Back to Bay Life

My freeform pattern painting from last week. I never know what direction these pieces will take...

I've been back in the Bay Area for about a week now and am enjoying the particular pleasures of my life here, namely:

- Painting group. Every Tuesday I go to the house of my 87-year-old neighbor to paint for several hours. He is a retired architect, originally from Colombia, who could easily pass for 15 years younger (he has no wrinkles, is totally mobile and independent, and has a great sense of humor). Each week he opens his garage to me and a few other local artists and we paint, drink wine, share stories, and listen to music. This past week we had a turntable out and listened to Spanish records from the 1960's. Our host taught us to play the castanets, although none of us were particularly successful - they are way harder than they look.

- Cooking and eating fresh, simple meals. After three weeks in Italy and Slovenia, one of which was intensely spent doing wine and food tourism, it feels really good to be back to my regular routine. Since being home I've enjoyed making/eating white beans, roasted potatoes, arugula, radishes, zucchini, nectarines, bananas, oatmeal, cottage cheese, eggs, and almonds. Not all together of course, but this is the base from which I create salads, frittatas, and bowls. There have been some treats, too, of course. But it feels good to detox a bit from all the alcohol and sugar and fat of my trip.

- Running. I ran while traveling, but there's nothing like being on my home turf. I am privileged to have a beautiful place to run right outside my doorstep. I can do an easy 3 or 5-mile loop along the water's edge, through a park, and into a marina area...or I can go the other direction and do some intense hills through the residential heart of Point Richmond, admiring architecture and gardens and killer views as I go along.

- Dancing. Perhaps the thing I most love about my life in the Bay Area these days. Be it cardio-fitness with the lovely ladies at Hipline in Oakland, salsa/bachata/kizomba at the dance school I've been going to in Emeryville, or most recently forró with live music in San Francisco, dancing is what keeps a smile on my face more than anything. I'm getting better at following, too, which makes the experience of partner dancing all the more enjoyable. 

- Studio life. Currently I'm trying to clean out my studio and get back to the minimalist state of being that makes me feel at ease. I see the light at the end of the current clutter tunnel, though, so hopefully tomorrow I will resume actually making jewelry instead of just organizing and purging stuff. I am looking forward to soldering again, I've got the itch to make some chandelier earrings. Plus I have some client work lined up, which isn't always glamorous but I'm grateful it's part of my life here for sure.

- Hanging out. I've been doing a fair amount of taking it easy these days, which feels good. Hanging out with my mom and her cat, Tuxa. Drinking lots of tea. Re-reading "Como Agua para Chocolate" and wishing I was eating all that divine food and living a love story of my own in Mexico. I'm hoping to sunbathe at some point, although the weather has been quite foggy which has me wearing slippers and snuggling with the electric blanket rather than reaching for my bikini. Hopefully I'll have a chance in the coming week...

Solstice Feast with Friends

Last week Rico and I were invited to a Midsummer's celebration at the house of new friends of ours here in Point Richmond. Lars is a labyrinth maker (what a cool profession, right?) and community organizer who I've been working closely with on Point to Point Richmond. Lars has Swedish heritage, and together with his fiancee Lissette, prepared an amazing solstice meal for us, complete with traditional foods (seed bread, smoked trout, pickles, salmon), seasonal decorations, and floral crowns. It was a great night, and it's exciting to have friends our age here in town!

Algarve

First impressions: Before coming to Portugal, the Algarve was the region I most wanted to visit. I envisioned sandy beaches, lingering Moorish influence, and a quiet, somewhat isolated place of natural beauty. This Algarve does exist, but it certainly wasn't the case of Portimão, the town where we stayed. Portimão was tacky, overbuilt, and the absolute definition of a tourist trap. For the "other Algarve" head up the Costa Vincentina and stop off at the small surfer beaches and quiet towns.

