Adi's jazz kitchen Archives

Today was our day off in Belo Horizonte and it was such a blast! Brazil, you are such a beautiful country with amazing people! At first I didn’t think anything was going to happen outside of the hotel today, since we’re all pretty unfamiliar with Belo Horizonte, but it turned out to be a day full of adventure, thanks to our lovely tour guide, Raquel!
Let’s start at the beginning. First was the Central Market:

My mind goes into overdrive whenever I’m in a market, especially a fun one like this! There were so many colors, scents, shapes and sizes.. I wanted to try everything! (I’m not kidding, our tour guide Raquel was like “wow she really does want to eat everything doesn’t she?!”) Starting with empadas.. the perfect balanced bite of crusty dough, salty beef, and melty creamy cheese. Ah, heaven! Rie wanted to get more to bring home, they were so good! Here’s Rie, Bibi, Raquel, and myself:

Next up was the Brazilian cachaca, explained to me by Raquel:

We chased our empadas with the sweetest pineapple I’ve ever tasted. yum!

Not only were there lots of yummy things to eat, but there were lots of babies! Here’s Larry’s new friend:

Our next stop on the Belo Horizonte Adventure was to hear a little bit of a very happening Brazilian pop band, Jota Quest play in the park!

Continuing on in our music/food/adventure filled day, we stopped to enjoy acai bowls with granola and banana! Apparently the acai fruit is known in the amazon as the “viagra of the amazon”.. Little fun fact for ya.. 😉 lol!

The best part about eating this antioxidant packed snack is the color it turns your tongue..

After that we took a drive with Praca Do Papas in mind as our destination and took in the scenery and happened to take a roller coaster ride! (??) I mean, we drove down the steepest hill I’ve ever seen in my life. The one in the video yelling “we’re all gonna die”.. yeah, that’s me.

Belo Horizonte, thank you for an amazing adventure packed day filled with food, music, breathtaking views, a rich culture, and lots of love. My heart goes out to you and I cannot wait to play for you all tomorrow night!
Eu amo voce!
Adi

It is so surreal to travel the world this much in such a short amount of time. Hey, it’s surreal playing with the biggest pop star today too, especially since I never anticipated my career going down this path. Believe it or not, out of all the things the be amazed by in my travels, a big one is the weather. I grew up in New Jersey where we experienced four seasons. Whereas now, I’m traveling the world and will experience the northeast’s fall in South America and Australia (more summer for me, I suppose!) Sounds like a dream to most, (me too!) but I have to say I will miss New York in the fall time. It’s one of my favorite places to be at this time of year. It hit me tonight when we were sound checking in Philly; the sun was going down and it was getting cooler and I finally got that “it’s getting to be fall soon” smell. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s Labor Day weekend and it’ll conclude the summer and begin the new chapter of Fall.

I’m looking forward to being in South America and Australia this “fall,” especially since I’ve never been. I’m very excited! I know I’ll be in for a rude awakening when I come back to frigid windy New York weather in November after we come back from Australia. (I’ll have to put those Uggs to use!)

10 months ago, I had no idea I’d be where I am now in my career. I thought I’d be starting my second year of my Master’s degree at Juilliard (my 6th year total..whoa) and getting back into the school/shed grind. So much has changed, and what a trip it’s been so far! I am so blessed and grateful. I know it’s not even close to being over, so I will continue to keep you guys posted on all of the exciting things happening! In the meanwhile however, I will continue to pack everything from shorts to warm jackets in my suitcase because this weather will throw me for a loop.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

-A

Belo Horizonte Adventure!

What season is it?

Join the Mailing List to be the First to Hear About Upcoming Performances