🇬🇧 7 Days in Brazil. Destinations to try.

For those who have never traveled in Brazil or for foreigners who do not know Brazil, today two travel itineraries for a week in the country are suggested. Since Rio de Janeiro is too cliché, I excluded the city from the itinerary. But if you're traveling longer, include it, because the city is truly gorgeous and worth a visit.

First script suggestion:

2 days in Sao Paulo, staying near Ibirapuera Park or Paulista Avenue. 1 day in Belo Horizonte. 1 day in Ouro Preto which is very close to BH. And 2 days in Salvador. You will see different profiles of big cities, beach and historic city. As it includes a beach in the northeastern region, I recommend this itinerary during the Brazilian summer (December to February).

The other I would say to go to Sao Paulo (2 days, as in the previous suggestion), 1 day in Porto Alegre, 4 days in Serra Gaúcha, being 1 in Gramado, 1 in Canela, 1 in Bento Gonçalves and 1 in Garibaldi. This is a trip to be enjoyed in the winter (June). And be prepared for cold near zero degrees Celsius, even if snow is unlikely. It is a more cultural and gastronomic itinerary, with 2 big cities and 4 pretty towns.

Both routes can be enriched with visits to good restaurants, as good food is not lacking in both routes.

For Brazilians who have never visited the south, and also for foreigners accustomed to the idea of tropical Brazil, the second itinerary may surprise you, not only for the cold.

Quentão, a typical winter drink, in the south is made with wine, and is delicious. If you meet someone from Rio Grande do Sul on the Internet and will meet them on the tour, ask them to prepare a chimarrão, which is also a mandatory experience. I have lived in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul for 4 years and still don't know how to prepare. I drank only the ones prepared by other people. Drink it all and don't move that metal straw like you're drinking juice, because gauchos hate it when people do. In the south there is also a type of typical bread, which we can easily find in the bakeries and supermarkets of the region called cuca. It's worth a try because I've never seen it in the rest of Brazil. I really like guava cucas, but I haven't found them in Curitiba. The ones I see here are always made of crumbs.

And, if you plan to eat acarajé, my favorite Brazilian food, typical of Bahia and perhaps easy to find in Salvador, but also possible in São Paulo and Porto Alegre (at Redenção brique on Sundays!), know that "spicy" means with pepper. I ask you to put in just a little, because Bahians usually use chilli. I like pepper, but I like to taste the other ingredients.

Keep following the magazine's social media profiles for more travel, gastronomy, culture and other tips. By reading the previous texts you can get some other suggestions for both scripts that I have suggested to you in this text. When companies contribute, I can make very complete itineraries for short trips in Brazil - and also in other countries - with a complete guide on where to sleep, where to eat, what places to visit, etc. according to what is interesting for people. who want to travel to appreciate culture, gastronomy, art, etc.

Nycka, the Nomad

🇧🇷 Viagem de 7 dias pelo Brasil

Pra quem nunca viajou pelo Brasil ou para estrangeiros que não conhecem o Brasil, hoje tem duas sugestões de roteiro de viagem para uma semana pelo país. Como o Rio de Janeiro é clichê demais, excluí a cidade do roteiro. Mas se viajar com mais tempo inclua, porque a cidade é maravilhosa de verdade e vale uma visita.

Primeira sugestão de roteiro: 

2 dias em São Paulo, hospedando-se perto do parque Ibirapuera ou da avenida Paulista. 1 dia em Belo Horizonte. 1 dia em Ouro Preto que é bem próxima de BH. E 2 dias em Salvador. Você verá perfis diferentes de cidades grandes, praia e uma cidade histórica. Por incluir uma praia da região nordeste recomendo este roteiro durante o verão brasileiro (de dezembro a fevereiro).

O outro eu diria pra ir a São Paulo (2 dias, como na sugestão anterior), 1 dia em Porto Alegre, 4 dias na Serra Gaúcha, sendo 1 em Gramado, 1 em Canela, 1 em Bento Gonçalves e 1 em Garibaldi. Esta é uma viagem melhor aproveitada no inverno (Junho). E prepare-se para um frio próximo de zero graus Celsius, embora seja pouco provável encontrar neve. Este é um roteiro mais cultural e gastronômico, com 2 cidades grandes e 4 charmosas cidades pequenas.

