visiting brazilians

Kurt and Erik recently had a friend in town from Brazil. Gui had been an exchange student in their hometown of Salem, Ohio and went to high school with Erik. Gui stayed with the Martigs in NYC a little over a week before meeting up with his girlfriend (she is in the midst of a 6 month study abroad in South Carolina) to travel around the US. Gui had never been to New York before, so it was great to show him around all our favorite sites.

To give Gui the full NYC experience, there was some brunching on the weekends. Giovanni's in Park Slope has a great brunch deal with unlimited Mimosas or Bloody Mary's (clutch for a brunch spot). Our helpful waitress even found Gui some vegan dishes, so he left just as stuffed as the rest of us.

Thankfully, Gui was game for biking, and we were able to show him more of Brooklyn via our favored mode of transportation. Of course we went to Red Hook and took in the views on Valentino Pier.

There was more skyline ogling at Pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park where we could enjoy a drink, watch the sunset, and catch some beach volleyball.

One day, Kurt and I took Gui to Grand Central Station. Kurt looked it up and it is the sixth most visited tourist attraction in the world and the largest train station by number of platforms! Wow! We were all amazed with the Apple Store, and I made sure to introduce Gui to the Whisper Gallery. It's one of my favorite spots!

After Grand Central, we visited the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They typically have an exhibition on the roof during the summer where you can take in an installation piece and the amazing views over Central Park with a beer or glass of wine.

I'm a sucker for details, so I was sold by the Argentinian beer in honor of artist Tomás Saraceno whose mirrored sculpture was on display.

We had a blast with Gui and hope he swings back through NYC with his girlfriend before heading back to Brazil. And maybe we'll just have to pay his mother land a visit someday. World Cup 2014 anyone?!

{interior shot of Grand Central thanks to Kurt!}