Halloween

There is no Halloween in Brasil. So, no dressing up and no trick or treating for our kids. So, obviously we have to improvise. Last year our family began a tradition of going to a little town about 2 hours away to eat supper at a halloween themed pizzaria. The staff dress up and it's some of the best pizza around. It's a win-win for everyone.

This year the Terrys (our teammates) went with us.We spent the night in the town this year instead of driving back after supper like we did last year.

Carys was the first to get ready to leave our house.........halloween shirt, pillow, Inter hat and all.

Benay thinks this picture of Carys looks like Flick on Bugs Life.

We first arrived at a town about 7 km's away from the pizza town. This is one of our most favorite towns to visit. We visited a place called the Black Lake where you can drive swan boats around the little lake. The kids took advantage of it. Here's how that looked (complete with the obligatory splashing each other with water as well as playing bumper boats):


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While the kids goofed around the lake and I filmed, Benay enjoyed an incredible view while feeding Giovanni.

Carys and Anderson then had to do some exploring around the lake.

We then checked into the hotel. The main hotel was built in 1916. We stayed in a chalet that was probably built in the 50's. We did some swimming....

.....and then got ready to go to the pizzaria.

Anderson insisted that we go as Joe and Steve from Blue's Clues. He was Steve and, of course, I was Joe. See the resemblence?

As always, the pizza was great. Pizzaria's here bring pizza after pizza (of 20-40, or more, different varieties) to your table until you tell them to stop. Then they bring pizza after pizza of dessert pizza until you tell them to stop. They even have hot dog pizza.

It's an easy way to get fat.

You can get to the place where you reach "pizza drunk." It's the stage of eating when you've eaten too much pizza. It affects people in different ways and it isn't pretty. It can make you feel sick.....

......or act in crazy ways...... .....or even put you to sleep.


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The next day was spent outside. It was a cool, rainy day but it didn't keep us from (cough) borrowing some bread from the breakfast buffet (and shoving it into her Inter hat.....notice the innocent "what me?" face) to feed the ducks.

But first we had to lead them to the water.
We then did some more exploring, with Jennifer and her daughter Elisa, around the hotel..... .....and in the old hotel. If anyone knows what this thing is please tell us.It's, obviously, an antique and it says it was made by Thomas Bradford and Company from London and Manchester. We then played bocha. Some threw the ball a little harder than others.It was good to get away for a day with family and friends and leave the internet and cell phones behind.

We're already looking forward to next year. You know our family will have fun.