Ambos os roteiros podem ser enriquecidos com visitas a bons restaurantes, pois comida boa não falta em ambos os roteiros.

Para brasileiros que nunca visitaram o sul,e também para estrangeiros acostumados à ideia de Brasil tropical, o segundo roteiro pode ser surpreendente, não apenas pelo frio.

O quentão, uma bebida típica de inverno, no sul é preparado com vinho, e é delicioso. Se conhecer algum gaúcho na internet e for encontrá-lo durante o passeio, peça pra ele preparar um chimarrão, que também é uma experiência obrigatória. Eu morei na capital gaúcha durante 4 anos e até hoje não sei preparar. Só bebia o chimarrão dos outros. Beba tudo e sem ficar mexendo aquele canudo metálico como se estivesse tomando suco, porque gaúchos detestam quando fazem isso. No sul também tem uma espécie de pão típico, que a gente encontra fácil em padarias e supermercados da região chamado cuca. Vale provar porque no resto do Brasil nunca vi. Gosto bastante das cucas de goiabada, mas em Curitiba não tenho encontrado. As que vejo aqui são sempre de farofa.

E, se for comer um acarajé, minha comida brasileira favorita, típica da Bahia e possivelmente fácil de ser encontrado em Salvador, mas também possível em São Paulo e em Porto Alegre (no brique da Redenção aos domingos!), saiba que “quente” significa com pimenta. Eu peço pra colocar só um pouquinho, porque as baianas geralmente usam uma pimenta bem ardida. Eu gosto de pimenta, mas gosto de sentir o sabor dos outros ingredientes.

Continue seguindo os perfis da revista nas redes sociais para acompanhar mais dicas de viagens, gastronomia, cultura e muito mais. Lendo os textos anteriores você pode ter algumas outras dicas para ambos os roteiros que sugeri neste texto. Quando empresas contribuirem, posso fazer roteiros bem completos de viagens curtas pelo Brasil - e também em outros países - com guia completo de onde se hospedar, onde comer, que lugares visitar, etc para pessoas que queiram roteiros para desfrutar cultura, arte, gastronomia, etc.

Nycka, the Nomad

🇬🇧 Meeting artists - part 1

A lot of people are curious about what it's like to meet famous people and artists, so I'll tell you a little about my many experiences here. Today I will share experiences from when I lived in Uberlândia.

First, one night I was in a local pub with a friend and after hours of dancing we decided to sit down. She wanted to know the time and at that time (1999) I still didn't have a cell phone. I looked around and saw a male arm with a watch next to us. I called the man to ask the time and it was Fernando Pires, from Só para Contrariar, a pagode band from the city that was a national success at the time. He was friendly, but he joked the question wanting to know if it was time for us to sleep. Our contact was just that. I spoke to my friend again and we continued at the party for a few more hours.

Later, I had the opportunity to meet Shaman, a Brazilian metal band, at the time of the release of their first album, Ritual, with other members of the band's fan club in Belo Horizonte and São José do Rio Preto. I traveled to see the same show 3 times! The first time in Uberlândia. It was not exactly the same show because in Belo Horizonte it had the participation of Marcus Vianna (violinist) and in São José do Rio Preto the opening was made by Shadowside, which is a good national metal band. On none of the occasions did I speak to Ricardo Confessori. 🙁 But the Mariutti brothers are very friendly and André was very professional in assisting us.

Although I lived near the hotel where musicians from outside usually stayed in the city (the Parthenon, which today I don't know what it is), those who stayed there were usually musicians from pop bands and I'm not a super fan of any pop band. So my experiences with famous artists between 1999 and 2003 came down to these.

Follow the blog to know the stories from 2004 onwards. I've told you before, but only in Italian, the story of how I met Epica. I will tell you in English and Portuguese this week because it is one of my favorite stories.

Contribute to my music-related texts to be even better by paying me a coffee (https://ko-fi.com/nycka). Brands of musical keyboards (professional) are also welcome as sponsors. And follow me on social media, that this story of Epica, for example, I already told there, and that's why I ended up writing here only in Italian, but there were people who asked me what Simone Simons is like this week so the next text is  about this.

