Exploring the Neighborhood

Now that we have settled in, we've had more time to explore the neighborhood. Barao Geraldo is a cozy little suburban neighborhood in Campinas, and close to the University. It has a great residential feel, yet also has great supermarkets, small shops and boutiques, and nice restaurants along the main streets. We have taken to comparing it to our time in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It is a great place to walk around, lots of parks and playgrounds, and feels very homey. However, it has two distinct advantages over Park Slope. First, it is a heck of a lot easier to get in and out of Barao Geraldo by car than Park Slope. And second, it is common to pass a nice little fruit tree on the side of the road in Barao Geraldo.

CC & Dad - Exploring

CC and I have taken to exploring the neighborhood on bicycle when we have spare time. I was lucky enough to borrow a bike from a Spanish ex-pat living in Campinas, and it came with a great kid seat that CC loves. We generally roam around until we find an Amora tree (blackberry - yes, they grow on trees down here), at which point we stop, pick a few berries, and than have purple stains on our hands and lips from the juice. Another tree we've found just up our street is a Pitanga fruit. Pitanga is an interesting little fruit that grows like a cherry, it is a small red fruit with a stone inside. While it is quite sweet, it has an interesting taste that takes a bit of getting used to - we've nicknamed it the sweet-musty-old-man fruit, not entirely unpleasant, but the kids are not fans.

Our stash - Amora and Pitanga