More on Randy’s South American sojourn
We told you yesterday about Randy’s Brazilian vacation on the taxpayer’s dime. The Washington Post (via Rottenchester) has more:
The No. 1 Loop-recommended trip for the fall season is a planned one-week, post-Thanksgiving congressional delegation to warm, beautiful Brazil. Despite some bothersome meetings devoted to drugs, terrorism, smuggling, biofuels and such, the voyage boasts an unforgettable river trip up the Amazon and that mandatory stop at spectacular Iguazu Falls.
[...]
…it appears you’ll spend some time in Salvador, a picturesque colonial-era city with gorgeous beaches, and stay at the wonderful Convento do Carmo hotel, an elegant former 16th century convent. If you’re lucky, there may be dinner at the Solar do Uniao, with a demonstration of “capoeira,” a martial art developed by Brazilian slaves to sharpen their fighting skills for rebellion. Order the yummy “moqueca,” fish cooked in coconut milk.
It’s hot this time of year, but go easy on the sugar-cane-based “caipirinha” — it packs a wallop. Better bet would be Brazil’s great beers. Our preferred is Brahma.
You’ll head down to Rio for a day for a visit to a “favela” (hillside shantytown), a meeting at the giant oil company Petrobras, a tour of the port and a not-to-be-missed trip up Corcovado mountain for a close look at the Christ the Redeemer statue.
Would that we could all live like this. But we can’t. What we can do is sip a few homemade Caipirinhas and listen to the soothing sounds of Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz.
Download (Girl From Ipanema)
My Caipirinha recipe:
1 lime
2 ounces of cachaça
Sugar to taste
Ice cubes
Wash the lime and roll it on the board to loosen the juices. Cut the lime into pieces and place them in a glass. Sprinkle with the sugar and crush the pieces (pulp side up) with a pestle. (We have a long, wooden one from Brazil, made specifically for this purpose.) Just enough to release the juice, otherwise it’ll get bitter. Add the cachaça and stir to mix. Add the ice and stir again.
Update: Reader Paige writes “I haven’t had a good caiparinha since I visited Brazil. Do you know any place in Rochester that makes them?” Does anyone have answer to this question? I don’t know of any Brazilian restaurants around here.
Related posts:
I haven’t had a good caiparinha since I visited Brazil. Do you know any place in Rochester that makes them?
[...] least all Randy Kuhl did was spend taxpayer money on an innocent tropical [...]
[...] all about, but now I’m not so sure. This article in the Washington Post (mentioned here in an earlier post), I think, gives us a much clearer picture. Our hardy band of travelers spends the evening in the [...]
[...] reference, Niagara is pictured on the left, while Iguazu Falls in Brazil — which Randy is purportedly visiting, perhaps even as we speak — is on the [...]
Order the yummy “moqueca”…
Better not - look what happened when George Allen ordered one.
[...] has a good round-up of local coverage of Kuhl’s Brazilian vacation: Reader Elmer sends the Corning Leader’s front-page coverage [pdf] and jump [pdf]ÂÂ The [...]
[...] Well - here is our take. Ladkiddo learns Portuguese then covers Randy’s explanation, The Washington Post gets wind of this (it isn’t kind to Randy) and Ricky Ricardo gives Randy the [...]
[...] Eric Massa had apologized to Democratic representative Reid Engel over Massa’s criticism of a Brazilian junket that both Kuhl and Engel went on (from the Hornell Evening-Tribune) So, apparently Eric Massa [...]
[...] Dawson of WHAM just did an excellent piece on Randy Kuhl’s trip to Brazil (it was actually broadcast on Channel).ÂÂ They went over Kuhl’s itinerary in detail and spoke [...]