Meu Próprio Quadro!! :)

Today was full of plans to bronze ourselves and go to the Hippie Fair. Unfotunately only one of those plans (the Hippie Fair) worked out, because it was windy, cloudy and raining today. It was saddening, but the rest of the day more than made up for it ;).
So, we started off the day with a yummy breakfast (much like yesterday's, except this time with some of the juiciest watermelon I've had in a while) and then we headed out to the Hippie Fair, with intentions of getting all of our souvenir shopping out of the way. I bought a Carioca shirt for me (in the design of a Guaraná can), a Carioca shirt for Cella Bella (it looks like a "Coca Cola" ad), earrings and a Flamengo soccer shirt for Augusto. I still have a few more things to buy for my family, though.
Ambar actually bought more things than me and went all out: a Carmen Miranda bag for herself, earrings, 2 Carioca shirts (with different designs) for herself, a shirt for her mom, shirts for her brothers, and a mug for her dad. We made out pretty well, but since our exchange rate is so bad, a lot of what we bought ended up being equivalent (more or less) to the prices we'd pay in the states. In spite of all that, though, I'm happy with what I bought because I know it's unique and I wouldn't have been able to buy it anywhere else ;).
After our Hippie Fair shopping, we dropped our bags off at the hostel and asked Tracy at the front desk where would be the best place to buy a bottle of cachaça (for my dad). She said Zona Sul (which is a big supermarket chain in Rio; our guidebook says it is the best supermarket in Rio, in fact--it's super clean and organized, and has a larger variety of things you wouldn't find in the other supermarket chains here; it's also more expensive, though, of course lol), so we headed over there (it's just a few blocks from our hostel). We found the liquor aisle, and there was a man who worked for Zona Sul standing there who asked us if we needed any help. I explained that I wanted to buy a bottle of cachaça for my dad, and asked which one would be the best one to buy. He explained that the lighter/paler cachaças are the best ones for caipirinha-making, but that the darker ones are better for "after dinner" drinks, etc. (which is what my dad would be drinking it for anyway) and that aged cachaças are generally better, which was really interesting and useful to know. He even gave us a sample of one of the caipirinha cachaças, lol! (which was ridiculously strong, and which I probably will not drink again; so I won't be partaking in any of those "after dinner" drinks with my father, lol). I ended up going with a 3 year old bottle of cachaça with a commemorative design that said "Rio de Janeiro" on the front and had an etching of Ipanema's moutainous skyline. It's quite pretty actually. I hope my dad likes it. The man also asked if we were Brasilian ( :)!!!), and we explained that we weren't and were from New York. His reply was, "Oh, because you speak better Portuguese than most Brasilians." (!! :)!!). It was awesome.
On our way back, we saw a guy (his name is Bernardo Araujo) around the corner from our hostel (whom we had seen yesterday) that was painting and selling paintings. His pieces are absolutely amazing: full of wonderful colors and vibrancy and truly unique style. We admired some of the pieces yesterday (but didn't stop too long because we had been thinking of how much money we have spent and how much we were going to spend today at the Hippie Fair), but today we couldn't resist stopping and asking because they were so beautiful and eye-catching. We asked how much they were and he let us look through his book of designs. Bernardo explained that he custom makes paintings for people and that currently he was in the process of making 2 for other people. He also told us how much he loves to paint and how he feels that each piece he makes is special and unique (which shows). It was so awesome to hear how passionate he was about his work and how much his craft means to him. We asked if he could make a smaller painting for each of us. He agreed and we picked out the designs we wanted and paid him $30 reais for each. He told us to come back at 6 to pick them up. We went back at 6 but he still wasn't done and needed more time, so we went to eat dinner (at our new "Big Nectar," which is called "Beach Sucos" ;) and came back. We ended up having to take a few walks around the block (and looking at interesting stores), but the paintings were done by 8:20. We didn't mind, though, because the paintings were well worth the wait. They're absolutely gorgeous, and custom-made at that!! We took a few pictures with Bernardo and thanked him profusely for making them for us. He gave us his business card (with his e-mail address) and told us to e-mail him the pictures :). We paid him an extra $25 reais as an extra thank you. He was so nice and it was super sweet for him to agree to make those paintings for us on the spot (I think very few people in any other country would have agreed to that). They're sitting on a shelf drying in our room right now. I'm so happy! :) I can't wait to hang it up and show it off! ;)
While we were waiting for Bernardo to finish our paintings, Ambar and I crossed the street to look at the menu at "Garota de Ipanema," a bar across the street from our hostel (Ambar actually wanted to eat there, but we've decided to just get drinks there one night because the prices are astronomical). After we looked, we sat down on a bench outside of the bar, and right next door was the "Garota de Ipanema" shop that I came to the first time I came to Rio!! :) I was soo happy because I had wanted to go again on this trip and couldn't remember where exactly in Ipanema it was. Who knew it was right across the street from us all this time?! So now that we know where it is, we're definitely going because I absolutely loved it the first time I went (I bought a shirt with the "Garota de Ipanema" lyrics on it; the store also has pictures of the actual woman the song's about with the composer and the lyricist! It's so awesome inside). I can't wait to go! :)
The last thing I'll leave you with about my fabulous day, is a new word (or saying I guess you could say) I learned today. So when I was buying a shirt for Bella, the girl behind the table was showing us different designs. Ambar was picking out a shirt for a friend, and we asked her in Portuguese if she had anything smaller. Her response was in the form of a question, "Baby look?" I didn't think much of it, but then when we found the "Garota de Ipanema" store (!!), we were looking at the display in the window and there was a list of items they sold and the prices. One item (under shirts) said "Baby Look," and that's when it dawned on me that the Brasilian equivalent for "baby tee" is "baby look," which I thought was super cute ;). Hence, that is why "baby look" is my new phrase of the day, lol. Ambar cracks up everytime I say it.
Anyways, that's all for now. More to come. Tchau!