Friday, November 06, 2009

Finally made it to Recife, Brasil

After "only 2 days," I finally made it to Recife, Brasil. At least I got upgraded to Business Class... AFTER I had to ask AA.

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Me and Amir
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Queijo na brasa - Grilled cheese with oregano and Brasilian honey. GOOODDDDD
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WORD. Caipirinhas with fried macaxeira root (yuca). I am a big fan of macaxeira root. They use it a lot in Brasil for various foods.
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YES
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Passion fruit, sugary coconut
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Eating very young coconut after drinking the coconut water
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A full afternoon at the beach, eating beach "street" food. Not a bad start.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Stuck in Miami, Florida

So my flight to Recife, Brazil was delayed an hour at SFO, therefore causing me to miss my connecting flight to Recife. They claim the earliest flight they had was 20h15 the following day (!!! F*CK YOU, American Airlines! You suck!) Seriously, each time I fly American, it gets worse. When I got to SFO, the check-in attendants were too busy having personal conversations. The lady at the desk was rude. Not to mention how unfriendly they were in Miami. So yes, DO NOT FLY AMERICAN AIRLINES. Sometimes it may be worth it to pay $100+ for a better airline.

Ok, the positives? I got a free night at Holiday Inn (well, they better offer this) and some vouchers for food - just enough so that I don't die of hunger, however, American Airlines expected me to eat only in the hotel or the airport. So yes, they expect me to stay here for 24 hours doing what? And get this, check-out time is noon. WHAT AM I GONNA DO - stay at the airport for 8 more hours? Even the guy at the front desk was like "Why didn't they just pay for two nights?" I can't walk around Miami in the rain with my extra bags. I still need a place to wash up before my 10+ hour flight. Blech. When life gives you lemons, you gotta make lemonade, right?

This was my chance to sort of check out Miami. First on the list: eat Cuban food. I took a cab to Versailles restaurant. The ride itself was quite interesting. I had a very interesting conversation with a Colombian cab driver married to a French woman. He got so excited talking about Colombian, Cuban and Peruvian food, crepes from Bretagne, apple cidre, and his extensive travel in Europe that he missed my stop. He didn't charge me for the mix-up either. Moments like this in life are fun.

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I opted for something traditional - Beef stew with rice and plantains. I could eat plantains every day!
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I really wanted to try dessert since they are also popular for their sweet things and bakery, but was way too full. I can always finish up with a cafecito though.
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I am full and life is good.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Employee golf day

Aside from golf, there was a big meal made for everyone which includes grilled tri-tip, roasted chicken, chili, Spanish rice, guacamole, pasta salad, and potato salad. I volunteered to make dessert. I made super duper dense, fudge chocolate brownies, tiramisu, and apple crumble.

Here are a few photos of the course. It was completely gorgeous today. I didn't do much but putt around since I didn't want to slow anyone down.

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Here's Scotty, one of our golf pro's


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Sunday, November 01, 2009

火鍋 a.k.a Huǒ Guō a.k.a Hot Pot

Had dinner at my sister's place.

Everyone needs a little huǒ guō in their life!
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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Last day of work

Season is over as of today. I couldn't help but paint my nails even though I had one more day left. It's been so long!

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Coffee siphons that didn't work so well during service.
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This is what $3?,??? looks like
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A bittersweet moment. Now all I have left is to make dessert for 50 people. Monday is an employee golf/get together. Mainly the golf pros, caddies, and maintenance workers. Should be lots of fun. =)

Last staff meal

Our last staff meal. I always enjoy these moments since they don't happen very often. Hilda made chicken flautas, guacamole with habanero, Spanish rice, and a salad.

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Jose made delicious margaritas. Toned down the alkie for me too. =)
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Life is good.
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Oh yah ~ Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Les cocottes, chocolate, and my lil jardin

I <3 Cocottes
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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Lobster Lobster and more Lobster

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By the way, I am completely lobster'd out.