Nycka, the Nomad

🇧🇷 Conhecendo artistas - Parte 1

Muita gente tem curiosidade sobre como é conhecer famosos e artistas, então vou contar um pouco das minhas muitas experiências aqui. Hoje vou contar experiências de quando eu morava em Uberlândia.

Primeiro, um dia eu estava num pub local com uma amiga e depois de horas dançando resolvemos sentar. Ela quis saber as horas e naquele tempo (1999) eu ainda não tinha celular. Olhei em volta e vi um braço masculino com relógio perto de nós. Chamei o homem para perguntar as horas e era o Fernando Pires, do Só para Contrariar, banda de pagode da cidade que era sucesso nacional na época. Ele foi simpático, mas ironizou a pergunta querendo saber se estava na hora da gente dormir. Nosso contato não passou disso. Voltei a falar com minha amiga e continuamos na festa por mais algumas horas.

Tempos depois tive a oportunidade de conhecer o Shaman, banda brasileira de metal, na época do lançamento de seu primeiro álbum, Ritual, com outros membros do fã-clube da banda em Belo Horizonte e em São José do Rio Preto. Viajei para ver o mesmo show 3 vezes! A primeira vez em Uberlândia. Não foi exatamente o mesmo show porque em Belo Horizonte teve participação do Marcus Vianna (violinista) e em São José do Rio Preto a abertura foi feita pelo Shadowside, que é uma boa banda nacional de metal. Em nenhuma das ocasiões falei com o Ricardo Confessori. 🙁 Mas os irmãos Mariutti são muito simpáticos e o André foi bastante profissional ao nos atender.

Apesar de ter morado perto do hotel onde geralmente músicos de fora ficavam hospedados na cidade (o Parthenon, que hoje não sei o que é), quem ficava ali eram geralmente músicos de bandas pop e eu não sou super fã de nenhuma banda pop para ir atrás. Então minhas experiências com artistas famosos entre 1999 e 2003 se resumiram a essas.

Siga o blog para conhecer as histórias de 2004 em diante. Já contei antes, mas apenas em italiano, a história de como conheci o Epica. Vou contar em inglês e português nesta semana porque é uma das minhas histórias preferidas.

Contribua para meus textos relacionados à música serem ainda melhores pagando-me um café (https://ko-fi.com/nycka). Patrocínios também são bem vindos. E siga-me nas redes sociais, que essa história do Epica, por exemplo, já contei por lá, e por isso acabei escrevendo aqui só em italiano, mas teve gente que me perguntou como é a Simone Simons esta semana então o próximo texto é sobre isso.

Nycka, the Nomad

🇬🇧 A liberating choice

I was born in a country town and grew up having to have company for everything. Even to go to the bathroom in bars or restaurants, the girls had to have company. So, I moved to Uberlândia and on the first day of school I had to have lunch alone in a restaurant because we hadn't gone to the supermarket and my roommates studied all day. My mother used to say that anyone who has lunch alone is a whore. I took a book with me, but during lunch I realized that there were many people having lunch alone, including women. And none of them looked as whores. They were more likely students like me and professionals who worked in the neighborhood. I lived in downtown, very close to the central bus terminal. Weeks later, at a party, I kissed a boy who I later learned that a friend of my flatmates had wanted to kiss him for some time. I know that if you think the same way my mom do you’re thinking badly of me now. Worse for you. After that they started to invent all kinds of excuses for not going out with me. And then I started going to the cinema alone, got other companies for parties and went on with my life. Still in Uberlândia, I traveled to see Shaman in 2 shows, on the tour of the album Ritual, one in Belo Horizonte and another in São José do Rio Preto. Alone! In BH I stayed at an aunt's house and in São José I stayed at a hotel. In both destinations I met people from the band's fan club before the show. When I went to Porto Alegre, then I started doing everything myself. It was almost a year without company for nothing, except for one or two MBA class parties. And I keep having fun, going out, going to parties, shows, cinema, restaurant, etc. with or without company. But if it is to have company I prefer good company. Life is too short for bad coffee. I am less and less tolerant of mediocrity.