Tourism wins: We stayed in a very beautiful hotel, the Bela Vista Hotel & Spa, at one end of Praia da Rocha (visually the hotel was out of this world...but so was the sense of entitlement and snobbishness surrounding the other guests). Driving around the other parts of the Algarve was fantastic, and we discovered the little town of Salema where we'll most certainly stay if we ever go back. We also visited many other hole-in-the wall towns, stunning beaches with cliffs that reminded me of the Cape of Good Hope or California's Highway 1, and had a lot of fun driving aimlessly along back roads and tractor trails, just checking out the scenery (we had an old GPS, so this may or may not have been on purpose!).

Fails: Ugh, Portimão in general was a fail, at least for me. If you are in your late teens/early 20's, are from a place with no beaches or sun, are in need of cheap and plentiful alcohol, and are single...then maybe Portimão would be an exciting destination. Otherwise, steer clear. It's tacky, tacky, tacky.

If you go there do this: Visit Salema, with its perfect little beach somewhat protected from the wind (wind is a big thing in the Algarve, so strong and constant that it makes going to the beach impossible in many places).

Food and drink highlights: The family-run restaurant called U Venáncio, just along the river near the old bridge in Portimão. Perfect food, and you really feel at home. They grill fresh fish on charcoal, have house-made desserts, and the girl who waits the tables is really nice.

Interesting observations: Portimão really caters to tourists from the UK. It seems like every other tourist we saw was either British or Irish. Makes sense, as it's probably one of the closest and cheapest warm beach destinations for them to visit...although the Algarve in late May wasn't exactly tropical! Anyhow, English is spoken everywhere and it is a really easy destination even if you don't speak the language.

A selection of photos below...

Brazil July 2011: The Roundup

Trip Highlights:

• Selling the Casa Rosa. By far the most efficient turn of events possible. The house had been on the market for many months already, and Rico and I decided to go down to Rio to clear out all the furniture and the few personal belongings we had there so that, when a sale did eventually take place, the Casa Rosa would be ready to hand over. Never in our wildest dreams could we have anticipated that, not five minutes after stepping in the house the first Monday of our trip, the phone would ring and our broker would let us know that an offer had been made by an extremely serious buyer. Within 24 hours the house was off the market, and we were busy moving furniture and taking care of the initial paperwork for the sale.
• I anticipated this being a really hard trip for me. It was, but only for a small moment. I'm happy to report that selling the Casa Rosa really did feel like the right thing to do. I had no remorse in letting go, my desire to cling completely dissipated. Simplification really feels good, as does recognizing and accepting when a particular chapter has run its course, as opposed to fruitless, tiring attempts to prolong it unnecessarily.
• I got over one of my fashion hang-ups and actually wore Havaianas in public in Brazil. The mere thought of wearing flip-flops outside the house and/or beach used to provoke a cold sweat in my afraid-to-be-identified-as-a-foreigner person. I'm over it. When my feet are swollen and it's hot outside and I have blisters, I'll wear Havaianas and like it. Aside from going into the lobby at Citibank, I didn't even feel weird doing it!
• The opportunity to catch up with most of the family and friends we wanted to see. So nice to reconnect.
• Rico and I redecorated my mother-in-law's apartment. It looks amazing. We bought only a couple of pieces, relying rather on rearranging what my m-i-l already had and supplementing it with furniture, lighting, and paintings from Casa Rosa.
• Rico and I celebrated our 3-year wedding anniversary. It was a treat to be in the Casa Rosa and at the church across the street, hard to believe that so much (and yet so little) time has passed. We had a photo shoot to say goodbye to the house and to celebrate our anniversary. The proofs arrived yesterday, and they look amazing.

