Thursday (10/18/18) – day 1

We left my mother-in-law's house around 10am and it took us 4 hours to get there. Buzios, because we stopped at German House halfway to stretch your legs and eat the delicious meat croquettes.

Gisele Restaurant

When we got there, we went straight to lunch at the restaurant. Gisele, which we already knew from another trip and ordered some delicious cornmeal pastries and shrimp moqueca to start the trip off on the right foot. The restaurant has a very nice green area and Patrick was delighted with the trees and birds there.

Our Accommodation in Búzios

We then went to our guesthouse, Tangaras Inn, and I loved the fact that there are many entertainment options for children. They have 2 pools, a bouncy castle, a playroom and every day there are activities with the “aunts” that last the whole day. To my surprise, they also have a “Baby Kitchen”, where I heated up Patrick’s baby food every day. A great help, right?

We packed our things in the room – very comfortable, by the way –, rested, did Paddy’s bedtime routine and when he was already high on our bed (he slept between me and Celo, even though there was a crib for him), Celo and Pat went to dinner at the hotel restaurant and I ended up ordering a sandwich in the room and catching up on my reading. A peaceful night, thank God! 🙂

Friday (10/19/18) – Day 2

We were woken up by Paddy at 6:30 am and played with him in the room until breakfast time – 8 am. We took him in the stroller to the restaurant and took turns eating breakfast and taking care of him, since he is at a stage where he wants to grab everything in front of him and throw it on the floor. When we finished eating, it was time to give him breakfast (banana from the hotel itself) and soon after, he took his morning nap in the stroller. I found it really nice to walk around the hotel with the stroller because it has a well-kept garden and uneven sidewalk, which is wonderful for taking a nap. baby sleep.

(A good tip to make babies safer in restaurant chairs: tie a towel/sarong around them on the chair itself. Photo above.)

The day was a bit cloudy, but we still walked the 120m from the inn to the Geriba Beach to try to enjoy the peace that the sea provides. It was a terrible idea, because it was really windy, so it didn't take long for us to realize that we had to get out of there before he woke up and wanted to get out of the stroller.

We decided to go to the Turtle Beach, because the receptionist said there would be less wind, but as soon as we arrived, we found the structure of the beach huts to be quite bad… like, everything was improvised, you know? It was a bit windy, but since we had already parked the car, we chose to stay at the only tidy restaurant on the beach – Tartaruga Beach Inn and Restaurant – and it was great. We ordered snacks and drinks and relaxed looking at this view, look:

We left there and went to have lunch at a restaurant that was participating in the First Lobster Festival – the Lobstering in Búzios – and was open at that time, the Buddha Beach. This restaurant has a very interesting atmosphere and a very extensive menu, ranging from Japanese food to pizza, to our surprise, but we went straight for the only dish of the festival, the Lobster Paella. How delicious! Paddy was very kind and slept through lunch so we could eat in peace. I love it when that happens! 🙂

We went for a walk afterwards in the famous Stone Street and we stopped for ice cream at Italy Ice Cream. I tried the CHEESE one and I recommend it! Afterwards, my mother-in-law and Celo wanted to have a coffee and we went into a super cute place with a view of the sea, the Maria Maria Coffee. Look how cute:

We went back to the car, which was parked on the street for 3 reais an hour, and went straight to the hotel because it was time to do the bedtime routine. baby. This time we bathed him in the double whirlpool tub (we disinfected it with alcohol, just in case) and it was a great party! He slept beautifully and we repeated the dinner plan from the night before.

Saturday (10/20/18) – Day 3

The day started early again, at 6:30 am, but this time we took the opportunity to walk on the beach (Celo and I), while grandma took over the morning games. We came back after an hour, had breakfast, gave him breakfast and put him down for a nap in the stroller (holy Uppababy Vista!). Since the weather was a little better but still windy, we decided to enjoy the hotel pool for a while and then go have lunch a little later.

We filled his little pool with water and toys and took turns playing with him and sunbathing/diving in the hotel pool. We ordered snacks and drinks at the hotel restaurant and thought the service was excellent! It was nice to stay at the hotel because he was able to interact with some children who were nearby, including a cute girl named Catarina, who wouldn't leave my son alone (Help me out – what's in store for me in the future!!!!)

When he got tired of playing so much and started taking his afternoon nap, we went to the NAMI, which is just a few meters from the inn, and we ate everything we were entitled to… So many delicious things, guys! He ended up waking up in the middle of lunch and we had to take turns taking care of him, but the experience was well worth it. I recommend this place, especially if you are going to spend the day at Geribá beach and can walk there.

We went back to the guesthouse and it was time for his bedtime routine, so we did that (we've already learned in practice that it's not a good idea to ignore this routine lol). This time I went to dinner with Celo at the guesthouse restaurant and Pat stayed with Paddy in the room. The first time we managed to have dinner alone “outside” since the doll was born! <3

Sunday (10/21/18) – Day 4

The day dawned with a beautiful sun and we followed the same morning routine, but this time Celo and Pat went for a walk on the beach and our little one stayed with his mom. We took a walk around the streets of Geribá and soon came back to have breakfast and get ready to go to the beach. It was so exciting to set up the tent, fill his little pool, put out the bucket and shovels and watch him play in the sand (under the umbrella, of course). My little boy is growing up… 🙂

He tied himself to the sand and of course put it in his mouth, much to my despair, but then he stayed calm and played. We left the pool with sea water in the sun to warm up (the sea water in Rio de Janeiro is freezing!) and when we thought it was nice, we put the little animal in to enjoy it. How happy he was!! (and ours, right? Mom, Dad and grandparents drooling...) We then took him to wet his feet in the sea and play in the waves and he was CRAZY!!! 

It was beautiful to live this moment <3

His morning nap ended up being a little later because he was super excited, but you could tell when he was already exhausted. Celo took him in the stroller for a walk through the streets of Geribá and then returned to the tent with him sleeping. Look at that lovely nap with the sound of the sea in the background…

When he woke up, we went back to the inn, enjoyed the sun and the pool a little more, and then got ready to have lunch at Orla Bardot. We went to the restaurant Salt, who was also participating in the Lobstering in Búzios, and We ordered the festival dish, which was grilled lobster with rice noodles. Divine! We combined the restaurant with Paddy's sleep, so we were able to enjoy lunch.

We left there and went to have some ice cream at the ice cream shop. Thousand Fruits, which is very close by, and then we went back to the inn to do our bedtime routine and go to bed. Another good night's sleep, thank God!

Monday (10/22/18) – Day 5

We woke up early, as usual, but since it was a beautiful day and there was no wind, we decided to walk along the beach together, including the little one. We thought it would be better to carry him, but when we got there we saw that the tide was very low and the sand near the sea was very hard, which meant it was perfect for a stroller. Celo went back to the hotel to pick him up and we were able to walk the entire beach with him sitting up very comfortably… it was great! We even went for a swim in the sea, taking turns so as not to leave him alone.

We went back to the inn, had breakfast, gave him breakfast, put him to bed and enjoyed the pool and the comfortable sofas under the trees a little longer. We checked out around noon, right after we had given him lunch, and hit the road towards Rio. He was awake the first hour, but after playing so much, he fell asleep and only woke up in Rio. We got there super fast, in 2h30, just to end it on a high note.