1) BPA Free Water Bottles are easily found in the US at some retail, grocery and sporting goods stores. In South America, from what we have seen so far, they are not as common, and when available do not have a great variety to choose from. In São Paulo, Brazil we have only fond them at the ‘Hipermercado’ Extra.

I chose Camelbak because I like the mouth piece for its comfort (think of an adult version of a baby bottle. Lol). I also like the fact that it has a wide opening for easy cleaning and splash free refilling). The downside to it is that 1) the mouth piece and attached areas need constant cleaning (hot water, soap and q-tips seem to work well), and 2) after a couple months of constant use, it starts to leak. This is our 3rd bottle, and now that we know it has a life time warranty, we will be using it (once in a more permanent location for delivery purposes).

2) Strawberry Compact Bags are readily available both in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in the market areas and stores that carry makeup and hair accessories. They can be found in different colors and other fruit shapes such as watermelon. They run about R$2 each (usually less if you purchase more than one). They are great because they don’t take up much space and can serve as a grocery bag, purse or for decoration on your key chain/book pack. The downside is that they are not made out of a durable material, and if used to carry anything heavy or valuables, you may want to consider adding a velcro on the opening and extra support on the handles.

Stay tuned for more

Carnival is getting ready to begin and all of Brazil is swaying to the rhythms of Samba. Sure there are big Mardi Gras and Carnival parties throughout the world but Brazil, specifically Rio de Janeiro, is renowned for theirs.

Unlike in New Orleans, which celebrates Fat Tuesday, Rio de Janeiro celebrates Carnival starting the Friday before and parties all the way through. I’ve also heard that it consists of going to the beach and bloco parties (small neighborhood Carnival parades), with very little sleep. (more…)

While in North Carolina we took an impromptu road trip to Myrtle Beach. Then, to our delight this little fellow drives by us. We animals know how to cruise in style @(^_^)@

* Side note: I love my old college rommie’s laugh

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On my recent trip to North Carolina I decided to take photos on my drive home through Appalachia on my 12 hour ride. However, my camera decided to have a different plan. I wanted to set my camera to go off every minute to take photos of my ride home, care free. Well, the certain camera I have doesn’t let me do that so instead my wife volunteered to snap off photos on the drive. We didn’t get all 12 hours but we did get photos of our drive through Appalachia as we crossed through West Virginia, Virginia, and southern Ohio. We got well over 500 photos put together in this fun short video for you, hope you enjoy!

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It’s here, it’s finally here…My video from when I was in Japan. Instead of doing something silly like grad school homework I decided to forgo my weekend by piecing together photos and video clips to make this awesome video for you. I’ve uploaded it on both Youtube and Vimeo for your viewing pleasure.

Video clips include the Tokyo Railway, Odaiba, Boro itchi festival, Akihabara, Ueno’s Ameyayokocho, Omte Sando’s Takeshita guchi, Mount Asama (Asama yama), Asakusa, Shibuya and it’s Hachiko guard dog, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree (new Tokyo Tower) Kyoto’s Golden Palace (Kinkakuji), Kiyomizu-dara and Fushimi Inari Shrine.

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