The Lowlights:

• I realized that, not only do I get slightly motion sick, I am *really* afraid of sailing at anything but a children's pace. We went sailing at Angra, which was incredible, but the winds were good and the boat was big and eventually we were at an extreme angle hauling through the water. For Rico and his family, it was paradise. For me, it was tear-inducing. Literally. I was so scared by the feeling that the boat was about to capsize, I couldn't help but cry. Not my finest moment, but everyone was very kind and understanding.
• Speaking of such things, I also am increasingly scared by air travel. After years of not partaking, I am now a happy airport and in-flight drinker. And if I didn't feel like such shit after taking sleep aids or something like Valium, I'd be all over those, too.
• I ate way too much fried food in Brazil. Inevitable, really. Everywhere you look there is a fried treat. Bars, highway rest stops, street fairs - hell, even breakfast - are the glorious kingdoms of bolinhos, pasteis, coxinhas and more. And if you manage to avoid the fried stuff, you will be satisfied to encounter large quantities of puff pastry, cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Not surprisingly, I put on a little weight.
• To be fair, Brazilians do eat lots of healthy, fresh things. And drink lots of beer. :)

Rio Through New Eyes

It's been a while since I've actually lived in Rio - since 2001, to be precise - and it's always interesting to see the city through non-resident eyes. When you live in a place, after a while even its most strange and wonderful and shocking aspects become commonplace. Stay away for long enough, and when you come back for a visit they hit you in the face.

Here are some of my observations about the cidade maravilhosa this time around. (Our last trip was in March 2009, and somehow it seems there have been big changes in Rio since then...or perhaps it's just my frame of reference that's changed - from Maputo to Casa Cali). At any rate, here are my thoughts:

- The traffic in Rio these days is horrendous. It's always been bad, but somehow it just seems that much crazier, chaotic, congested and aggressive. The first day we arrived in the city, I was hit with a wave of confidence and thought, "I can totally drive here." After the do-what-you-please, traffic-law-ignoring attitude of drivers in Maputo, and now the high-speed, think-fast attitude of drivers in California, I somehow felt prepared to get behind the wheel in Rio. After just one day in the city, I'd changed my mind. I don't drive in Rio by choice, and I believe it will stay that way. Quite frankly, I'm amazed there aren't 1,000 accidents each day. Traffic here is the definition of organized chaos, and I'm happy to remain a passenger.

- Everything is EXPENSIVE. Ridiculously so. Consumer goods are, in general, three times the price in the US. Anything imported is absurdly priced. Even food and drinks are super expensive, and it sadly seems that Rio is no longer a city in which one can get simple, fresh eats for less than R$10. I don't think Rico and I managed to go to a restaurant and spend less than R$75 (the exchange rate is about US$1 to R$1.75) and we were going to pretty run-of-the-mill places and ordering modestly. Even a serving of pasteis or bolinhos (fried pastries that Brazilians love to eat as appetizers) is at least R$20. Preparing food at home is definitely the way to go, but sadly that wasn't an option for us on this trip, as the majority of of our social and family events were geared around restaurants.

- Despite the plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables available, Brazilians really love their fried foods and snacks. Fast food is commonplace, and there are multiple national chains. I don't understand how people can eat so much oil and fritura and maintain such trim figures. That said, it's definitely more common to see overweight people in Rio (and I imagine in all of Brazil) these days. I routinely see women who are "bigger" than me in the streets, which was something rare 10 years ago.

- There is a massive real estate bubble in Rio at the moment. It's a hot topic among cariocas these days, trying to figure out whether it's a bubble that's bound to burst, or simply market valuation that's here to stay for a while. Part of the upswing in real estate prices is due to the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 that will be hosted in Rio. Another factor is geographic limitation. Like San Francisco, Rio is a city of mountains/hills and sea, which means there are natural boundaries to how much the city can grow (thus driving prices of existing real estate quite high). Furthermore, there are a few neighborhoods (e.g. Ipanema, Leblon, Urca) that are highly desirable to live in and will always have greater demand than supply. Additionally, there has been appreciation due to certain neighborhoods being rehabilitated/"gentrified" (e.g. Lapa, Santa Teresa, parts of Zona Norte) and, plain and simple, time passing and Brazil developing. A final factor is that Brazilians are increasingly getting mortgages and financing their real estate, meaning they are willing to purchase properties for a higher face value. It will be very interesting to see what happens... Personally, I think it's a bubble.

