Monte Siao | Brazil

As the weeks ticked down until the end of school, and my travel date, I got more and more restless in the city. So, we packed up the little red fox and headed to Monte Siao, a small town across the border in the state of Minas. They are known for their knit sweaters and hand-crafted pottery. We enjoyed the vibrant blue skies while wandering around town. Best of all, we finally got some real dishes for Felipe's house!

Punta Del Este | Uruguay

We drove to Punta Del Este without a plan and were greeted with deep blue skies, intriguing architecture, and empty beaches! If you have the time, there are a number of quaint coastal towns worth stopping at between Montevideo and Punta Del Este. We roughly followed this guide to a Uruguayan road trip and weren't disappointed. Even though many of the restaurants and shops were closed due to the winter season, we still enjoyed a leisurely day at the beach.

On a side note, did you know it´s illegal in the country of Uruguay for a restaurant to provide salt on the table except for at the patron's request? It was passed as a health initiave from the new president because supposedly, when you see the salt, you´re more likely to use it. We still asked for it at every meal.

Colonia del Sacramento | Uruguay

Earlier in the semester, my mom called to tell me that she was going on a mission trip with Amazon Outreach. As we were talking, I put together the pieces and figured out that her trip was on the tail end of a long weekend here in Brazil which meant that we were able to coordinate a long weekend getaway to Brazil´s much smaller neighbor to the south, Uruguay!

We based ourselves in Montevideo and rented a car to roadtrip most of the length of the country. Our first day was spent in a small historical town called Colonia. While there wasn´t exactly a lot to do I very much enjoyed two things about the day: driving in zero traffic on an open highway and meandering the cobble stoned streets around old town. As a weekend escape from São Paulo, it was the perfect place!