Aventuras [Adventures]: Vitória and Domingos Martins

Hello dear readers! GringaMommy is back in action after a brief hiatus for a family vacation to the big city of Vitória and Domingos Martins in the state of Espírito Santo.  We had a really wonderful time, saw lots of family, and I enjoyed getting to explore some new places.

First, we stayed with Hubby's cousin, his wife, and their little baby boy in the city of Vila Velha.  It is right outside of Vitória, close to huge mall shopping and the beach.  We went to one of the shopping centers where I bought a few shirts [which were needed desperately] and Little Man got to see Santa Claus for the first time.  He wasn't afraid at all; in fact, he tugged on Santa's beard and tried to eat the pompom on his hat.

Best friends forever

The next day, we went for my first visit to a Brazilian beach, and Little Man's first visit to any beach ever!  We went earlier in the morning to avoid crowds and too much sun.  I jumped in the water, which, to my surprise, was chilly!  Not as cold as what I was used to in New England, but still.  Little Man was not hip on the chilly water, and he wasn't sure about the texture of the sand, though he was interested in sampling some.

Gritty with a hint of sea salt

He was a little cranky [there has been a lot of whining lately] so I ended up nursing him on the beach for quite a while.

Bikini tops are the ultimate nursing bras

The next morning we went to the small town of Domingos Martins which is high in the mountains and was founded by Germans way back when.  It is the cutest little place with lots of German architecture, food/culture, and placards to teach German all over the place.

It was so clean and walkable with a great town center.  The best part of the trip to Domingos Martins was that we were there on the night of the unveiling of the town Christmas display.  We kept Little Man up later than usual to head down to the festivities.  He was very cute and seemed like he could tell it was a special night, since he is never up late or outside when it is dark.  We had to keep him awake because the display involved fireworks, which he'd never experienced before.  Once they started, he just stared at the sky with this very serious look on his face.  After the fireworks had ended, we put him in the stroller and he promptly fell asleep.  We walked around and explored the town center a bit more before heading back to the house for some delicious pizza.

We spent the last bit of our vacation staying with more family in Vila Velha. Little Man got rowdy with his three-year-old cousin, and we ate amazing home cooked meals. We left early on Monday to beat out any traffic problems caused by a bus driver strike in the city.  It was really nice to visit and go exploring, but it's also very nice to get back home and to our everyday routine.  

We've got more adventures coming up with Christmas just around the corner. Stay tuned!