- Women are very, very trendy in Rio. Fashionable, for sure, but very specifically trend-followers. I am amazed at how many beautiful women wear clothes that are horrifically unflattering just because they are the latest runway trend. Most specifically, low-cut skinny jeans on women who are blessed in the hips department. They end up looking like they've got two chicken drumsticks for legs instead of beautiful, shapely curves. It's disproportionate to their shapes, and my inner fashion cop wants to take photos of them to see if they actually think the look is working. I feel authorized to speak on this subject because I am one of the many ladies who isn't really flattered by the whole skinny jeans look. Other trends seen during this trip? Jumpsuits (many in loud, neon prints), 80's style back in full force, ankle booties, and shorts with tights.

- Small bikinis. I know I was once totally on board with this one, but apparently the size of my bikini has grown with each year I've lived outside Brazil. I felt like my current bikini was more appropriate for a granny than a girl in her late 20's. Tomorrow I'm off to buy a new one, although I doubt I'll ever wear it in public in the US. :)

- Manicured nails all the time. Color of choice right now: blue! (especially dark, gray-tinged, metallic blues). I try, but I can't keep up. But seemingly Havaianas are now acceptable in more social situations and in public than ever before. I still can't bring myself to wear flip-flops out of the house, but who knows on another trip I might just give it a whirl.

- Santa Teresa is full of tourists (wandering through the streets with cameras in hand, worry-free!) and lots of cute new shops and restaurants. Seems like the cool, bohemian neighborhood is more interesting than ever. There is a hotel down the street from the Casa Rosa that has a bar I'm dying to try, there is a new German restaurant on the corner, and there's lots of new artsy graffiti in the streets, including a gorgeous mural of the Brazilian national soccer team in the Santa Teresa street car, surrounded by all sorts of African animals in a fusion homage to the World Cup in South Africa.

There are many other observations to add to this list, but I'm going to call it a night. I just got hit with a wave of sleepiness, and it's best I head upstairs lest I fall asleep here on the veranda.

Funny

My Facebook status from a few days ago:

"Ali la Loca just took a big, greedy, excited bite out of what she swore was a chocolate bon-bon...only to discover it was a fucking artisanal piece of soap."

Someone gave my mother-in-law a pretty little basket full of what looked to be white and milk chocolate bon-bons. For some reason, she thought they were stones. Both Rico and I were convinced they were chocolates. To prove my point, I took a big ol' bite out of one of the 'bon-bons'...and immediately realized that all of us had it wrong. I spent the rest of the day with very clean teeth and a disgusting, perfumey taste in my mouth. Lesson learned: smell before you bite.

On the way back I'll be 640 pages lighter

We made it to Brazil without incident and are currently enjoying a few days of the good mountain life in Monte Verde, Minas Gerais.

The route we flew was fantastic, a new flight LAN started offering in July. It's billed as a direct flight from San Francisco to São Paulo, but there is actually a refueling stop in Lima. You get out of the plane in Peru, go through security, have enough time to pee and buy some water, then get back on board. In all, it's 9 hours on the first leg, then 4 on the second. Definitely recommended for people flying down to Brazil from California.

On the plane, I read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" from cover to cover. I don't think I've ever read so much, for so many uninterrupted hours, in my entire life. Doing the math, I was averaging about 50-60 pages per hour. The book was fantastic, and I can't wait to read the next one in the series. Hopefully I'll find someone in Rio who wants to read the book, and I'll buy a replacement copy for my mom once we're back in the US. That baby takes up a lot of precious space!

Rico and I have been enjoying our time in Monte Verde immensely. This is where we really have the opportunity to have a vacation while in Brazil. We're up in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere, with no obligations or people to see for several days. Our time will be spent eating delicious food (Rico's dad is a professional chef, among other things), drinking vintage wines, running along trails and hilly dirt roads, getting massages at the spa at Rico's dad's hotel, and sleeping. Lots of sleep.

