We finished our driving tour of Southern Brazil ended in Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre is the largest city in the Southern state of Brasil

We were here just a short time but had a fun time exploring the city

I'm always a sucker for farmers markets

with fresh figs, artichokes and fresh fruits

and of course we found acai

Had to document Papa enjoying his wheaty wine berry dessert :)

Enjoying the roof top pool at our hotel

It was really a lap pool but our kids invaded the pool 

Found some of the best Mexican food since leaving the USA

Tasty, yummy burritos

Ended our trip spending a few hours in this beautiful building!

Porto Alegre LDS temple

A little Germany in Brasil

Our journey continued south and to the west and 

we landed in the charming towns of Canela & Gramodo

They oozed with European darlingness especially after living in S. America for so long

Our great Air BnB was just a few blocks from a local church

We slipped on our sandals and were able to walk to church, a first for this family

Along the way I had to stop at each house at take pictures of the gorgeous hydrangeas that were in bloom

They were everywhere and truly spectacular

Spent the afternoon exploring a geode museum

My Dad's idea of heaven

The kids got a kick out of this miniature museum

Lots of replicas from famous landmarks around the world

We spotted a few places we've seen, a few we plan to see this summer and added a few more to our bucket list

The Gramodo area is famous for their fondue and chocolate

We indulged in hot and cold chocolate and a few ice cream sundaes.

Yummy!!

Luckily we were in town right as the Christmas season décor was wrapping up

The city was so cute at night with decorations in every store

Very different than the typical Christmas décor in Brazil which is almost non-existent

Loving our fondue, we filled ourselves silly and it was lovely!

A beautiful waterfall near the town of Canela

Cambará do Sul

Our driving adventure continued as we headed southwest into 

the mountain region of Brasil

It was beautiful, misty rain and coldish the evening we pulled into 

our little cabins perched on the hill

We stayed just two nights but it was perfect

Surrounded by farm country, mountains, trees and horses

The "Grand Canyon" of South America

and just like that my hikers announce that they are DONE!

Tuckered out crew from our day of hiking

Back at the ranch enjoying the farm life and chilling with a show