If this post inspired or encouraged you, pay me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/nycka

Nycka, the Nomad

🇧🇷 Antes só do que mal acompanhada

Eu nasci numa cidade do interior e cresci tendo de ter companhia pra tudo. Até pra ir ao banheiro em bares e restaurantes as meninas tinham de ter companhia. Então, mudei para Uberlândia e no primeiro dia de aula eu tive de almoçar sozinha num restaurante porque não tínhamos feito feira em casa e minhas companheiras de apartamento estudavam o dia todo. Minha mãe dizia que quem almoça sozinha é puta. Levei um livro como companhia, mas durante o almoço percebi que tinham muitas pessoas almoçando sozinhas, inclusive mulheres. E nenhuma delas parecia puta. Eram mais provavelmente estudantes como eu e profissionais que trabalhavam na vizinhança. Eu morava no centro, bem perto do terminal central de ônibus. Semanas mais tarde, numa festa, beijei um rapaz que fiquei sabendo depois que uma amiga das minhas companheiras de apartamento queria beijar ele há tempos. Ha! Eu sei que se você pensa igual a minha mãe está pensando mal de mim agora. Pior pra ti. Depois disso elas passaram a inventar todo tipo de desculpa para não sair comigo. E então eu comecei a ir sozinha ao cinema, arrumei outras companhias para festas e segui a vida. Ainda em Uberlândia, viajei para ver 2 shows do Shaman, na tour do album Ritual, um em Belo Horizonte e outro em São José do Rio Preto. Sozinha! Em BH fiquei na casa de uma tia e em São José fiquei num hotel. Em ambos os destinos encontrei pessoas do fã clube da banda antes do show. Quando fui para Porto Alegre, aí sim passei a fazer tudo sozinha. Foi quase um ano sem companhia para nada, salvo uma ou duas festas da turma do MBA. E sigo me divertindo, saindo, indo a festas, shows, cinema, restaurante, etc com ou sem companhia. Mas se for pra ter companhia que seja boa companhia. A vida é curta demais para cafés ruins. Ando cada vez menos tolerante à mediocridade.

Se este texto te inspirou de alguma forma, pague-me um café: https://ko-fi.com/nycka

Nycka, the Nomad

🇧🇷 Dicas para quem quer morar no Brasil

Para quem pensa em morar no Brasil, seguem algumas dicas.

• Embora o Brasil seja conhecido como um país tropical, temos regiões onde o inverno pode ter temperaturas abaixo de vinte graus, e no sul do país o inverno pode ter temperaturas negativas eventualmente, embora seja rara a ocorrência de neve.
• Em países frios, como no Canadá e países europeus é comum que exista um sistema de calefação nas casas. No sul do Brasil, embora seja frio, isso não existe nem mesmo em Curitiba, a capital mais fria do país, que mesmo no verão raramente tem temperaturas muito acima dos 30°C.
• No verão curitibano, após um ou dois dias de “muito” calor geralmente chove e a temperatura fica mais amena nos próximos dias.
• Embora Porto Alegre tenha temperaturas similares a Curitiba no inverno (é um pouco menos fria, embora seja mais ao sul), no verão é uma cidade absurdamente quente. E a ocorrência de chuvas no verão é bem menos frequente que em Curitiba. Quem pode passa o verão no litoral.
• A cidade de São Paulo, a maior do país, tem temperaturas mais amenas que o Rio de Janeiro e é absolutamente cosmopolita. O que você não achar lá, provavelmente não encontrará em nenhum lugar do Brasil. E é certamente a cidade com maior variedade de marcas de luxo disponíveis no país.
• Falando em luxo, além de São Paulo e do Rio, Curitiba é outra cidade onde esse mercado tem sido melhor atendido ultimamente.
• Já viajei um bocado pelo país e em termos de cultura e estrutura, acredito que algumas das melhores capitais para se morar no Brasil sejam: Curitiba e Porto Alegre no sul; São Paulo e Belo Horizonte no sudeste; Fortaleza e Recife no nordeste, embora eu acredite que todas as capitais nordestinas tenham algo interessante a oferecer; Goiânia e Brasília no Centro Oeste e Belém e Manaus no norte. No interior existem algumas boas opções e a região da serra gaúcha (Caxias do Sul, Garibaldi, Farroupilha, Bento Gonçalves, etc); a cidade de Uberlândia, em Minas Gerais; e Ribeirão Preto no interior do estado de São Paulo são algumas opções interessantes. Em Uberlândia, por experiência própria posso dizer que é uma cidade do interior com uma mentalidade razoavelmente cosmopolita. Na serra gaúcha, embora as cidades sejam relativamente pequenas, várias delas são fortes produtoras de vinhos e calçados e são bastante próximas da capital, com a maioria sendo acessível em no máximo quatro horas de viagem de ônibus.
• Brasileiros são muito acolhedores com estrangeiros, principalmente aqueles de países desenvolvidos.
• Muitos brasileiros são racistas, embora seja menos do que algumas pessoas dizem, então pode ser que pessoas de pele escura tenham mais dificuldade de adaptação no país, além da questão do idioma.
• Se você quer abrir uma empresa ou ter um trabalho autônomo no país, é recomendável conhecer o mercado local e contratar consultoria local para suporte. Conte comigo se visa oferecer algo de interesse das classes econômicas mais elevadas. Conheça os serviços que ofereço na página “Serviços” deste blog.

