The pupper strikes gold

This weekend we walked. A lot. Slowly, stopping often for a coffee, drink, or snack, but walked nevertheless. Probably 5-6 hours over both days. We learned (the hard way) that trams don't run after 12:30am, and walked about a kilometer home. Turns out I feel a lot better at midnight, in terms of my energy levels and my back, than I do at noon. We learned that grocery stores close between 4pm and 5pm on Saturdays, which means Sunday was heavy on the eating out, since the stores are all closed that day.

But part of the learning was good, and we learned where the pet store was, and that it is next to this amazing place, on the West side of the lake.

The pupper had her first off-leash bounce in about a week, so she was in heaven. The grasses and flowers were about a foot tall, so she really had to bounce, like a deer, from spot to spot...boing boing..boing...boing boing. We saw other dogs, owners, and just enjoyed watching her enjoy herself.















On Sunday, after breakfast and a morning nap, we headed into the old town, to look for....food. Remember, we had missed doing food shopping for us (the dog got her big bag, though) on Saturday, and the groceries are all closed on Sunday. We mostly wandered around, turning down small streets that looked interesting.

We ended up near the river, in an outdoor restaurant, where it was a split schnitzel and fries, M got a beer, and I wound up speaking with a group of Brazilians an their kids who were very excited about the dog. Actually, they were excited about my being pregnant, too. What stood out was that people here, so far, have been very reserved. This one Brazilian woman who had just met me was full of "oh! congratulations! pregnant women are so wonderful! best wishes!" In contrast, the people (strangers) who I've told here act as if I've just told them I bought a new notepad: "oh. ok."
I guess I'll have to find some more Brazilians to hang out with while I'm pregnant here.