Then, once we're feeling duly rejuvenated, we'll head to Rio to deal with all the pending issues that come from owning a home in one place and living in another continent entirely. We haven't been back to Rio since March 2009, and the to-do list regarding the Casa Rosa is, unfortunately, a long one.

We're also looking forward to attending Rico's cousin's wedding, to which I will be wearing a very loud, very neon-red, very va-va-voom formal dress. That is if my arse hasn't doubled in size from a miscalculation of the gourmet food: running ratio during our week in Monte Verde. :)

Speaking of clothes, so far the carry-on suitcase capsule wardrobe has treated me quite well. I'm trying to photograph my outfits so you can see what kind of a toll efficient packing has on fashion. Hopefully the trade-off is minimal!

Tonight at dinner (mandioquinha soup, cassoulet, pear confit), I sold my Fiesta trade bead bracelet off my wrist to one of Rico's dad's friends. A very unexpected sale, but one that left me super happy. It's always such a thrill to tell someone about the Mozambique Island trade beads I'm so fascinated by and have them "get it". It's moments like this I must remind myself of when the accounting and website updates and creative droughts get to me.

Cherry Fanatic

It's no secret that I love cherries. Along with figs and fresh medjool dates, I am capable of eating them until I am sick. I just can't get enough!

A couple of weekends ago, I convinced Rico to go with me to Brentwood, an agricultural town in the Sacramento delta, to pick our own cherries. His immediate reaction was like Why on earth would anyone drive for 45 minutes in order to pay to pick fruit in the heat of summer? but he indulged me and we ended up having a great time. At least I did. I think Rico just enjoyed seeing me act like a child on Christmas as I searched for the darkest, biggest, juiciest cherries in the orchard.

After about 30 minutes of picking, we had 11 pounds of cherries and decided to call it a day. True to form, I ate about 6 of those pounds of cherries in the following week. When the fabulousness of the fresh fruit had weaned, I decided I'd make jam. I'm happy to report it was a successful project, and I now have all of the home canning supplies necessary to make jam out of the endless blackberries that have taken over our garden. Should be a tasty summer!

My Definition of Heaven Has Gotten Quite Cheap

Isn't this an incredible photo of Mano and Nina? My mother-in-law took it (she is visiting us here at Casa Cali right now) and I can't get over the silhouetted trees in the background and the way the cats - in particular Mano in all his whiteness - look as if they've been photoshopped in from a different image.

Nina looks grouchy, but we forgive her. My mother-in-law is quite trigger-happy with the camera these days, and there simply comes a moment when a girl has had enough candid photos, thank-you-very-much.

Unfortunately the weather has been pretty crap lately, which is never what you hope for when you have houseguests who are looking forward to Sunny California. There was a bout of sunshine yesterday - though it was bitterly cold - so I decided to ditch my drawing class and join Rico and his mom on a passeio in San Francisco, complete with lunch at the Embarcadero, shopping and a ferry ride.

We had lunch at THE PLANT Organic Café, which has some of the tastiest food ever, although our meal was slightly tarnished by the fact that I hit my elbow ridiculously hard on the corner of the table while sitting down and subsequently lost all feeling in my right hand for about an hour. Also, the hostesses have major attitude, a theme we observed on our last visit to the restaurant as well. The girl who was seating us totally saw me slam my elbow and proceed to cry and curl up in a little ball - I cried, people! - and she didn't even have the heart to ask if I was okay or even acknowledge that I'd hurt myself. She just watched me for a minute or so, raised her eyebrows, then left the menus with Rico and sauntered back to the hostess stand.

Anyhow, a plattter of delicious oysters full of fresh horseradish helped me feel better. Each time I eat oysters I like them more and more - it's sort of akin to what happened to me with sushi and sashimi. I now undeniably have oyster fever. Rico and I have plans to go to this place his uncle Marcelo discovered at the Embarcadero where they have a $1 oyster happy hour every weekday at 5pm. Currently that is pretty close to my definition of heaven.