Se pensa em morar no Brasil e tem dúvidas não relacionadas ao seu plano de negócios ou carreira, pergunte nos comentários.

Gostou do texto? Pague-me um café: https://ko-fi.com/nycka

Nycka, the Nomad

🇬🇧 Suggestions for Sunday

Today was a busy day. For me, at the moment I publish this, it's still Saturday night. In my whole life I only went to one music festival, Live’n’Louder, in Porto Alegre, in 2005. Wow! It's been almost fifteen years! Here in Brazil metal festivals are not common, and in the cities where I have lived, even the capitals like Porto Alegre and Curitiba, have less shows than in São Paulo or some European cities even smaller. I was born in the wrong place and I've been fixing it since I was twenty-two years old, but I still haven't gotten to my place.

With this coronavirus, all shows around the world have been postponed, but many bands are doing shows without an audience or with a limited audience and broadcast live over the internet. Some are rehashing material and sharing videos from full shows. So, today, there was an Evergrey show broadcast on Twitch and a few more rehearsed shows, including Arch Enemy and Apocalyptica, on Facebook. And even with a full day, filled with these artists that I admire, I would like to make four suggestions:

• Suggest that you watch Evergrey's live today if it is published somewhere (it was broadcast at https://www.twitch.tv/geflemetalfestival but I checked it out and there is no video there for those who lost). Failing that, check out some moments from their show in Curitiba in 2011, on my old YouTube channel. The channel is deactivated because Google disappeared with my e-mail, because I spent some time without accessing it. There you can see the songs “Blinded” (https://youtu.be/foQtaDWHQK8), Solitude Within (https://youtu.be/mLK68ccV1WY) and I'm Sorry (https://youtu.be/g2DX9-  rAFRs).
• See also the “Live at your home” that Apocalyptica did on May 14th (https://youtu.be/mwuX1fq5h5s) and the previous one, on April 25th (https://youtu.be/4sxtHSXOdKA), on their official channel. I suggest the two bands because they are among my favorites. And in the case of Apocalyptica I highly value their authentic work, and although Metallica covers are very good, for me, they, pioneers in this thing of making rock / metal with cellos, are worth more than Metallica.
• Share a domestic tip. There's a restaurant nearby that serves a gnocchi with chicken, broccoli and white sauce. I decided to make the chicken and broccoli sauce at home, but I didn't make pasta to go with it. I made rice. And instead of making a normal white sauce... I used coconut milk instead of milk. 😋 And it was outrageously good. The aroma, the taste, everything. And you can use it as much as I did, to accompany rice, as well as to accompany pasta. And you can exchange broccoli for mushrooms, asparagus or something else of your choice. Or several, to give more color to the dish too. And, of course, it is always worth exchanging chicken for fish, shrimp (I love it!) or even pork fillet. Only in this you have many different options of dishes to try.
• And, since I talked about my old channel, there is a video of a story about glasses that I contributed to UFMG TV (https://youtu.be/yngCUKhSQaY), in portuguese. If you want more tips on choosing your sunglasses or prescription glasses, follow this blog and my social media profiles. All addresses are in the sidebar, in the contacts frame (Contacts) and in Nycka’s World. Almost every day I share content on some social network, so it’s worth following them all.

Have a great Sunday.

