...but we did meet an humorous bunch from England who made our dewed experience on the island quite the experience.

Col, Chris, me, Susie, and Neil.

They were all a bit older than Col and I and had already clocked in years of backpacking it around the world on a budget, and now- they were simply enjoying holiday. We penny-pinching Americanas were taken in by these 30-something, English holiday-makers... and the good times just kept comin'.


Enjoying the reggae tunes with a few of the Englanders at the only nightspot on the island... Sarah, Susie, Sebi, me, and Col.

The day after we met them we boarded their private speedboat that they rented for the day and we had the otherwise impossible opportunity to explore the ceaseless skirts of this seemingly uninhabited island (only pockets of tiny communities, other than that, only dense swaths of jungle...it was precious!) The laid back vibes of Ilha Grande were a hit, and although the sun failed on us, the company was priceless and the laughter was constant.


Sarah, Neil, Susie, and Sebi kickin' back on the boat.


With foliage as our only refuge, Col and I found ourselves on a deserted Lopes-Mendes, the 7th prettiest beach in the world.




Coller stoked on life with a delicious bowl of acai in hand- we never seemed to get sick of it!



Let me also add Ilha Grande to our "Most Romantic Destinations in Brazil" list...we seem to be hitting all of the dreamy honeymoon spots, so if you are in need of a worthwhile coastal getaway for you and your lover, come talk to me...

head over heels for rio

A roadside depiction of Rio's Sugarloaf Mountain in bohemian Santa Teresa.

Our travels throughout the south of Brazil have recently (and sadly) come to an end and here I sit before this neglected blog of mine, with almost too much to share with you all. I promise I'll keep it to a minimum...for my own sake as well- Col kills me because these blog entries of mine tend to occupy way too much of my time (perfectionist tendencies I suppose)- unhealthy, I know, but we're workin' on it. So, anywho, where to begin, where to begin. Let me take it back a few weeks, to the city I became obsessed with as our plane soared down among her mountainous ranges- alas, Rio de Janeiro! Col and I were both blown away by Rio. A perfect portrayal of city and nature in unison, the landscape is outrageous...you've got your high rises, your ritzy boutiques, your top-notch nightlife, but then you've also got your gorgeous beaches, your massive peaks jetting out of nowhere, and your Floresta da Tijuca, the world's largest urban forest. Oh I could go on forever at how awe-struck I was! Green, tropical, beachy vibes mingling with the buzz of a city...I had never witnessed any balance of the sort.

Standing atop Corcovado Mountain, Christ the Redeemer can be seen from almost anywhere in the city.

After two and a half months of living in Terra Prom, it was a bit of a shocker stepping back into a world of manageable weather and stylishly clad surroundings. Strange how in a matter of hours your lifestyle can change so rapidly, just like that. Rio did indeed provide some serious refreshment...especially after those days of exitless heat- it was exhausting keeping up! My energy levels were immediately restored and I'm not going to lie, I was ecstatic to be on the road- to explore the Brazil I had read so much about and to, well, put on some heels and get on a dance floor (after those few danceless months, Col and I were both aching to go out!)


Left to right: Thaiza, me, Cintia, Col, and Thiago's mama, Lucia.


Coller and I with Thiago and fam...

One thing that definitely made Rio so fabulous was the accommodation we got hooked up with. We stayed with the family of a friend of mine, Thiago, who I had met while traveling throughout Spain and who I had briefly kept in touch with over the years. Thiago and his family were incredible hosts, making Col and I feel right at home, taking we vagabond in with nothin' but love and showing to us their lovely Rio. One major highlight was our night out at a local samba bar with Thaiza (Thiago's twenty-three year old sister) and her best friend Cintia. My oh my, what a killer pair...nothing but chit-chat, laughter, and rockin' samba moves (they attempted to teach Col and I, and we really were trying to bust out with both the feet and the hips, but I'm afraid we weren't doing it justice.)


Thaiza and Cintia, pre-samba...

The energy that the crowd put out was something else...so much happiness, everyone so utterly in the moment. It's inspiring to be surrounded by people like this, to be enveloped in a culture where warmth and high-spiritedness permeates so much of each and every day. I have found the aura of this country addicting, no doubt. And Rio specifically...I am head over heels for this place, I truly am. Let's just say that in a few years time I might just have to relocate here and take on the title of carioca (a person from Rio)...oh la la that sounds nice.

A panoramic shot of Rio and her peaks, islands, and city below...