Top 10 Pics, Part II

… since I had a really hard time picking only 10, and knowing I’m in charge of my blog, I decided to pick ten more.

Themes I have noticed:

- I’ve only picked one image with a person in it (and even that one is sort of stealth). This was not entirely accidental, as I did think about trying to keep anyone from having feelings hurt. I love you all equally.

- I like sunsets (and sunrises were I awake at that time regularly). Does anyone not like them?

- They’re geographically diverse, which reflects my affinity for travel, and to some degree, my professional career as well. 

Generally, I enjoy taking pictures of places, architecture, & nature the most. Not to imply anything about people, but there’s something about the “grandeur of nature”, let’s say. 

The iconic drinking fountain at Jarling's Custard Cup, Champaign, IL

Gleam Art Festival, Madison, WI

6" Banana Slug somewhere in Northern CA (they named a college mascot after these!)

Sunset at Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carmel, CA

Sunset at Excelsior Commons Beach, Excelsior, MN

I-80 Truck Stop, somewhere in east Iowa

Manai Gastronomia stairwell, Sao Paolo, Brazil (this was a tasty lunch!)

UCI World Cup Track Event, London, UK (this was awesome!)

The Well at Winter, south of Minneapolis, MN

State Capitol building at night, Madison, WI

Manai Gastronomia, São Paulo, Brasil

A recent work trip to Brasil provided me with a unique look into this country, its people, and most importantly, its food!

How do you feed 20 million people at lunchtime? Buffets. It took until my 3rd day of eating from a buffet at lunch to ask why this seems like the de facto method of eating lunch for Brasil's office workers. And it was explained simply enough - this is the only way everyone can eat good food in the time allotted for lunch. Restaurants would simply not have the time to take individual orders and make each person's meal choice if it was run like a traditional restaurant. Makes sense to me and my stomach!

Below is a look at one of the buffets we visited twice during the week. It's one of the best according to my taste buds and has been voted so by an online poll in years past.

The space is inviting, with an awesome, sunlit 2nd floor seating area, but you have to go up one of the nicest staircases I've ever seen to get there...

And the food...

Everything I ate at all the lunch buffets was good food, tasty, and much of it at a very reasonable price.  You could also go back for a little more Reais and get some dessert - uhh, yes please!

Sorvetes...

And those little torts and cakes, so good.