If you like this post, buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/nycka

Nycka, the Nomad

🇧🇷 Dicas pro domingo

Hoje foi um dia cheio. Pra mim, no momento que publico isso ainda é sábado à noite. Em toda a minha vida só fui a um festival de música, o Live’n’Louder, em Porto Alegre, em 2005. Uau! Fazem quase quinze anos! Aqui no Brasil festivais de metal não são comuns, e nas cidades onde já morei, mesmo as capitais como Porto Alegre e Curitiba, têm menos shows que em São Paulo ou algumas cidades europeias até menores. Nasci no lugar errado e venho consertando isso desde que fiz vinte e dois anos, mas ainda não cheguei no meu lugar.

Com esse tal coronavírus todos os shows no mundo todo foram adiados, mas muitas bandas estão fazendo shows sem público ou com público limitado e transmitindo ao vivo pela internet. Algumas estão requentando material e compartilhando vídeos de shows completos. Então, hoje, teve show do Evergrey transmitido pelo Twitch e mais uns tantos shows requentados, incluindo Arch Enemy e Apocalyptica, no Facebook. E mesmo com dia cheio, preenchido por estes shows de artistas que admiro, eu gostaria de fazer quatro sugestões:

1. Sugerir que vocês assistam à live de hoje do Evergrey se for publicada em algum lugar (foi transmitida em https://www.twitch.tv/geflemetalfestival mas fui checar e não tem o vídeo todo lá pra quem perdeu). Na falta disso, vejam alguns momentos do show deles em Curitiba em 2011, no meu canal antigo do YouTube. O canal está desativado porque o Google deu sumiço no meu e-mail, por eu ter ficado algum tempo sem acessá-lo. Lá você pode ver as músicas “Blinded” (https://youtu.be/foQtaDWHQK8), Solitude Within (https://youtu.be/mLK68ccV1WY) e I’m Sorry (https://youtu.be/g2DX9-rAFRs).
2. Vejam também a “Live at your home” que o Apocalyptica fez em 14 de maio (https://youtu.be/mwuX1fq5h5s) e a anterior, de 25 de Abril (https://youtu.be/4sxtHSXOdKA), no canal oficial da banda. Eu sugiro as duas bandas porque estão entre as minhas preferidas. E no caso do Apocalyptica eu valorizo muito o trabalho autêntico deles, e embora os covers do Metallica sejam muito bons, pra mim, eles, pioneiros nessa coisa de fazer rock/metal com violoncelos, valem mais que o Metallica.
3. Compartilhar uma dica doméstica. Tem um restaurante aqui perto que serve um nhoque com frango, brócolis e molho branco. Eu resolvi fazer o molho com frango e brócolis em casa, mas não fiz massa pra acompanhar. Fiz arroz mesmo. E em vez de fazer um molho branco normal... eu usei leite de coco no lugar do leite. 😋 E ficou escandalosamente bom. O aroma, o sabor, tudo. E você pode usar tanto como eu fiz, pra acompanhar arroz, como pra acompanhar massa. E pode trocar o brócolis por cogumelos, aspargos ou outra coisa de sua preferência. Ou várias, pra dar mais cor ao prato também. E, claro, sempre vale trocar o frango por peixe, camarão (amo!) ou mesmo filé suíno. Só nisso você tem muitas opções diferentes de pratos pra experimentar.
4. E, já que falei do meu canal antigo, lá tem um vídeo de uma matéria sobre óculos que teve contribuição minha para a TV da UFMG (https://youtu.be/yngCUKhSQaY). Se quiser mais dicas sobre como escolher seus óculos, de sol ou de grau, siga este blog e meus perfis nas redes sociais. Todos os endereços estão na barra lateral, no quadro de contatos (Contacts) e no Nycka’s World. Praticamente todo dia eu compartilho conteúdo em alguma rede social, então vale a pena seguir todas.

Tenha um ótimo domingo.

Se gostou das dicas, pague-me um café: https://ko-fi.com/nycka

Nycka, the Nomad

🇬🇧 Bad experiences travelling

To travel by myself has some risks. When I plan my trips I have some standards in mind and sometimes to keep them I try some hotels from some group I had experienced before. But this is not a guarantee of quality, unfortunately. That’s why I am risking a bit more in small hotels sometimes. Curiously most of my bad experiences are linked to the experience in the hotel. All the rest usually is good enough.

