Dark Day

Monday was my first dark day, or day off, in Curitiba. I was exhausted from the previous week, but I mustered up the enough energy to spend some time exploring the city with Max. We were planning on taking a tourism bus that drives around to about 20 different tourist sites throughout the city, but we quickly learned that the bus and sites aren’t open on Mondays. We will be here for another month though, so I’m sure we will have plenty of time for tourism.

The Jardim Botânico was open though, so we took a quick taxi over. After being here for almost a week, it was my first time anywhere in Curitiba besides our hotel, the shuttle, and the Big Top! It felt great to get out and walk around.

The Botanical Gardens aren’t unlike any other Botanical Garden. It is different to be in a garden surrounded by the city and the vegetation is far more tropical than Ohio J. We got to see some birds we’ve never seen before, turtles, big yellow fish over a foot long, and a couple snakes. The architecture of the greenhouse was quite beautiful and the flowers were a nice reminder that it’s springtime here in Brazil.

There is only so much to see at the Botanical Gardens, so we left after a bit and headed back to the hotel. On the way back, we jumped out of the cab because we saw this Japanese park in the middle of the city. It's around the corner from our hotel, and the building is a cultural center that holds Japanese activities, a library, and a tea room. The area that our hotel is located in Curitiba is a highly populated Japanese community, so there is plenty of sushi and this lovely park. I love my Japanese heritage, and I hope to head to Japan in the future.

I had a great day off with my husband, and I'm looking forward to a little more exploration soon. We have a to-do list of places to visit in or around Curitiba, and our travels will only get better as we explore more and more.

A few nights ago, Max caught the sunset from the terrace on the 16th floor of our hotel. Curitiba has been a step up for us from Belo Horizonte and views like this only help!

Definitely expect more pictures of the city in the future. We are hoping to visit some more parks and museums within the next week or two!