New Kittens & Random Stuff

I haven't posted a ton lately, life has been extremely busy.  Work, working out, cooking, and Marina's school keep us extremely busy.  Couple that with taking a bunch of trips to the Boston area, leaves me with little time to blog.  So for this post, I decided to pull some shots out of my iPhone and post them.  

I was in Boston last weekend at my parents, and they recently acquired two new cats.  Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye are the names of the two brothers.  They are so cute and frisky.  Very friendly cats, I totally am smitten by them.

Marvin (left) and Otis (right)

Otis on my lap watching our Yorkiepoo Rosie

Marina is not a HUGE cat person, but I can tell she likes these two

Frisky devil

Marvin and me enjoying coffee and NCAA tournament

Marina and I checked out a local sushi restaurant.  Osaka Japan Northampton.  Prices are quite fair and I had the sashimi lunch special with a buddha roll, we will be back.

Obligatory beer picture.  Fantome Hiver.  Good, but not worth $17.

Tonight, I picked up a bottle of Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbits.  A hoppy tripel that clocks in at 8.5% ABV.  I really like this beer, it has a great creamy mouthfeel and a hoppy finish.  Very unique.  #1 seed Indiana currently losing dramatically to Syracuse. 

Brazil Part 1

I am down in Brazil, visiting with Marina's family and enjoying her lovely city of Natal.  Located on the northeast coast of Brazil, the weather is perfect and the natural beauty is amazing.  The city is developing at an impressive rate, and one of Marina's brother in law's cousins told me that it is considered one of the "hottest" real estate markets on the continent.  There is construction everywhere and the city is modernizing at a ferocious rate.  With that said, it is great place for both locals and the numerous tourists.

We took a tour of the Parque das Dunas, a large urban park in Natal, in fact it is the second largest urban park in the country.  There are several paths which lead from the entrance out towards the ocean. Here we are rounding the last corner of the dune.

Not mean mugging, it was just so bright out there.  Ponta Negra and the the beach are in the background.

Drinking a well-earned fresh young coconut afterwards.  Vita Coco ain't got shit on me.

Afterwards, we were hungry for lunch and Rodrigo suggested a local sushi place.  You paid by the pound, and it was roughly $25/kilogram, which works out to like $11.36/lb, not bad for sushi.

Grabbed a couple random sashimi pieces and my favorite was at the top, left.  Salmon, cream cheese, with a shrimp on top.  Whole plate cost R$24.50, so like $12 USD.  Totally worth it.  Washed it down with a beer.

Was feeling a little tired after, and grabbed an "energetico," made by Coca Cola and sponsored by David Guetta, pretty cool.