For me, hotels must offer privacy (no thin walls, please!); a well trained team (once I was sleeping completely naked and someone tried to enter the room, maybe to clean it. Fortunately the door had a lock that I used before to sleep); comfort (a queen size bed and an excellent shower are the minimum. Something to keep a nice temperature inside the room is also necessary); security (a place to keep precious things like jewels and the laptop without the risk to be seen by the staff); and currently be pet friendly with nylon webs on the windows for my cat don’t escape, and a staff trained not to enter the room if signed the cat is inside (my cat hates humans), obviously offering the door signs for this. Free, quick and safe internet is obligatory! And TV with many different channels available are good although I usually don’t spend a lot of time in front of the TV (once I was in a hotel where the TV had options, but the only channel everyone could watch was the one played on the reception room. Don’t do this, please!). Activities inside the hotel are welcome. A great restaurant, swimming pool, a bar with excellent cocktails, are good things even in trips for businesses. More than that is highly recommended if the goal is leisure or if the city doesn’t have interesting attractions. Yes, the poorest the options in the city are, the better must be a hotel to create a nice experience for the traveler. 

My worst travel experiences wasn’t planned by me. They were simply horrible because they were much bellow my standards. All the trips paid by myself were done according to my budget, sometimes very limited. Lately, much more comfortable.

In one of these experiences I went to Porto Seguro, a marvellous brazilian beach, although the structure is poor for a famous destination, and I traveled with a group, including some family members (who have standards inferior to mine). The trip started in Montes Claros and we went by bus. The bus broke twice in the road before to cross the frontier between Minas Gerais and Bahia, and this was the beginning of a horrible experience. My will was to stop in the first city and take another bus back home, but I was an adolescent and my family didn’t allow that. When we arrived, we had a lot of people in the same room at the small hotel we stayed. Everybody from the group, but it was weird anyway. I acquainted with some girls in this group and we went to a show at night at the beach, but although I liked the main band, who played axé music (brazilian regional music from Bahia, usually played during the carnival in Salvador), the other band who opened the gig played.., U2 songs! Ok, I like U2, but both musical styles are too different. Outside the time on the beach during the day, when I could have some time alone, and the seafood, the trip was terrible.

Among the times I traveled with my mother, only one was good because I chose the hotel. She normally goes to the cheapest options and that time I found through the internet one that was much better and just a bit more expensive. She felt as if she was in a five stars hotel, and compared to those she used to stay it was really marvellous, although it was a very simple hotel.

But twice I had bad experiences planned by myself. In one of them, I went to Belo Horizonte for businesses. I chose a hotel close to the places I wanted to go, although my aunt invited me to stay with my cousin, her daughter, who is a medical doctor in the city and lives in a very beautiful house. The aunt would travel and the cousin lived too far from where I needed to go, so, I spent some money to stay in a hotel instead of spending with cabs. The hotel was too simple. There was one from the same group of the one I mentioned in the previous paragraph, where my mother felt as if a five stars hotel, close to that point and I don’t know why I didn’t discovered it before, because chances are it would be better. But although the one I unfortunately chose was weird, I survived, as I only needed a place to sleep and take a shower and spent all day outside solving business questions, and part of the night I enjoyed restaurants and malls in the neighbourhood.

The other bad experience was once I went to Sao Paulo to the Fashion Week, and went to a hotel close to the place. This is a case of hotel I experienced the same brand before and this time was disappointing. The room seemed an apartment. A nice hall with a TV, a place to work with the laptop, a comfortable couch. Then the bedroom with a big double bed, the wardrobe, and an enormous wall of transparent glass besides the bed! At night the room was charmingly lighted by the moon. There was no big buildings close to the hotel from that side, so I could have a nice view from my bed. But when I entered the bathroom, the first deception. It was too small. Specially the place under the shower. I am thin and I couldn’t move in that small space that had no more than 80cm from a side to the other. The other deception was when I noticed I could hear the other guests from my room! The walls were too thin!

Ah, twice I noticed the hotels were less clean than I deserved. Once I was with my mother, it was her choice and the worst nightmare I could have. The TV was dirty and the bathroom was even worse. Fortunately it was just to sleep that night and travel in the morning, but it was horrible anyway. The other I was in Sao Paulo, and I chose a charming hotel close to Oscar Freire street, but I noticed long hair under the pillows. The trip wasn’t bad, but I never returned to this hotel, nor to any other I had bad experiences.