Chuva-licious

Maybe by posting this photo I can perform some sympathetic magic and bring the blue skies back to the Bay...

It's raining again, and while I know better than to complain about water that will be much-needed to prevent summer wildfire disasters, I admit I am longing for sunshine and blue skies. We had four consecutive storms slam us last week, and now it seems there is at least another one lined up for this week. On the bright side, I have great all-weather boots, a wonderful rain jacket, and two cute umbrellas that help me cheer up despite all the gray and wet.

It's been amazing to see how much my wardrobe needed to be tweaked to suit the weather here in Northern California. Not surprising, considering most of what I owned was geared towards living in a sauna (aka Maputo), with a couple of super-heavy overcoats in the mix to get me through visits to New Mexico in the winter. I've had to invest in rain-appropriate clothing, boots, leggings and layering items, in particular cardigans, in order to make my previous wardrobe at all compatible with the temperature here. I obviously didn't want to stop using my old clothes, so I've found ways to layer and make them work in new and creative ways.

So this weekend has been a busy one thus far. I'm working on my Alexandra Amaro website, which will launch next week. It's taken so much more time than I anticipated to upload all the products, and my collection isn't even that big! I still have a bit more work to go tonight before we do the soft launch on Monday, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I've also been busy with homework for school. I have to draw a still life using proper perspective and contour lines, and for my 3D class I have to make a wire sculpture that shoes movement, volume and mass, and inside/outside space (I've chosen to do a jellyfish). I have to "skin" the sculpture with tissue paper, and I plan on knitting some tentacles to break up the monotony of the wire. Again, much more work than I'd ever anticipated a simple wire sculpture could require, based on my experience with project #1 (baobab tree).

I also plan to make a lemon curd cockaigne and a quiche this evening. We bought eggs at Costco and I'm trying to find creative ways to use them, lest they go to waste.

Hope your weekend has been a good one!

Divine Lunch

Ever walk into a building or a home that leaves you in awe of its design and decoration? This happened to me the other day while at lunch with family and friends at THE PLANT Organic Cafe at the Embarcadero in San Francisco. The ambience in this restaurant is incredible, and happily the food lived up to the expectations set by the decor. It didn't hurt that we got one of the best tables in the house, on the enclosed patio with a view of the bay. :)


Highly recommended for foodies and design lovers alike.

Cibo Matto and Markets

I associate the holidays with crazy amounts of delicious food, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some market photos we took while in Vietnam on our honeymoon back in July 2008. These photos were taken at Hue, Sapa and Ha Long Bay. Enjoy!

I don't think a low-carb diet would go over so well here.

Bonus points for identifying all the produce in this photo. I believe she's holding guavas, with pomelos in the foreground and maybe small mangoes in the basket?

Various forms of piloncillo/rapadura (pressed brown sugar). Right next to what looks to be dish detergent, of course.

Black seaweed jelly, anyone?

One banana, two banana, three banana, four.

Produce in every color of the rainbow, and a brilliant smile to match from the vendor.

Without a doubt, this woman's purchases will soon be piled in a gravity-defying manner on the back of her motorbike.

I spy with my little eye: dragonfruit, fruta do conde (atamoya), mangoes, the overgrown and hairy cousin of the litchi (whose name I don't remember). What are those small brown fruits?

Paper money for offerings. Easy to be a billionaire.

I never realized there were quite so many varieties of ginger/galangal.

As if I needed any more reason to sweat...but spicy foods really do go down nicely in a hot and humid climate. Especially with a bia hoi (draft beer) to quell the burn.

In case you need another pair of slippers or plastic sandals.

Assorted natural remedies at the market in Sapa.

Incredibly, this huge blanket was covered in wild mushrooms.

Spicy? Or extra spicy?

When you're on a boat, the market comes to you. This particular boat offers Oreos and other packaged cookies/crackers, bottled sodas, water and candy.

Do you have change for a 20?

Look, ma, no hands! (This boy was incredible - he could maneuver the boat in any direction using only his feet.)

Everybody texts.