Farmers Market Friday: Rio de Janeiro

Rachel (of Rachel's Rantings in Rio) and I go way back... well, kind of.  See, before I even had this blog, back when I was a blog stalker and not a participator, I found Rachel's blog.  Writing in my private blog from the time, I shared these thoughts of her:  I am following a blog called "Rachel's Rantings in Rio", which as you might have guessed is a woman (American, married to a Brazilian) in Rio, ranting. Well, not always ranting, but sharing thoughts mostly. It is like an online, ever developing ethnography. She is witty, crass, sweet, brutally honest, and overall happy. I love it.  Enjoy Rachel's view of the feira, and if you are looking for an American's view of all things Rio (witty, crass, and sweet included), stop by her blog and say hello to her.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The vegetable guy and I had a wonderful relationship at first. I suppose it is normal for some relationships to not make the long haul, nonetheless it can make things awkward.

You see, I used to buy already selected baggies of veggies from my guy. I always went to him and he was always a great help. He would even separate out the best bags of my favorite vegetables and I would buy them. We’d chat. I even introduced him to my children.

But sadly, we couldn’t keep that level of feira love. He started asking too much from me, quite literally and in the form of money. His prices kept going up, the size of the veggies in the bag kept going down and the crap he put aside for me was just that, crap.

So I broke up with him. I broke up with my vegetable guy. Life is too short to spend it eating overpriced tiny green pepper!

Of course I am not afraid of a little confrontation so I talked to him about it. After all, relationships are all about communication. I told him that his stuff was getting too expensive and the quality was going way down. He blamed the rain, the feira, and the other vegetable men.

I’m sorry but this girl has standards when it comes to her relationships: Own up or ship out.

Initially it was quite awkward. He would call me over and I would say thanks, not today. Then he started noticing that I was carrying someone else’s vegetables. It wasn’t a good feeling for either of us. I felt like a vegetable whore and he felt rejected.

But not all feira relationships are meant to be forever. Now we are on good terms, still waving hello to each other each week. He has found other feira loves and I have 2 different vegetable men. I suppose I am a bit of a vegetable whore after all, and fruit... Don’t even ask about my loyalty when it comes to looking for mushrooms.

Of course there are some feira relationships that can go the distance. I’ve been seeing my fish guy for 7 years now. It’s getting quite serious.  

Find Rachel on the web:

BLOG // TWITTER // FACEBOOK

And then tell us, how are your farmers market relationships going these days?

(Words by Rachel, Photos by Tiffany.  I think we make a great team.)

Jesus, Sun, and a Little Bit of Sugar... (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Cidade Maravilhosa...

Look at that view.  This is what puts Rio on the map as one of the most visited tourist spots in the world.  When we first arrived the rain was pouring down and we thought we would not be able to see anything during our weekend there, which would have been the biggest let down.  We didn't let a little rain stop us, though.  We decided whether or not the sun came out, we would go see what this city had to offer.

But the next day we woke up to sunshine with a smattering of clouds and we were able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro.

As you can see, there were two main spots we centered on during this short weekend trip: Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) with its amazing views of Pao de Acucar along with Copacabana.  Although this was my second time to Rio, this was my first time making it up to stand at the feet of Jesus (or at least those of his statue).  Last time I suffered from Strep throat, making only a quick trip to Sugar Loaf possible, but barely.  This time I got to enjoy the city.  It was quick, but it was beautiful.

Our second and final night we walked down to the fort at Copacabana (as per a recommendation from April at Que Saudades) and witnessed the most amazing nighttime city view.

Oh Rio, your beauty never ceases to amazing me.  Thank you for a good weekend and may life continue to shine blessings upon you and your poeple.

And now on to our last and final stop... Ribeirao Preto!