I had some good experiences I didn’t return, but these cases for not having the opportunity. Two of them in Sao Paulo, because I go there often but I prefer hotels close to the places I want to go. So, these two are much better than the one I stay more often but they are not good considering the distance between them and my interests in the city.

Nycka, the nomad 

🇬🇧 Brazil - what to eat and drink in the southeast

Brazil is a big country and the variety of typical food travellers and nomads can find here is enormous. Brazil is much more than feijoada and caipirinha. This post is to talk about the food in the southeast region, which includes the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais.
This region offer a wide variety of typical foods. Some of these foods are found in restaurants in other regions too, but the local versions, in special for food from Minas Gerais, are much more interesting.
The typical foods from Minas Gerais are among my favourite brazilian foods.
The traditional feijoada is one example of local typical food. Made with black beans and pieces of pig. I don't eat the external pieces of pig, like ears, tail or feet, but some restaurants use only inner parts to prepare feijoada.
Muslims and other people who does not appreciate to eat pig (or the strong taste of black beans) have other options, like the "caldeirada", which is made with seafood and white beans.
Southeast also have "galinhada" (rice, pequi and chicken), the "arroz com pequi" (rice with pequi and bull meat salted to dry), "feijão tropeiro" (beans sauced with bacon and other ingredients), and many other. Chances are you feast in local restaurants in Minas Gerais, where we also can find great chefs of contemporary gastronomy using local ingredients in very creative dishes. Local food, in special fish and seafood on the beach (Buzios, Ubatuba, Angra dos Reis, Parati, Trindade, Rio, etc) are also good options. To eat close to the river São Francisco the local food is also an amazing experience.
Oops! I cannot finish this post without mention local desserts! The most famous is called "Romeu and Julieta" (Romeo and Juliet) and it's made of goiabada with cheese Minas or Canastra. In Minas there is a wide variety of desserts made with fruits, all of them very sweet. The "doce de leite" is made of milk and it's found in different consistences, from cream to solid. You'll find desserts made of papayas, oranges, mangoes and many other fruits, with sugar syrup, creamy or solid. Another good experience is called "quebra queixo" and is made of coconuts.
The best brazilian coffees are from the southeast: from Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The best cachaças are also made in these states.
The "quentão" in Minas is a hot drink prepared with cachaça, with flavour and smell very different from the "quentão" in the south.
These are only some ideas. For more specific tips, follow this blog and my social media channels to keep updated.

Nycka, the nomad

🇬🇧 My first experiences on cultural trips

First time I spent (or invested) my money to travel it was to know the Carnival in Janauba, a small brazilian city, a few hours by car from Montes Claros, where I was born. I was 21 then, and my dear friend and colleague Danilo was from that city. Brazilian actor Jackson Antunes, who was called "the brazilian Charles Bronson" when he gained space on national TV, was also born in Janauba.
I remember my grandmother was terrified because my brother, 5 years younger, would travel with me and share the same room. If I had the mind of today, I would go alone just to terrify her more.
The party was good. Very different from many famous carnivals as Rio, Salvador or Venice, but it was nice.
My second experience was to follow brazilian band Shaman, when Andre Mattos left Angra to sing with this band, during the first shows of the Ritual tour. I saw the show in Uberlandia, where I lived, at a pub. The show was my suggestion to David, the owner, one day I met him in front of the pub while I was reading about a workshop with Kiko Loureiro the pub was organising. David mentioned the show Angra did there some months before "without the singer" (as the band was with a new singer: Edu Falaschi). I noticed David appreciated the voice of Andre Mattos as well as I did and I told him to invite Shaman to play there.
After Uberlandia I went to Sao Jose do Rio Preto and to Belo Horizonte to see the band again and again.
Then I moved to Porto Alegre, living a few meters distant from Bar Opiniao, a place where many international metal bands used to play, as well as local artists. I enjoyed the foreigners but I must admit my time in Porto Alegre could be spent to enjoy more the local culture, which is very rich. I'll be back there, sooner or later, to do this and share with you.
Follow the blog and my social media profiles to read more on cultural opportunities to travel and self development.

Nycka, the nomad